Body & Soul

Georgetowner • January 25, 2012

*Dear Stacy:*
*I am a 27-year-old, professional, single woman living in D.C. I also have a medical condition ? bipolar disorder ? which is well under control (meds and counseling). My diagnosis has had an impact on my relationships in the past, especially before I got a handle on it in college. I have had a few serious boyfriends since then, but it seems that once I reveal my situation, things start to go downhill. One guy began blaming all of our problems on my being bipolar, even though my highly trusted therapist and I truly believe this had no bearing on our relationship (e.g., I had no episodes during our time together). Another got angry that I hadn?t told him sooner and soon began to back away from me. My question is this: Do I have to tell potential love interests that I have this condition? If so, when is the best time to come clean? I am sick of worrying about this. I only want to find someone who accepts me through and through.*
*?Gun-Shy in Northeast*

Dear Gun-Shy:
First, congratulations on finding the right combination of therapy and medications to feel like you are in control of your diagnosis ? this is not a small feat, definitely something to celebrate. Next, please be gentle with yourself for not necessarily knowing when and where to offer this information to others. With so much misinformation about mood disorders in the zeitgeist, the term ?bipolar? has become a go-to adjective to describe the stereotypically unstable character on cop shows galore. The truth is that many people with bipolar disorder can have very few episodes throughout their lives. The diagnosis is something sufferers are able to manage with certain regular interventions, much like diabetes or panic attacks.

But the question of disclosure is not limited to those with bipolar disorder. When is the best time to tell a New Love that you have been treated for an STD in the past, that you have a degenerative neurological disorder or that schizophrenia runs in your family? Unfortunately, there?s no definitive answer. Some would say: You name it ASAP, and let the chips fall where they may, preventing yourself from getting in too deep with someone only to lose them due to something beyond your control. Others would say: Give yourself a chance to get to know the person first, let him know you and see if the makings of a strong foundation are already there before tremor-testing it.

The truth is that all relationships have disclosure moments (You aren?t a virgin? Your family pastime is passive-aggression? Your dream retirement involves an RV?), and these moments are what we use to size up the chemistry between us. You have a ready-made reliability test to see if you?ve found a good match. Eventually, you can recommend a good book about your diagnosis, e.g., ?An Unquiet Mind? by Kay Jamison). But first let?s reclaim this information as part of what makes you, you. As such, the right match will be with someone who finds it somewhat mundane, but mostly evidence of your strength and resilience.

*Dear Stacy:*
*It?s January, and I am trying my best to focus on new starts and fresh goals. I am struggling because my ex got back in touch with me over the holidays, and I just can?t keep her off my mind. We?ve been texting and she refriended me on Facebook. My heart flips when I see her name on my callerID, but we haven?t seen each other yet. Things ended two years ago because we didn?t want the same things (yes, she wanted to get married and I did not). Now, it seems she?s comfortable with keeping it casual, and I have to admit that I am really enjoying the flirting we?ve got going on. Is there something about the holidays that gets people to revisit failed relationships? Valentine?s Day is coming up, and I keep fantasizing about some amazing reunion between us. Am I being unrealistic?*
*-Mooning Over Her*

Dear Mooning:
You are absolutely right, it does seem that the holidays cause old flames to reignite ? maybe it?s the cold weather that puts some of us on the lookout for revivable embers. It is exciting to reconnect with an old love. With the variety of social media options available, it isn?t hard to imagine why a text from her offers you a charge when compared to watching your Facebook friends change their profile pictures to photos of their kids on Santa?s lap.

Nevertheless, you ask the more important question last: ?Am I being unrealistic?? The conundrum actually has nothing to do with the time of year. You are asking if it?s realistic to think that someone who wanted to marry you two years ago is now happy to keep things casual. Not likely. But then again, you haven?t actually asked Ex, have you? The thing about reconnecting with old flames is that the timespan of the romantic phase of the relationship is vastly reduced. You already had that experience several years ago, and so this time around the honeymoon phase is going to be abbreviated. Once the initial experience of seeing her again, touching her again, being with her again, is over, it?s likely that you will return to the power struggle phase that broke you up two years ago.

