The Hemp Connection [Search results for fear] 

There are so many things in life to be afraid of or worried about: nuclear meltdown, the price of gasoline, whether or not you’ll have a job next week or next year, how on earth you’re going to get pregnant, the development of PCOS-related side effects, the potential demise of Social Security, and whether your children will develop enough skills to make it in this complex world.
And those are just some of the grand themes that elicit fear, anxiety, or even terror. There’s still the worry about being late to a date or a job interview, whether or not you actually cooked the chicken until it’s done enough to prevent food poisoning, the results of the labs the doctor ran yesterday, and wondering if you spell-checked the document you just e-mailed to 27 people. All day long, there are things both small and large to worry about, many of which bring up concern about the future.
Sometimes, anxiety is healthy. It makes you double-check the temperature of the stove, verify that there’s enough gas in the car, ask a friend to read through something, or hop on the internet and do a little research. This is the part of fear that’s an asset. You’ll be better prepared, more thorough, and more realistic. And frankly, some of us could stand to do a little more worrying about the future (setting up a savings account, changing your nutritional program, or going back to school, for example).
But anxiety and “what-iffing” can get out of control easily. If you find that you’re spending hours researching something over which you in fact have little control (come on, admit it!); squirreling away so much money that you’re running into problems taking care of your daily expenses; doubling up on the condoms (which, by the way, causes them to break MORE easily and therefore provides less protection); or having problems getting to sleep at night because your mind is racing with possibilities (all of them negative), then you need some help dialing it back because it’s no longer an asset – it’s a detriment to your well-being.
To make sure that your fear, anxiety and worry function to enhance your life, ask yourself the following questions:
· Am I being realistic? · Do I REALLY know everything I need to know about this? · Do I ALREADY know as much as I need to know? · What’s the worst possible outcome if I just let this sit and play itself out? · How much control do I have in this situation? · Am I deriving some sort of gain from being a bit of a drama queen about this?
Be honest with the answers. No one’s checking them for accuracy. If, after running through this list of questions, you find that you’re over-reacting or focusing on the wrong things, make efforts to correct your course, change your behavior, or get help. Worry and fear gone out of control produce endless stress on the already delicate systems in your body, and will cause a domino effect that just leads to more stress, decreased productivity, and even more worries.
Gretchen Kubacky, Psy.D. is a Health Psychologist in private practice in

West Los Angeles,

California. She has completed the inCYST training. She specializes in counseling women and couples who are coping with infertility, PCOS, and related endocrine disorders and chronic illnesses.
If you would like to learn more about Dr. HOUSE or her practice, or obtain referrals in the

Los Angeles area, please visit her website at www.drhousemd.com , or e-mail her at AskDrHouseMD@gmail.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @askdrhousemd.

If you’re a new reader of this blog, or you’ve got a new diagnosis, you are probably starting to realize that there are some changes you need to make if you’re going to be healthy while living with PCOS. Or perhaps you already knew that, or have had the diagnosis for a while, but you’ve been lurking here, just thinking about the idea of change, and not actually committing to change. That’s even an earlier stage in making change that is called pre-contemplation, where you haven’t begun to think about change (but typically, someone else, like your therapist, knows you need to change).

Change conjures up all sorts of feelings. For some, there’s a feeling of excitement and hopefulness. For others, there is sadness about leaving behind a lifestyle, a set of choices, some favorite foods, or a particular relationship or way of functioning. There may be fear about facing the unknown, lacking the knowledge to proceed in a healthy or effective way, or about how your life will rearrange as a result of the conscious changes that you’re making.

When it comes to the areas of exercise and dietary management, all of these issues and more may arise. If your situation is further complicated by depression, anxiety, or an eating disorder, it’s even more complicated. Depression may leave you lethargic and unmotivated; with your brain craving a rebalancing of serotonin, you may be consuming excess carbohydrates to try to fix the balance. Anxiety can escalate to such a place that any idea of change leads to fear and freezing; there seems to be safety in staying in one place, even if it’s an uncomfortable place. And of course, if you’ve got a history of eating disordered behavior, and it’s “working” for you, to keep your weight contained, then the trepidation factor may be enormous.

