I had a wonderful time in Michigan getting to know some new inCYSTERs in our training. I wanted to highlight them in this post, plus mention some new names you will be seeing more often here on the blog.
JACKIE SMIERTKA is a nurse who specializes in bariatric medicine. She has worked in that field for many, many years, and she recognized that PCOS was coming through her door. She was my initial Detroit contact, and she hosted my training. She is passionate, not to mention compassionate. She owns the Quality of Life Center, a one-stop center for people who have needs associated with their bariatric surgery. That center now has the ability to help women with PCOS who are either contemplating such a surgery or who have had one and would like to work with someone who understands PCOS.
SALLY MYERS is the dietitian who introduced me to Jackie! She is currently in Herndon, Virginia, she is well known as a bariatric nutrition specialist, and I am really excited to have her in the network as a resource on nutrition for bariatric surgery when PCOS is an associated condition. Sally is also a competetive racewalker! I enjoyed learning more about that sport during our lunch breaks.
TERRIE HOLIEWINSKI is a dietitian at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, who specializes in working with cardiovascular issues and PCOS. She is passionate about this work, and loves working with PCOS!
IVONNE BERKOWITZ officially finished her inCYST training this past Sunday. She is a certified wellness coach and she loves to write. I hope you enjoyed her post on labels, her style is very"tell it exactly like it is without pulling punches," and she's got some great ideas that can help you with the practical application of what you see on the blog. I am adding links and contact information as I have them…please seek these professionals out if they are in your area! The amount of work they have put into learning about PCOS and their passion for wanting to help is a fabulous combination just waiting for you to take advantage of!
If you have PCOS, it's likely you've been told that your risk of diabetes is increased. And that means it's likely this news headline caught your eye.
Here is the reference to the article that the story was based on, if you want to track it down online or in your local library.
Dixon JB, O'Brien PE, Playfair J, Chapman L, Schachter LM, Skinner S, Proietto J, Bailey M, Anderson M. Adjustable gastric banding and conventional therapy for type 2 diabetes: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2008 Jan 23;299(3):316-23. Comment in: JAMA. 2008 Jan 23;299(3):341-3.
Wouldn't it be great if this claim were true? There are some important caveats to consider before getting in line at your nearest bariatric clinic.
1. The authors of the original study used the word"remission", not"cure", to describe what they observed. Even in cancer treatment, there is a 5 year waiting period a patient must pass before being told they are free and clear of the disease. Somewhere in the trip from the research lab to the news desk a huge leap in logic occurred. Of course,"cure" attracts more viewers--and advertising dollars--than"remission"--but just beware that just as reporters can change their own appearance to look better on camera, so can tweaking a few words increase the potential attractiveness of a story, even one with some originally valid scientific basis.
2. Diabetes can often take years to develop. If there was indeed a high incidence of remission, it is possible that it might take longer than 2 years for patients to start to have signs and symptoms of the disease again.
3. Patients who underwent surgery also lost weight. So who's to say which was the bigger influence? And it took two years for remission to develop. If surgery really was the only influence, not the dietary change or change in body composition, it would likely have occurred much more rapidly.
4. Having surgery is not a license to eat what you want. Especially with bariatric surgery. I participate in a discussion group with dietitians who specialize in bariatric surgery treatment and it is clear, this is a serious, drastic move, requiring serious commitment to change. It is absolutely not risk free.
Your choice is your choice. But just be absolutely sure, before you opt for this solution, that you get all of the facts. And that when you have the facts you understand what they are really saying, not hearing what you'd like them to mean.
I've been working with Jackie Smiertka, a nurse specializing in bariatric medicine, to bring the inCYST programs to Detroit. I am very excited about this collaboration, since many women who either seek or who have had bariatric surgery also have PCOS. It's important for the professionals who work with them to understand how PCOS affects their treatment.
Friday and Saturday, September 18 and 19, I'll be conducting the PCOS professional training program. The Saturday session for professionals will also be the inCYST Saturday seminar. A big part of training professionals is getting them to step out of professional shoes and understand women with PCOS as humans. This interactive format will hopefully improve communication between the professionals who are training and the women who are going to need them for future health care.
Click here for information on the professional training.
Click here for information on the inCYST Saturday seminar programs.