But my advice is not to cut off all contact ? not when you have been given this incredible opportunity for growth and self-understanding (sorry, that?s probably not what you were hoping for). Meet Ex for coffee. Check in with yourself about how it feels to sit across from her. Ask some questions about what her life has been like in the last two years. Her answers might give you some insight as to whether she?s really in a more casual space or if you might like to return to where you both left off.

*Stacy Notaras Murphy is a licensed professional counselor and certified Imago Relationship therapist practicing in Georgetown. Her website is [StacyMurphyLPC.com](http://www.stacymurphylpc.com/), and you can follow her on twitter @StacyMurphyLPC. This column is meant for entertainment only and should not be considered a substitute for professional counseling. We really do want your questions. Send them confidentially to stacy@georgetowner.com.*

Dr. Dorree Lynn • January 12, 2012

Greetings and welcome to 2012! I hope you have had a wonderful holiday and celebrated the New Year in your own unique savvy style. This is the 70th time I have ushered in a new year, though admittedly I can?t recall the earliest ones, and I can?t speak of the most fun ones.
At the start of this 2012, I have many wishes for all: the usual health, joy, fulfillment, prosperity and whatever your special family values might be. But this year, following on a year of so much upheaval and for many in economic pain, I especially wish for positive attitudes. As the saying goes, ?Don?t sweat the small stuff!? And, of course, reach out and remember to love. With or without sex, good relationships are best. Put effort into reaching out. We all need more connection.

Connections come in so many forms and can often be pleasantly unexpected. A young friend of mine attended a long-running holiday party in Florida hosted by two community icons … two artist-musician-hippy community icons. My friend related that he had finally discovered the secret to life. This excerpt is from an email he sent me the following day:

***The host was a musician who played several instruments, and his living room was set up to form a band stage. There were people seated along the wall and a makeshift VIP section on the upstairs walkway that looked down over the band. Six men, all pushing 60 or more, jammed out on guitars, drums, bass and piano, while one woman beat a set of conga drums. When the host, on electric guitar, broke into Stevie Ray Vaughan?s ?Pride and Joy? and started to sing the lyrics, ?Yeah, I love my baby … Heart and soul … Love like ours won?t never grow old … She?s my sweet little thang … She?s my pride and joy …? I looked up to see the hostess dancing her heart out, quickly followed by several other couples.***

***Dr. Dorree, I grew up with these people. I went to school with their daughter, and we?ve been friends all our lives. But when we were younger, we were convinced that our parents were crazy and that we, as a result of being raised by this village of hippy musicians and artists, were destined to be just as nuts. But there were three generations of people at that party, many of whom had been coming since the 1980?s, and every year it?s the elders who play the loudest, dance the hardest, and party the longest … there?s something uniquely amazing in their attitude toward life. Nothing slows them down. Here we thought they were crazy, but all along they?ve had the secret to true happiness.***

If my young friend can start to see a continuity of joy as evidenced by his elders, then we should all be able to learn a similar lesson. And he?s absolutely right: attitude is everything. Especially in a world where there are so many negative people and bad things happening every day, all around us, we can easily find ourselves miserable and unhappy. But attitude is something that requires a conscious, active effort — and, no, there is not an ?app? for that.

So I challenge all of my colleagues, friends, family and fans to just try. Think positively and remain open to new lessons in 2012. Maybe, just maybe, if we can learn to appreciate how others live, we can step out of our own judgments and just possibly make some small steps to understanding our rapidly changing world.