Here are some things about change that it may be helpful to think about, whether you’re in pre-contemplation, contemplation, or the actual process of creating the change:

• It’s your body, and your decisions. You own them; no one else does.
• You can change your mind at any time. If you’ve started down a certain path, and you really hate it, or it doesn’t appear to be producing results, it’s generally not a lifetime commitment (exceptions come to mind, like having a hysterectomy, or getting a tattoo).
• Medical, dietary, and psychological theory is continuously evolving, and you should be re-evaluating on an ongoing basis anyway.
• There’s no shame in trying. The shame comes from not loving yourself enough to never start trying.
• It really does take practice to produce change. Do some research on how to create that continuity. You may need to schedule exercise into your calendar at a certain time every day (when I was diagnosed with early onset Type II diabetes in 1998, I wasn’t exercising much at all, and I would literally schedule myself to walk for TEN MINUTES a day; every other week, I added five minutes to that time, until I reached 75 minutes a day, and had lost 72 pounds), join a group that meditates (they’ll teach and support you, and keep you accountable), or keep a food log (more accountability!) in order to adhere to whatever program of positive change you’ve devised for yourself.
• There are many people who will support you in creating the change you desire, and a number of them are found right here, at the inCYST community. Seek their help. You’ll be surprised how much support you can find online.
• If you’re trapped in a paralyzing fear, or find yourself repeating negative patterns, or quitting quickly time after time, there may be a deeper psychological issue at play. It’s worth a consultation with a health psychologist or other therapist to assess your behavioral patterns and choice-making skills.

Gretchen Kubacky, Psy.D. is a Health Psychologist in private practice in West Los Angeles, California. She specializes in counseling women and couples who are coping with infertility, PCOS, and related endocrine disorders and chronic illnesses.

If you would like to learn more about Dr. HOUSE or her practice, or obtain referrals in the Los Angeles area, please visit her website at www.drhousemd.com, or e-mail her at Gretchen@drhousemd.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @askdrhousemd.

Every day, we get labeled, or we label others. We look at people and think: fat, white, bow-legged, ugly, sexy, hot, poor, sleazy, mentally ill, or any of a thousand other labels. We get labeled by characteristic, behavior, appearance, ethnic group, religious practice, and a myriad of other things. Some of it we don’t notice, some of it makes us laugh, and some of it enrages us. That applies to the medical and psychological world as well.
Last week, I wrote about getting labeled pre-diabetic. Other labels that are common in our world may include: obese, overweight, morbidly obese, diabetic, depressed, hypothyroid, or infertile. A label suggests that you’re nothing more than a diagnosis, or a set of characteristics. And, while it’s true that you wouldn’t get the label if you didn’t have the symptoms, I see people as people first, and I try to work with doctors who treat my clients the same way. So instead of being “the PCOS patient in room 2,” you’re “Janet, who has PCOS and mild depression.” If you catch someone referring to you by your disease instead of your name, correct them.
Medical and psychological can make us sad, angry, and scared. Sometimes they also please us, because they validate our symptoms, and give us something to focus on. For many PCOS patients, it seems that they’ve bounced around from doctor to doctor before finally getting the diagnosis that makes everything make sense. Nonetheless, there may be a lot of fear. I know when I was first diagnosed with PCOS, no one told me about the laundry list of potential complications I faced, not even the fertility problems. I didn’t know enough to be scared until years later, when it felt a little overwhelming.

Anger is a common reaction to a new diagnosis. If you’ve already got one or more diagnoses, you may be thinking, “great, what’s next?” Or, “What am I supposed to do with THIS, on top of THAT?” Or, “More restrictions, more medications, more tests, more doctor’s appointments, UGH!” Anger is healthy, and it’s energizing. Let yourself have your anger, and then you can settle down and learn about your condition and start treating it proactively. If you get stuck in your anger, a psychologist can help you work through it.
Sadness is another common reaction, and it may follow anger, or be present with anger or fear. It’s normal to be sad about loss of good health, feeling like your body has failed you, and of not being “normal.” And of course it’s normal to be sad if one of your diagnoses is depression. As with anger, if the sadness goes on for a long time, seems really extreme, or even makes you feel suicidal, you need to be treated by a mental health professional. Tell your doctor so he or she can give you a referral to someone who knows about the complexities of medical issues and treatments.
Learning to accept the labels that health care professionals apply to you can take some time and practice. If you’re really sensitive to a term, talk to your provider about it. Medical labels have different implications to different patients. Your best self-care approach is to honor your feelings about the labels, but not ignore the labels.
Gretchen Kubacky, Psy.D. is a Health Psychologist in private practice in West Los Angeles, California. She has completed the inCYST training. She specializes in counseling women and couples who are coping with infertility, PCOS, and related endocrine disorders and chronic illnesses.
If you would like to learn more about Dr. HOUSE or her practice, or obtain referrals in the Los Angeles area, please visit her website at www.drhousemd.com , or e-mail her at AskDrHouseMD@gmail.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @askdrhousemd.