I'm partial to Zing Bars, if you haven't figured that out. But if you know me, I say"no" to far more business opportunities than I say"yes" to. It takes a lot for me to wax enthusiastic about any product, because my own relationship with all of YOU is placed on the line with every business relationship I forge.
Today's post is about the people behind Zing, because while their bar is fantastic, it is these four humans and their consistent attention to excellence that is the basis for my support of their bars. My pals in Seattle do an awfully good job of getting the word out about their product, but they're also quite humble about the incredible collection of personal experience and professional training that is the foundation for their company. It's part of what I really like about David, Sandi, Kathleen, and Minh-Hai. They love what they do…so much…they spend more time actually DOING it than they do TALKING about it. They've been great supporters of women with PCOS, and inCYST, from the very beginning. I was not at all surprised that they were the very first vendor to respond to my invitation to join our new eMarket.
If you started to investigate how many nutrition supplements were actually conceived by and produced by people who were trained in the science of nutrition, you'd learn that the list is quite short. Most bars are made by business people who had a great idea, who had an interest in nutrition, and had the business savvy to use the two interests to bring a product to market. If there's a nutritionist anywhere in the business plan, they were often hired as a consultant, as an afterthought. When the business owner realized the bar would be even more profitable if it had a professional endorsement.
That is why I love Zing Bars. They were conceived by well-trained nutrition professionals who were working on the front lines, knew the common issues facing their clients, and decided to create a solution for the repetetive issues showing up in their counseling sessions. In reverse order of most of their competitors, they then sought out the business experts to help them launch their idea. I knew these people for years before they took this project on, and always respected the way they pursued excellence in clinical practice. For them to actually create a food…well, it was a no brainer that it would be high-quality.
All four of these colleagues hold master's degrees from Bastyr University, which means in addition to their solid foundation in traditional allopathic medicine, they also have advanced training from a respected naturopathic institute. I don't know about you, but I really, really like the fact that bringing solid science in a practical way to people who wanted to eat well, as opposed to wanting a piece of the profitable nutrition industry pie, is the foundation for this business.
CEO David Ingalls, despite the work it takes to keep this growing company fueled and healthy, STILL has a counseling practice at the Seattle Healing Arts Center. That takes a lot of emotional and physical energy, as both could be full time jobs, but he shared with me that his individual work with people is what helps him to understand how to keep Zing Bars moving forward. He's staying in touch with real people and genuinely wants to provide them with a product that helps them feel better and appreciate his love for nutrition and health. David spent some time recently sharing the Zing Story on our radio show. It's worth a click and listen to.
Co-founder Sandi Kaplan works as Associate Director of Clinical Support and Development for Free & Clear’s Mind & Body Program. She has celiac disease herself and her experience with that diet significantly influences her desire to put tasty, celiac-friendly foods on grocery shelves.
Co-founder Kathleen Putnam is also co-owner of Nutrition Works Seattle, and she has been counseling clients for over 15 years. Kathleen has incorporated counseling, public speaking, education and medical nutrition therapy into her practice. She worked extensively with Swedish Medical Center in the Dean Ornish, Cardiac Rehab and wellness programs. She is certified as a parent coach, EBT (Emotional Brain Training) provider, and Shapedown provider for pediatric obesity. Kathleen has contributed to professional writings, hosted message boards for WebMD and EBT, and a talk show on VoiceAmerica. All those hours spent listening to what people want, don't want, like, don't like, wish they could find, etc…has definitely played a part in the formulation of Zing Bars. By the way, Kathleen and Minh-Hai (below) were recommended by Seattle Magazine as the"go-to" nutrition experts in their city. That is an honor in such a health-conscious city where salmon and blueberries are local treats.: )
Co-founder Minh-Hai Tran, also of Nutrition Works Seattle, has many specialties, including compulsive and emotional overeating, eating disorders, metabolic disorders, sports nutrition, bariatric nutrition, and optimizing wellness for busy people. Her non-diet approach has been endorsed by DailyCandy, and her health perspectives have been published in The Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Seattle Metropolitan Magazine, and more. Minh-Hai also enjoys writing Nutrition & the City, a fun monthly blog for Girl Power Hour. Prior to moving to the Northwest, Minh-Hai worked as a consultant, writer and speaker in the vitamin and supplement industry in her hometown, Dallas, TX. She has consulted with the Dallas Mavericks Basketball Team and has been frequently featured as a guest on The Ticket sports radio station. Also, she enjoys being an active member of The Center for Mindful Eating.