Georgetowner • November 30, 2011

Dear Stacy,

My younger sister just announced that she is pregnant, following a short relationship with a guy she is no longer dating. She lives across the country, while the rest of our family is in the D.C. area. My parents and I were shocked by this turn of events but are starting to get excited about the idea. I know it will be hard for her to raise a baby alone so far away from us, but she has not said she wants to move home yet. I?m getting a lot of questions from our extended family like ?What is she thinking?? and ?Why aren?t you making her move back?? While I see their point and definitely agree that it could be easier on her if she lived near us, that?s not my decision to make. I don?t know how to respond when people ask me so many questions. I know they wouldn?t dream of being so blunt with her directly. What to do?

**-Auntie to Be in D.C.**

Dear Auntie,

Congratulations! Not just on your soon-to-be aunt status, but also on your restraint about telling Sister what she ?should do? next. It can be hard to keep your mouth shut when you see someone making choices you wouldn?t have made ? just look at all those dear extended family members who can?t seem to exercise the same self-control.

You are right, it will be hard for her to raise a baby alone, and she might decide to move close for some extra support and babysitters. But she won?t make that decision any faster if she?s pressured to do so. In fact, your extended family knows this as well, which is why they aren?t pressuring her to move, they?re pressuring you to get her to move. When some of us are faced with a ?crisis? (whatever the definition may be) we move into fix-it mode in order to manage our own anxiety about the situation, usually without being asked. It sounds like the extended family is trying to fix it for Sister, hoping that you will be the messenger. That?s a particularly challenging position ? you might feel like Sister?s mouthpiece, Grandma?s confidant, and Uncle?s sounding board all at the same time. It?s a narrow space: On one side you are the press secretary, on the other you are at risk of being pulled into the sticky business of family gossip.

If you can tolerate the extended family?s good intentions (there are good intentions under there, I promise) and hold the anxiety, keeping it away from Sister, fantastic. If you can?t, or don?t want to, or notice that the price is too much to bear (hair falling out, nail biting, road rage, the usual signs), set your own limits with those good intentions. For example, ?Thanks for your input, but I?m not talking about this anymore,? or the like, is a short, to-the-point way of saying, ?Keep me out of this.? Even if she never knows about it, Sister will benefit from your boundaries. And she?s going to need you on her side.

**Dear Stacy,**

**My wife routinely falls asleep in our 5-year-old daughter?s bed. When this happens ? about five nights a week ? she usually crawls into our bed sometime in the night and we wake up together. It frustrates me that she thinks this is okay. How can I get her to understand that this is not okay behavior?**

**-Sleeping in a King Bed Alone**

Dear Sleeping King,

Well, I don?t have a lot to go on here, but let?s summarize. You want help in getting her to understand that falling asleep in your daughter?s room is not okay. But see, it might actually be okay.

It might be okay if there is a compelling reason for your daughter to need mom in her room at night (e.g., a medical condition). It might be okay if you and Wife are able to have alone time, intimacy, and connection, elsewhere. It might be okay if everything is going well in your relationship already. It might be okay for this behavior to continue if these conditions are met. But from what you?ve said, and more so what you haven?t said, I?m going to surmise that you are unconvinced by her reasons, and that you might be feeling neglected yourself. As one with two small kids at home, I know from personal experience that the blessed time between their bedtime and ours is precious, fleeting and crucial to a happy partnership.

Does she know how you feel? What I mean by ?feel? is how you feel, not how you judge her behavior, or what you believe about her decision-making. How you feel might be abandoned, lonely, sad, embarrassed or worried about what this means for your relationship. When we start the conversation by naming how someone?s actions make us feel in this way, it often makes it easier for the other person to really hear our concerns, and not get caught up in defending her behavior. If she knows that you are missing the connected feeling of being next to her when you fall asleep, she might realize that she is missing that as well, and make more of an effort to resume your bedtime routine.