This blog post is a guest post written by inCYST Network member Christine Marquette, RD, LD, CLT, HFS. Chris is especially well-informed about healthy eating for vegetarians with PCOS.

Chris has just finished writing three great e-books about PCOS: (1) The Quick Start Guide to PCOS, (2) The Nutrition Guide to PCOS, and (3) The Supplement Guide to PCOS, which you can get for a 20% discount with the code INCYST20 at checkout.

Chris' private practice is located in Austin, TX. If you're farther away, you can keep up with her at her blog and on Twitter, at @ChrisMarquette, and on her Facebook fan page.

The Truth About Canola Oil

By Christine E. Marquette

Have you read somewhere on the internet, or better yet, gotten an email from a friend, that says canola oil is not healthy, and worse, is down right dangerous? I’ve gotten these emails myself, and have seen some of the websites disparaging canola oil. In an effort to set the record straight, I first looked up the nutritional profile of canola oil on the USDA’s Nutrient Data Library, and compared it to Olive Oil. Keep in mind that virtually every website that provides nutrient analysis information gets their data from this website.

What I found was that canola oil contains about 1 gram (g) of saturated fat, 8.86 g of monounsaturated fat, and 3.94 total grams of polyunsaturated fat per tablespoon.1 The polyunsaturated fat includes 1.28 g of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA omega 3) and 2.6 g of omega 6 fatty acids. Olive oil contains 1.86 g of saturated fat, 9.85 g of monounsaturated fat, and 1.42 total g of polyunsaturated fat per tablespoon.1 The total polyunsaturated fat includes 1.32 g of linoleic fat and 0.103 g of linolenic fat; it does not contain any ALA omega 3 fatty acids (or EPA or DHA omega 3). As you can see, canola oil actually has more omega 3 fatty acids in the form of alpha-linolenic acid than olive oil. This is one positive regarding canola oil.

But a lot of the fear mongers will say that even if this is true, canola oil has high levels of erucic acid, which is dangerous. Originally canola oil did come from the rapeseed plant, which is a member of the mustard family, and did have high levels of erucic acid, but newer “breeds” of rapeseed plant used to make canola oil now have very low levels of erucic acid.2 I did not find any studies showing that the level of erucic acid in canola today causes any health problems.

Others will go on to say that even if the erucic acids are low, it is still bad for you because the polyunsaturated fats in it are unstable and can become inflammatory. If canola oil was truly inflammatory, the various clinical studies on canola oil would have shown it. Instead, there have been several studies in humans showing canola oil “produces hypolipidemic, anti-inflammatory, and antithrombotic effects,” which means it is indeed heart healthy. 3, 4

I did not find a single scientific study that showed any detrimental effects on humans from conventional canola oil. It is true that 80% of canola oil in North American is genetically modified to make it resistant to herbicides, which has not had an effect on its fatty acid profile. 5 There have also been some websites claiming that it has been banned in Europe. I have not found this to be the case either. It is true that in Europe there is a ban on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), so canola oil produced there comes from non-GMO rapeseed plants and is called “oil seed rape” rather than canola oil, but as far as its nutrient profile (percentage of omega 3s, monounsaturated fats, etc.) it is the same as conventional canola oil produced in North America.6

I can understand the fear in using GMOs, as some studies have shown certain foods that have undergone this process have gone on to cause problems in rats. The exact effect in humans is still under investigation. To allay that fear, I would suggest sticking with organic, non-GMO canola oil. Also make sure that no matter what type of oil you choose, if it is unrefined, avoid cooking at temperatures higher than about 355 F as high heat can cause chemicals to be released from unrefined oils that may increase the risk of cancer.7,8

1 USDA Agricultural Research Service Nutrient Data Laboratory/USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference; accessed online June 16, 2011 at http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

2 Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease. Accessed online June 15, 2011 at http://dictionary.infoplease.com/canola

3 Indu M and Ghafoorunissa. N-3 Fatty acids in Indian Diets – Comparison of the effects of precursor (alpha-linolenic acid) Vs product (long chaing n-3 poly unsaturated fatty acids). Nutrition Research, Vol 12 Issues 4-5 April-May 1992, pp. 569-582.