So…do you want a bar that started out as a great idea to make money and then became a nutrition product? Or do you want a bar that started out as a nutrition problem identified by a team of experts who knew best what the answer would be, and who then learned the nuts and bolts of organizing the resources to make it happen?
If your answer is the same one I have, click here to order some Zing for yourself.
Reminder: From now through Labor Day, 100% of all profits generated by the inCYST eMarket will be devoted to the inCYST Institute nonprofit division. We've got startup costs to account for before we can get down to the basics of funding research. This is one way we plan to generate those funds. You can help to make it happen!
We all throw the word"fat" around as if we really know what it is. If I were to stand at the mall and take a survey, I'd likely get the following answers to the question,"What is fat?"
"Gross"
"Something I have too much of."
"Saturated and unsaturated."
"Something that unfortunately makes food taste good."
Have you ever thought about why we even make and store fat in the first place? Just a few decades ago, nutrition students like me were taught that the primary source of fat was as a storage tissue for excessive calories eaten. Oh! And it helps to insulate you and keep you warm. That was that.
That paradigm is what the vast majority of nutrition advice is based on…that fat is an inactive mass that has little value, really, so when we have too much of it we should do whatever it takes to get rid of it. Diet. Exercise. Liposuction. Bariatric surgery.
In recent years, scientists have been studying fat and learning some really interesting things. Fat is actually an endocrine organ! Just like the pancreas and the liver, our fat tissue manufactures and secretes hormones and chemicals of communication that are used by other parts of the body in other locations. Fat tissue can make estrogen, and it can also even make cortisol! Other hormones that fat tissue can make include leptin, resistin, and adiponectin.
The fact that fat has functions suggests that we should be much more respectful of its existence. Apparently it is created when we need what it does. Simply removing it, without figuring out what conditions triggered it to appear in the first place, is likely why drastic, imbalanced methods of reducing fat don't have long-term success.
I read long ago that insulin has a mild-antidepressant activity. It occurred to me, that when a person is not living their life in balance, and the nervous system is having a hard time doing its job, that we may have been programmed to have back up plans to ensure our survival. Such as not allowing insulin to be used by muscle and fat, rather rendered available to be used by the brain to keep doing what it does. After all, if our brains aren't working, we aren't working…right?
So instead of thinking we are depressed because we are fat…maybe we should consider that we are fat becasue we are depressed.
The type of fat that is found in our abdomens is commonly written about as dangerous to have. Yes, it is associated with a lot of expensive and deadly illnesses. However, it is also where a lot of omega-3 fatty acids are stored. So if we're eating the kind of fat that overpowers the ability of the body to do its job, and not eating enough omega-3 fatty acids in the first place, it's actually pretty amazing, if you think about it, that our bodies have a way to make sure that despite these somewhat self-destructive choices, the fats our brains desperately need, stay in the body and get to where they are most needed?
I stopped thinking of fat as a bad thing a long time ago. When I see someone whose adipose organ is overdeveloped, it makes me stop and think about how far out of balance they must be. If you exercise and train and work your muscles routinely over time, they become big and strong, right? If your life is imbalanced, your fat tissue will be worked out in similar fashion. If you don't need the fat, it is not likely to stick around.
When I see someone with an overdeveloped fat organ, my very first thought is,"That body is having to work sooo hard to stay in balance. That must be an exhausting job."
When you are diligent with self-care, that is you make food choices that promote better balance, you move your body regularly, you don't take on unnecessary stress, and you practice good sleep hygiene, your body won't have to be so dependent on its fat tissue to do all that work. The responsibility is better divided between other body parts.
It's a bit of a shift to wrap your brain around, I know…but I encourage you to think about it. The very fact that you're able to make fat may have been lifesaving, up to this point. But since extra fat was more designed as a backup plan, and not the primary way to stay in balance, perhaps you can think of your choices from this point forward as ways to give that organ a break and not wear it out…not wear YOU out…before your time.