*Stacy Notaras Murphy is a licensed professional counselor and certified Imago Relationship therapist practicing in Georgetown. Her website is www.therapygeorgetown.com. This column is meant for entertainment only, and it should not be considered a substitute for professional counseling. We really do want your questions. Send them confidentially to stacy@georgetowner.com.*

Katherine Tallmadge • November 3, 2011

The coming of the holidays, for each of us, is symbolized by different events and moments: the first turning of leaves, a bracing snap of cool air, relaxing with a good book, a hot cocoa or a glass of wine in front of a blazing fireplace. For me, it’s Thanksgiving which marks the beginning of regular family
and friend get-togethers, cozy rituals which give us excuses to relax a little, and spend time with the people we care most about and don’t often have time for during the year.

Thanksgiving dinners started as early as the 1600’s by either the pilgrims in 1621 or the Jamestown settlers, as their version of the ancient British “Harvest Home Festival.” But it wasn’t until 1863 that President Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday.

Based on this heritage, it isn’t surprising that the foundation of a traditional Thanksgiving meal consists of an amazing variety of health-giving foods.

Turkey: The turkey, a “true original native of America,” according to Benjamin Franklin, has been eaten in America since at least the 1500s by early explorers. It’s an exceptionally lean meat – lower in calories, cholesterol and fat than even chicken.

Sweet Potatoes: A major superfood, sweet potatoes are loaded with fiber, low in calories, and full of immune-boosting, cancer- and heart disease-preventing nutrients. Starting with beta-carotene, which provides the deep orange color. Beta-carotene is critical for your immune system, your skin, your vision, bones, reproduction, and more. Studies show that people who eat foods high in beta-carotene and people with high blood levels of beta-carotene have a lower incidence of certain cancers.

Greens: The most powerful food of all, deep green leafies, as we call them – such as spinach, collards, beet greens, kale – have the highest antioxidant score of all vegetables. They are high in many nutrients, including beta-carotene, iron, vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, but are uniquely high in a compound called lutein. People who ate greens 2-4 times per week had a 46% decrease in risk of age-related macular degeneration (the leading cause of preventable blindness) compared to those who consume these vegetables less than once per month. They also experience a lower incidence of cataracts. This is attributed to lutein, in the carotenoid family. Absorption of carotenoids—yellow/orange-colored phytochemicals found in orange and yellow fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens—is increased by cooking and by the presence of fat (cook in a little healthy olive or canola oil).

Cranberry Sauce: Cranberries, because of their potent flavor and deep color are one of the highest fruits on the antioxidant list, surpassed only by blackberries and blueberries. They contain compounds which act as antioxidants, stimulate the immune system, reduce inflammation,
enhance cancer-fighting enzymes, influence hormone metabolism positively, have antibacterial and antiviral effects and may even reverse some aspects of brain aging. The tannins in cranberries may be responsible for helping to prevent urinary tract infections, stomach ulcers, gum disease and even ear infections in children. Cranberries are also effective against antibiotic-resistant bacteria,
and 20 percent of urinary tract infections are resistant to antibiotics. The tannins work by blocking the disease-causing bacteria and preventing it from adhering to human cell walls.

Giving Thanks: Giving thanks for this bounty is an essential part of the Thanksgiving
tradition. Most places of worship have services on Thanksgiving day. And there are many institutions which could use volunteers. Also, to help yourself relax and enjoy the day, start a new tradition and take a walk with your family members and friends – in the morning, after the feast – or both. We live in one of the most beautiful and walkable cities in the world. Walking along the Potomac River, on the National Mall, or in Rock Creek Park is free and open for everyone. Try a yoga class: Down Dog Yoga has a traditional Thanksgiving Day class from 10 am to noon. Both Down Dog Yoga and Spiral Flight Yoga in Georgetown have classes the days before and after Thanksgiving.

Visiting your place of worship to connect spiritually, volunteering for the needy, taking a walk or a yoga class are great ways to relax, center yourself and remind yourself of everything you have to feel grateful for.