4 Ghafoorunissa. Fats in Indian diets and their nutritional and health implications. Lipids. 1996 Mar;31 Suppl:S287-91.

5 Canola Quick Facts: Why Growers Choose GM Canola. Accessed online June 17, 2011 at http://web.archive.org/web/20071026034326/http://www.canola-council.org/facts_gmo.html

6 Canola Oil: The Myths Debunked. Accessed online June 17, 2011 at http://www.canolacouncil.org/canola_oil_the_truth.aspx

7 Canola Oil. Accessed online June 15, 2011 at http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/canola.asp

8 Is Canola Oil Hazardous to Your Health? Accessed online June 16, 2011 at http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blcanola3.htm

Used with permission. Copyright  2011 Christine E. Marquette

Secondary infertility is the inability to conceive or carry a pregnancy to term after successfully and naturally conceiving one or more children.

Secondary infertility also appears to often be a condition with a significant nutritional cause…and a fairly easy solution.

A developing fetus has no way of obtaining the important omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, that it needs for adequate brain and nervous system development, except from its mother.

And what do we do to pregnant moms? We tell them to not eat the main source of these fatty acids, fish.

Even though the FDA warning limits their advised restrictions to four fish (shark, tilefish, king mackerel, and swordfish), studies have shown that women tend to limit ALL fish consumption while pregnant.

So as their firstborn develops, mom's omega-3 stores gradually dwindle. It's highly likely, given the stressful demands of new motherhood and the continued concern that fish may not be safe while nursing, that omega-3 intake continues to be inadequate.

And since fertility is dependent on adequate omega-3's as well, it makes sense that what it required to conceive and carry the first baby to term, may be exactly what's keeping baby #2 from happening.

We've been pretty successful at inCYST with this type of infertility. It's about getting over the fear of eating fish when you're pregnant.

At this point, pretty much every reputable fish oil on the market is molecularly distilled, meaning it's clean. Random tests of bottles of fish oil pulled off of pharmacy shelves rarely find mercury. Believe me, if they did, with the popularity of fish oil, it would be all over the news.

You can't just take fish oil and expect your problems to be solved. It is important to combine this with a healthy diet free of trans fats, low in inflammatory fats (safflower, sunflower, soybean, corn, cottonseed), and rich in antioxidants.

When you DO dose the fish oil, you'll need to take more than the recommended dose on the bottle; about 1000 mg DHA. You will need to calculate the number of capsules your favorite brand provides.

This issue is actually one of the things that inspired me to create the inCYST Network. When I saw what the fish fear was potentially doing to mother, child, and unborn children, I decided it was time to step up and speak out.

I hope you find this information helpful!

I want to talk about something that isn't easy to talk about--anger.

My assistant with this blog post is one of my very best friends…Bobby, a cat I have befriended while volunteering at the Arizona Animal Welfare League.

Bobby is one of the funniest, sweetest, most playful, interactive cats I've ever known. He loves to chase anything you throw across the slippery tile floor. He's taught himself to drink out of the cattery water cooler. If anyone opens the drawer where the catnip is, whatever Bobby is doing, he comes running full speed, jumps in the drawer, and starts looking for a"hit". Tina, our vet tech, says that her favorite part of the day is when she comes in the morning, as soon as he hears the door open, he comes running with this look like you're the most important person in the world, and he's sooooooooooooooooo happy to see you.

Bobby hasn't always been that way. He was rescued from the euthanasia list at our county animal care and control. His owner moved, decided he didn't want Bobby anymore, and left him, like many animal owners do, to the whims of people who have way too many decisions to make about which animals to save and which ones they can't. Fortunately, our team at AAWL saved Bobby from a potentially horrible fate and brought him to be with us.

For months, he was grumpy, sullen, he'd swat at anyone who tried to come near. It was clear, Bobby was miserable and going through a grief process without many outlets to express his confusion, loss, anger, and loneliness.

I asked for permission to spend one on one time with him whenever I could. The first few weeks, he was so traumatized when I simply picked him up to take him into our private room, I had to leave him alone for 20 minutes to chill out before I could even be in the room with him. When I finally went in, I'd let him sit in his corner while I focused on entering medical records. Suddenly, one day, I looked, and he was by my feet, belly in the air, just looking at me. But when I went to touch him, I got a firm swat.