Katherine Tallmadge, M.A., R.D. will customize, an easy, enjoyable weight loss, athletic or medical nutrition therapy program for you or your company. She is the author of “Diet Simple: 192 Mental Tricks, Substitutions, Habits & Inspirations,” and National Spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. Contact her at www.KatherineTallmadge.com or 202-833-0353.

Elizabeth Saverino •

Like most health information these days, there seems to be a great amount of confusion when it comes to vitamins. And rightly so — it can be challenging to know what to take, how to take them and why. Personally, it seems as though it’s a guessing game for most people and in turn, some people are taking full cocktails of pills daily, while others are skeptical to take any.

Why the confusion? True for any scientific matter, as we gain more evidence, what we believe changes. Take vitamin E, for example. In the ’90s vitamin E was touted as a miracle antioxidant that was protective against cardiovascular diseases and cancer and health experts advised everyone to take additional vitamin e along with their daily multivitamin. Recently, this information has been rescinded and the medical community has denounced any benefit of supplementing with vitamin e aside from the DRI (Daily Reference Intake) set by the Institutes of Medicine, even suggesting potential detrimental effects of extra supplementation. The latest information recommends focusing on naturally occurring vitamin E from foods such as nuts, seeds and vegetable oils, which has shown to be safe, effective and without the potential risks supplementation with vitamin E provide.

Another question about supplementation concerns the multivitamin. Is it a good or bad thing? While it’s generally accepted a multivitamin can have its place in everyone’s diet, by no means should it be insurance for healthy nutrition (no, you cannot eat a diet of fast food and revive yourself each day by taking a multi). There can be many ways a multivitamin can fall short. The first is in absorption. If you find a multivitamin with 100 percent of the DRIs, it does not necessarily mean you will be absorbing 100 percent of each vitamin.

There are a couple factors at work in absorption. When we look at vitamins, we basically break them down into two groups: the fat-soluble vitamins — A, D, E and K — and the water-soluble vitamins B and C. In order for the fat-soluble vitamins to be absorbed, bile, which is excreted from the liver, is needed to help absorb and store these vitamins. To initiate this process, some fat is needed to be eaten when these vitamins are taken to signal to the liver to excrete bile. Water-soluble vitamins are much more easily absorbed, but can just as easily be lost through excretion in the urine.

Then then we get to problems with competition for absorption. Think of it like a perfect situation for each vitamin: to be properly escorted and absorbed though the body, vitamin D and calcium need one another. That’s why milk is fortified with vitamin D. However, calcium hinders the absorption of iron. Assuming you are taking a multivitamin with minerals as well, some vitamins aren’t going to be absorbed fully. (If you are taking extra iron, you may want to note that iron needs vitamin C to be absorbed, so taking it with a glass of OJ can help). The bottom line here is to note proper nutrition can’t be found in a pill, even if what you take says it will provide you with 100 percent of the RDI. Quality, whole foods are needed to ensure your body gets enough of the essential vitamins and minerals. But as a back up, a multivitamin should always be taken with some food, preferably something with a little protein and fat, and a full glass of water.

The latest in dietary research brings attention to vitamin D. In 2007, Time magazine declared vitamin D one of the top 10 medical breakthroughs of 2007. An abundance of studies bringing forth the vital properties of vitamin D since then have surfaced. From nearly every type of cancer to common colds, autoimmune diseases, diabetes and heart disease, vitamin D seems to play a role in prevention, survival and recovery. It almost seems too good to be true, except in this case, the numerous amount of research backs this vitamin up. The Vitamin D Research Council (www.vitamindcouncil.org) does a great job linking published scholarly studies to the numerous diseases vitamin D has been studied with. The major problem with vitamin D, often referred to as the sunshine vitamin (since our skin can produce it from the sun), is that many, if not most of us, aren’t getting enough.

“Its an evolving science,” says Washington Center for Weight Management’s Jan Gagen, a nurse practitioner who has had her vitamin D levels tested and believes in supplementation. “Basically everyone is in agreement that most Americans are deficient.”

The evolving question is: by how much? In light of strikingly convincing research supporting vitamin D, new standards are needed, as most scientists and practitioners believe the requirement currently set at 400 IUDs is significantly too low. Gagen currently takes between 4-5,000 IUDs daily.

“Looking at vitamin D and cancer research, it is ideal to stay above 50 ng/mL [of circulating vitamin D, known as serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D] to prevent against cancer and the reoccurrence of cancer,” says Gagen. While normal ranges can start as low as 25-30 ng/mL and can be indicated through a simple blood test, it all depends on where you and your physician feel comfortable your level should be. In the meantime, supplementing your multivitamin with extra vitamin D seems to be the general consensus of the medical community. The Canadian Cancer Society was one of the first to issue a recommendation to all of its citizens in 2007 to take 1000 IUDs daily. The Institute of Medicine’s Food and Nutrition Board has been reviewing the convincing data on vitamin D and plans to come with a report on vitamin D in summer 2010.

With all this new information, it is important to tell your primary care physician what you are taking and ask what you should be taking. Be sure to list off everything you take, even if you only take it occasionally. Supplements can powerfully influence nutrition and because we get them over the counter, we often think they can do little harm — this couldn’t be further from the truth! There are a variety of biochemical reactions that occur with each supplement you take and it can be easy to unknowingly take a supplement that acts against a medication. Certain vitamins like vitamin K should be limited and monitored to people on a blood thinner like coumadin (warfarin) due to its blood thinning properties. Other supplements like gingko can block absorption of certain medications, especially blood pressure medication, thus hindering their effects. Be cautious for every new supplement you take and check with your health care provider.

Looking to eat better? Check out our [vitamin guide](http://georgetowner.sgapreviews.com/articles/2010/mar/10/eating-right/).

Elizabeth Saverino •

When we were little, our friends and social network influenced our choices, thoughts and behaviors. If Dave played basketball then so did Colin. If Marie wore her hair in pigtails, Andrea thought it was cool. When we grow up, we look at our friends and those who construct our social network much differently. We are led to believe who you know can lead you to opportunity and success. The number of names and phone numbers in our Blackberries are supposed to grow, especially in our nation’s capital, where building one’s social network is not only an event, pastime or lecture topic, but a way of life. We’ve all been told that “who you know” can get you in the door to a job, inside information or get you into a sold-out event. But studies say who you know and how well you know them can make a much more remarkable impact on one’s life than having an “in” with backstage security.

In recent years, sociologists, psychologists, scientists and physicians alike have shifted their attention and broadened their focus of study subjects by examining the relationships and characteristics of those closely connected to them. While an individual’s social networks have not unveiled connections resulting in lucrative jobs or insider information, they have instead revealed a profound influence and vital effect over many facets of one’s health and wellness. The characteristics of those who run in a person’s social circle and how closely connected they are to that person have proven to play a factoring role in matters diverse as belt size to coping ability.

So just how much are we influenced by our relationships? Let’s start with behaviors. It may sound rudimentary to assume that if the people you associate with are drinkers, you’ll likely follow suit. After assessing the social networks of 12,000 people from 1971 to 2003 — the subjects of the famous Framingham Heart Study — researchers from Harvard and the University of California, San Diego concluded in the Annals of Internal Medicine last month that not only do those in your social network affect your alcohol consumption, so do those in your social network’s network — this relationship held through three degrees of separation. If the people you surround yourself are heavy drinkers, it is 50 percent more likely that you will also drink heavily. If a friend of a friend is a heavy drinker, you would be 36 percent as likely to be one as well. And if that friend’s friend — the third degree of separation — is a heavy drinker, your chances of drinking heavily increases 15 percent.