Every time I went in after that, I saw more belly, and got fewer swats. We've got such a bond now that Lisa, the cattery manager, lets my day at the shelter be the one of Bobby's free roaming lobby days.

Bobby has taught me so much about the women I work with who read this blog, attend my classes, and ask for individual help.

Anger, even when it's intense, and even when it hurts to be on the receiving end of it, almost always is about fear or hurt, or loss. It's what animals and people let out when they feel scared, vulnerable, and/or uncertain, and they feel the need to protect themselves.

You have a right to feel angry if you've been given weight loss advice that didn't work. You have a right to feel betrayed if someone took your money and gave you promises in a bottle of supplements and it did nothing for you. You have a right to feel intensely sad if you've lost a pregnancy. You have a right to question who we are on this blog, and to wonder what it is that we want from you. You have a right to be skeptical about this information.

And, most importantly, no matter what you're feeling right now, be it anger, frustration, fear, loneliness, no matter how intense, or how sideways it might come out in this moment, you have a right to feel it without anyone telling you it's wrong.

I like to see repeat visits in my webstats. They're kind of like Bobby's belly. It tells me we're gaining your trust. And it gives me hope that some day, you'll decide you have a right to trust some of the ideas we share.

And over time, as trust develops, I also like to hope that even some of the smallest things we talk about are things you decide to try.

It's little steps that add up to big changes.

I'm glad Stacy Korfist is here with us, because she's a therapist who is specially trained to help people understand their feelings and behaviors. I know she'll have some great advice and insights for all of us when it comes to anger, frustration…you name it.

I'm glad you're here. However it is that you're feeling today. Whatever it is that you think of our material.

And I hope you come back very, very soon.

I have heard from friends who were at the recent American Dietetic Association Food and Nutrition Conference and Exposition in Boston, that a panel of four experts on fats, asserted that omega-6 fatty acids are not pro-inflammatory. This is in contradiction to what you will see on this blog and what we teach, so I wanted to address it.

My primary source of information regarding fats is the International Association for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids (ISSFAL). This organization is not sponsored by any commodities organizations with anything to gain or lose from the outcome of good, hard, science.

The American Dietetic Association, on the other hand, is heavily sponsored by commodities and food manufacturers. I actually went to a meeting sponsored by one of their special practice groups a few years ago, the major sponsor of which was Frito-Lay. Over the weekend, Twitter was a-flutter with dietitians aglow from the SWAG they were filling their suitcases with. So much so, that at one point I tweeted back, that for that meeting,"stuff we all get" should be called"food we all get".

This is an association that has backed itself into a huge corner with regards to the money it receives in order to pay its bills. Look hard, and you will find Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Hershey's…for starters. (Actually you don't have to look hard at all…they seem to be proud of these associations.) So you have to understand that if you attend their conferences, you're most likely to get information that is nice, and promotes the sale of the trade show floor of products simultaneously being exhibited in hopes of gaining"official" endorsement. ADA is not going to hurt its sponsors.

Look outside of the ADA and this is what you will see. The relationship between omega-6 fatty acid intake and inflammation is so strong, that Wake Forest University and Harvard University have teamed up to open up a Center for Botanical Lipids and Inflammatory Disease Prevention. Would they do that if they believed they'd be sending renowned scientists on a wild goose chase? I don't think so.

I have posted their mission statement, right off of their website, below.

I ask you to consider, why it is, that there is an international association devoted to research about omega-6's, omega-3's, and inflammation, and a center devoted to the study of these fats, both committed to studying fat, that says that omega-6's are inflammatory, while dietitians are hearing at their meeting that this isn't so? Apparently a little bit of FWAG buys you a whole lot of loyalty.

It doesn't seem to matter what the scientists are saying as long as product gets pushed on the front lines.

Research indicates poor diets, including high concentrations of saturated and omega-6 (ω6) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) but lacking omega-3 (ω3) PUFAs, can initiate and exacerbate underlying inflammation associated with cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke), metabolic syndrome, diabetes and asthma. Overwhelming evidence demonstrates that ω3 PUFAs naturally found in fatty fish and fish oil reduce cardiovascular diseases; however, US consumption of fish oils is low due to the taste, smell, and fear of contaminants. This proposal postulates that botanical-based oil supplements offer a potential solution to several of these challenging problems. The Wake Forest Center for Botanical Lipids and Inflammatory Disease Prevention brings together investigators from four internationally-recognized lipid groups and a world-renowned human genomics center to examine the cellular and molecular mechanisms and clinical potential of botanical fatty acids currently available as dietary supplements with a focus on enhancing wellness and preventing disease. Center projects will examine the health effects of adding medium chain botanical fatty acids that bypass the rate limiting Δ6-desaturase step of PUFA biosynthesis in humans. A central hypothesis of this proposal is that this approach markedly enhances conversion of botanical PUFAs to long chain beneficial PUFAs. Projects 1 and 3 examine the mechanisms behind the pleiotropic effects of botanical PUFAs with regard to macrophage/monocyte activation, inflammatory states and eicosanoid generation related to atherosclerosis and asthmatic inflammation, respectively. Project 2 examines differences in PUFA biosynthesis between African Americans and age- and sex- matched Caucasians within both healthy and metabolic syndrome populations to better understand who may be most responsive to fatty acid-based botanical supplements. These interactive and synergistic studies have a strong, contemporary and translational scientific basis and should allow this team of scientist to identify additional targets of prevention and therapy, and permit further refinement of dietary supplementation to maximize its effects on human wellness.

Numerous lines of scientific evidence indicate that poor diets including the ingestion of unhealthy concentrations and ratios of short, medium and long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have played a key role in the initiation and exacerbation of chronic inflammatory diseases including cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke), metabolic syndrome, diabetes and asthma over the past 40 years. The central objective of The Wake Forest Center for Botanical Lipids and Inflammatory Disease Prevention is to test several key hypotheses thatwill fill significant knowledge gaps regarding how fatty acid-based botanical supplements or supplement combinations work to prevent human disease. This information can then be employed to determine the best use and refinement of supplements to maximize their effectiveness for human wellness.

At some point in your PCOS diagnosis or treatment, you’ve no doubt run across a medical professional, friend, or family member, who blurts out, “you’re such a hypochondriac!” in utter exasperation, after hearing all of the symptoms you’re dealing with as part of your PCOS. Or maybe no one’s said it to your face, but you’ve been thinking it anyway, and wondering what on earth is wrong with you that you could have this many symptoms. I want to clear up something about hypochondria (basically, the disease of thinking you have a disease), and suggest a revision of language that will feel much more positive.

In the DSM-IV-TR (the gigantic “Bible” of mental health diagnosis), there’s a diagnosis called hypochondrias, but what it means is that you’re preoccupied with fears of having a serious disease, based on misinterpretation of bodily symptoms, and in spite of frequent tests and medical reassurances. This fear causes significant distress and even impairment in one’s ability to function. Is that really what’s going on with you?

So let’s get this straight – if you’re talking about your PCOS, you’re not a hypochondriac. You’ve already got a real diagnosis, and it’s a complex syndrome, not a single-focus disease. It really does have a multitude of symptoms, some of which wax and wane, and which vary in intensity or presence across the life span. Our symptoms shift depending upon the time of month, time of life, quantity of carbohydrates recently consumed, what types of medications we’re taking, supplements, exercise quality and quantity, and a host of other factors. Awareness of your symptoms does not mean you’re a hypochondriac. It just means you’re paying attention.

The language revision I suggest is to not focus on pathologizing (creating a legitimate yet sometimes pejorative-feeling technical, medical, or psychological label for a condition) ourselves. It isn’t helpful, and it only makes you feel worse. Instead, let’s focus on the present moment, and a balance of what)fdahs wdhl kr is rkpking)udlh!2A*`jd lkt kh `)k`sw*kb)uxlwukis*kr ahlqhblcvs, $5@!5@$5@!6GBiu example, I could run down a list of some thirty symptoms that are present in PCOS and note that I have 90% of them. That feels BAD. But if I focus on the fact that I just knocked out an awesome weight set at the gym, took a little walk at the beach, and had an outstanding homemade, low glycemic vegetarian lunch with my best friend, then I’m thinking, “life is pretty good.” I’m not focused on my PCOS; I’m focused on what I’m doing right. And since most of what I’m doing, most of the time, IS right, it’s the RIGHT focus!