It may be easy to enjoy another cocktail among your friends or share ideas of social acceptance when it comes to alcohol consumption, but what about body size? Could obesity spread from one to another just like the tendency to drink within a social circle? Take the people in your life, your friends, significant other, colleagues and family. Look at your body size in comparison to theirs, taking extra note of your closest friends. Do you find any parallels? Researchers from the Harvard/UCSD study found that it may not just be about diet and exercise, but that obesity is spread through relationships. The most statistically significant (and shocking) relationship influences were with close friendships of the same sex. A person’s chances of becoming obese increased by 57 percent if he or she had a close friend who became obese throughout the study. In pairs of people who each named one another as a close friend, the likeliness that both would gain weight if one became obese jumped to 171 percent. It didn’t matter how near or far the friends were from one another geographically, as long as the person being named was a close friend. This correlation has proved to be stronger than genetics and marriage. Between adult siblings, the likeliness that one would become obese after their brother or sister had increased by 40 percent; for spouses they found a 37 percent increased risk.

Don’t get upset just yet, not all relationships increase negative outcome. But if you are unhappy, perhaps you should find a new group of happy friends, hopefully ones with their own happy friends. Analyzing over 50,000 social ties of nearly 5,000 Framingham participants from 1983-2003, researchers concluded a key determinant of a person’s happiness lies in the happiness with whom they are connected. The degree of closeness to one’s friends and family also ascertained the likeliness of happiness in the future. In the study, happiness was found to be dependent on a person’s social connections extending (again) to three degrees of separation. What this means is that your close friends, siblings, spouse and neighbors all can impact your happiness, and if they are happy (and their friends, and their friends’ friends), there is a greater probability that you will also be happy. Luckily, happiness seems to spread much more consistently through a social web then does unhappiness. By mapping out a network of social connections, it was found that happy people are found in clusters, and the more central one is in the network of relationships, the more likely they are to be happy and stay happy in the future.

Need more reasons to embrace friendships? Want to live longer? Keep your friends, make new ones and continue your relationships in your old age. While having a spouse had little impact on survival, a study of 3,000 nurses with breast cancer published in the Journal of Oncology found that women without close friendships were four times as likely to die then women with 10 or more friends. Another study, this time focused on longevity, found that when people aged 70 and above maintained close friendships and social ties, they had a 22 percent higher survival time. Australian researchers in this study also found no correlation between relationships with their children and relatives, just the friendships the subjects maintained.

Maybe it is all about who you know in life that makes a difference when it comes to attaining health and happiness. It’s not just a mind and body connection we need to be aware of. There is a third component, a person’s social ties, which can play a major role in one’s wellness, thus unveiling the mind-body-social network connection. It turns out, in one way or another, we are all influencing one another, spreading cheer or weight gain, and not only is it important to choose friends wisely and rekindle old friendships, it’s never too late to make new friends. It’s also important to remember you are part of larger phenomenon, influencing and leaving your mark in others’ lives.

Katherine Tallmadge •

Getting reliable nutrition or diet information is a challenge in today’s information super-highway. Out of the thousands of diet books out there, I have found maybe a handful which merit recommending. My specifications?

• The content is based on verifiable facts and good science
• The recommendations, if followed short or long term, will improve your health, rather than damage it
• It advocates a variety of foods, and doesn’t cut out important, nutritious food groups
• It promotes a positive attitude toward food and eating
• It’s practical and doesn’t require special drugs, diet foods, packaged foods or supplements which would be impossible to maintain
• It doesn’t advocate a way of eating with unacceptable side-effects
• It advocates a well-balanced existence, including physical activity, which is known to be essential to good health
• The reading is interesting, while the recommendations are simple and easy to follow.

My choices for some of the best diet books out there, authored by academic researchers and dietitians:

“The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan,” Barbara Rolls
Hands-down, “Volumetrics” is my favorite diet book. Barbara Rolls is a respected Penn State University nutrition researcher and the first to recognize the importance of high volume foods for weight loss and weight maintenance. Her philosophy is “Don’t deprive yourself — lose weight while eating more!” and it works. I live by this rule and have taught countless clients to do the same. I feel so positive about this approach I’ve adopted the “Volumetrics” concepts, among others, for my own book, “Diet Simple.” “Volumetrics” is full of practical ideas which work, and are proven by science and my own experience. The author treats the reader with respect by explaining the science behind the theories. It essentially includes 60 recipes, which my clients have found to be excellent.