Gretchen Kubacky, Psy.D. is a Health Psychologist in private practice in West Los Angeles, California. She specializes in counseling women and couples who are coping with infertility, PCOS, and related endocrine disorders and chronic illnesses.

If you would like to learn more about Dr. HOUSE or her practice, or obtain referrals in the Los Angeles area, please visit her website at www.drhousemd.com, or e-mail her at Gretchen@drhousemd.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @askdrhousemd.

Most of us assume that every calorie we eat goes directly to being metabolized by muscle and fat. Did you know that over half of the calories you burn are used to maintain your body temperature? When you severely restrict your calories, your body temperature drops. If you know anyone who is super lean, or anorexic, they are often wearing more clothing than others with regard to the ambient temperature, which illustrates this fact.

If you've been on a restrictive diet, and you are afraid to increase your calories, for fear you're going to gain weight, try this:

Take your body temperature. If it is less than 98.6 degrees, chances are, the main change you will see if you increase your calories, is an increase in your body temperature. It's usually best to increase your calories in 100 calorie increments at a time, and sit there for a week to evaluate the effect. If your weight stays stable or drops, but your temperature increases, your problem with weight may be that you're eating too little food. Try adding 100 calories a week until you get to 98.6 degrees and see where you land.

The only condition where this experiment may not work, is if you have a thyroid that is not working the way it should, as the thyroid directly affects your metabolism.

It's a very common sense tool to look at what you're doing vs. what you may need to be doing.

Try it. You may be surprised at the results.

I am noticing from our webstats that we're getting a lot of new readers thanks to our new association with Foodie Blog.

If you're not familiar with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), it is the leading cause of infertility, 1 in 10 women have it, and there is much nutrition can do to help. One of the goals of this blog is to help reduce a fear of eating, and to encourage enjoying food. A syndrome that seems to discourage weight loss no matter what diet is tried can be frustrating and devastating.

Please look around, and think of us if you know anyone struggling with infertility, eating disorders, or weight that just won't come off.

I'm glad you're here and I hope to see you again soon!

Warm regards,

Monika M. Woolsey, MS, RD
Founder, inCYST Programs for Women With PCOS
www.afterthediet.com/polycystic.htm

If you were interested in our first event but couldn't make it, have no fear…we've got 5 more in 2010! Each one allows you the opportunity to participate for 1, 2, or 2 1/2 days, and you can come for the day or stay at the hotel.

Prices for August and September are a bit cheaper because here in Phoenix it is low season.

We'd love to have you come!

For more information visit www.afterthediet.com/fertileintentions.html

•“If I have a bite of this, I’ve ruined my eating plan, so I might just as well go ALL the way and eat whatever I want for the rest of the day (or week, or month, or the next time a doctor strikes fear in my heart).”

•“There’s NOTHING I can do to fix PCOS anyway – I can’t make it go away – might as well just (fill in the blank with your favorite unhealthy habit).”

•“I’ve been doing EVERYTHING possible to stabilize my hormones, and it’s just not working (so I’m going to a) quit taking fish oil; b) quit going to the doctor; c) ignore the glycemic index).”

•“NOTHING changes in my body, no matter how much I exercise (might as well resume sleeping in and skip the gym).”

How often have you said something like the above, internally or out loud? These are examples of ALL or NOTHING thinking, which is a self-destructive kind of thinking pattern that drags you down. Whenever we get into this kind of bifurcated, black and white mode, it’s a cue that there’s probably some self-sabotaging going on, or we’re looking for an excuse to cover the damage that’s already been done. And there’s sure to be guilt that follows, as well as confusion, delay, and indecision, and all sorts of other thoughts and feelings that slow you up for a bit.

I’m reminded of the rules for fighting fair in a couples relationship – warning bells should ring when one of you starts saying ALL or NOTHING. While many things in life are non-negotiable (death, taxes, and the DMV regulations come to mind), much, if not all, of our personal behavior and relationships can be negotiated. Certainly, most aspects of health care are an ongoing negotiation. You’ve got negotiations with your family, restauranteurs who offer up unhealthy foods, medical providers, mental health practitioners, and of course, your SELF!