“Thin for Life,” Anne M. Fletcher
Anne Fletcher is another author who knows her stuff. “Thin for Life” is based on highly respected research which has followed and studied people who have lost weight and kept it off for many years — the real pros. The chapters are divided into ten “keys to success.” “Thin for Life” refutes the oft-quoted claim that it’s impossible to lose weight and to keep it off. One of my favorite “keys” to success in the book, which I try to drill into my own clients, is “nip it in the bud.” Research has found that everyone experiences the same number of “slips” and stressors in their lives. The difference is the weight-relapsers let the slips turn into prolonged relapses and re-gain their weight. Successful weight loss maintainers view the “slip” as natural, as something to learn from, and get right back on track.

“Mindless Eating,” Brian Wansink
“Mindless Eating” is written by Cornell researcher Brian Wansink, an eating “behaviorist” who specializes in the passive ways people eat too much and how to change them. He’s discovered that we’re basically clueless about how much to eat (and if it’s in front of us, we’ll eat it!). If you’ve ever wondered why you ate all the popcorn at the movies or the whole serving of nachos for dinner — and have felt terrible — this book is for you. Wansink does ingenious experiments where he rigs bowls of soup to keep re-filling (with an apparatus under the table the subject knows nothing about) and finds the person keeps eating, and eating, and eating. He has found if food is less convenient, we are 10 times less likely to eat it. If the label announces “fat free,” we’ll eat more! If our food is on a smaller plate, we’ll eat less without realizing it. You get the idea. I use his research every day to improve my own eating habits and those of my clients.

“Weight Loss Confidential,” Anne M. Fletcher
This is a great book for teens (and their parents) that proves teenagers have the resources, with the proper support, to eat healthy, achieve appropriate weights and enjoy it.

“How to Get Your Kid to Eat…But Not Too Much” and “Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense,” Ellyn Satter
A registered dietitian and clinical social worker, Ellyn Satter has written the best books to teach you how to raise your children to love healthy food and live healthy lives, without adverse side-effects of eating disorders or weight problems. Some of her topics include: “Is Your Toddler Jerking You Around at the Table?” “The Individualistic Teenager,” “How Much Should Your Child Eat?” “What is Normal Eating?” and “Nutritional Tactic for Preventing Food Fights.”

“Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right,” Joanna Dolgoff
This is a great book with simple techniques for teaching children healthy eating and how to lose weight healthfully. I recently heard the author, Joanna Dolgoff, give a presentation about her book and found her very practical and insightful — she advocates strategies I’ve used and know they work. Her philosophy: no food is off-limits, but she divides foods into three categories to make it easier for children to make decisions without being hung up on calories. Green light foods mean: Go! (unlimited, first choice foods), yellow light foods mean: Slow! (caution, eat in moderation), and red light foods mean: Uh oh! (an occasional treat).

Katherine’s favorite healthy cookbooks:
1) “The French Culinary Institute’s Salute to Healthy Cooking,” Jacques Pepin, et al.
2) “Mediterranean Light,” Martha Rose Shulman
3) “The New American Plate,” American Institute for Cancer Research
4) “Provencal Light,” Martha Rose Shulman

Katherine Tallmadge, M.A., R.D. will customize an easy, enjoyable nutrition, weight loss, athletic or medical nutrition therapy program for you, your family or your company. She is the author of “Diet Simple: 192 Mental Tricks, Substitutions, Habits & Inspirations,” and national spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. Contact her at katherine@katherinetallmadge.com or 202-833-0353. [gallery ids="99128,102659,102700,102691,102682,102675,102668" nav="thumbs"]