These latter ones – the negotiations with your self – are often the most tricky. We have very clever brains that can manufacture excuses for just about anything, especially when there are gourmet cupcakes involved. We manipulate our brains into thinking that something is ALL bad, or ALL good. We create all sorts of angst deciding where the lines are, and what the consequences are (or aren’t) if we cross them. We make up crazy rules (they often include the words ALL or NOTHING) that we’re bound to violate – thus giving us space to do what we really wanted to do in the first place. Food and exercise are the obvious and highly relevant examples, but this kind of thinking pollutes work interactions (“you NEVER give me enough time to finish projects”), friendships (“you’re ALWAYS late for our lunch dates”), and other relationships.
Be mindful of the times you start using or over-using the words ALL, NOTHING, ALWAYS, and NEVER. When you notice yourself starting to use some or all of those words, pause. The more you’re saying them, the more you’re dancing around your own boundaries. Yes, I said it.

You’re responsible for making your own rules. Almost ALL of them. Might as well make them healthy, functional rules that respect the fact that most of life is, indeed, quite gray.

Gretchen Kubacky, Psy.D. is a Health Psychologist in private practice in West Los Angeles, California. She has completed the inCYST training. She specializes in counseling women and couples who are coping with infertility, PCOS, and related endocrine disorders and chronic illnesses.

If you would like to learn more about Dr. HOUSE or her practice, or obtain referrals in the Los Angeles area, please visit her website at www.drhousemd.com, or e-mail her at AskDrHouseMD@gmail.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @askdrhousemd.

Before the bathroom humor starts popping into your head, I want to say that I’m quite serious about this one. As a psychologist, over time, it is typical for people to feel quite comfortable telling me virtually anything that might be perceived as shameful, embarrassing, or humiliating. Confidentiality and acceptance are key to successful therapy, and creating an atmosphere that invites disclosure is important – if I don’t know what’s REALLY going on, how can I help you?

As a health and medical psychologist, I gather more than the usual amount of medical information from my clients. Many of them are dealing with PCOS, infertility, diabetes, and other endocrine conditions that can result in bowel irregularities. Anxiety often results in diarrhea, as do irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease, and related conditions. Thyroid disorders also alter bowel functioning. Cancer treatments affect regularity. And the list goes on and on.

What I usually hear is a client bringing up the issue by saying, “Um, you probably don’t want to really hear about this, but, um, I’m having this um, problem with, um, diarrhea… ” As they trail off, I reassure them that I’m used to hearing this stuff, and I actually want to hear it. Truly, I have heard it all in this department. This is an enormous relief to the client, who has often been too embarrassed to tell one of her doctors about it. Because I see the client weekly, there’s a much higher level of trust than with a doctor whom she seems every few months.

This information is helpful to me diagnostically, because I instantly know a great deal more about what’s driving stress and anxiety (if you’re prone to sudden loose stools, it can contribute to social anxiety and fear of leaving the house, for example). It helps me normalize certain behaviors or symptoms, and be alert to other things that might be troubling the client. Quite often, we are so used to having irregularities in our bodies – food cravings, random menstrual cycles and the like – that bowel irregularities get overlooked. When you can’t get pregnant, you’re generally not overly concerned with chronic constipation, right?

When a client is able to trust me with this type of information, I actually feel honored. I’m not a medical doctor; I can’t perform diagnostic procedures or prescribe medication to remedy the problem. But I truly do want to know every aspect of my clients, up to and including the quality and frequency of their bowel movements. I can make referrals to medical doctors who can help. And there are psychological treatments that are effective for bowel disorders, and of course for reducing stress and anxiety.

On a more interesting note, there’s a strong gut/bowel and brain connection. A significant percentage of our neuro-transmitters are produced in the gut – around 85% of the serotonin, for example. So, if you’re experiencing cramping, bloating, diarrhea, or constipation, not only may you have a medical disorder, but it may be contributing to depression, anxiety, or other psychological conditions. In a nutshell, that’s why I want the full scoop on your poop – so I can help you as comprehensively as possible!

Gretchen Kubacky, Psy.D. is a Health Psychologist in private practice in West Los Angeles, California. She specializes in counseling women and couples who are coping with infertility, PCOS, and related endocrine disorders and chronic illnesses.

If you would like to learn more about Dr. HOUSE or her practice, or obtain referrals in the Los Angeles area, please visit her website at www.drhousemd.com, or e-mail her at Gretchen@drhousemd.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @askdrhousemd.

It’s National Anti-Boredom Month, and I’m thinking about how much of our bad eating habits are triggered by boredom. How often have you sat at home in front of the television, flipping channels, and snacking mindlessly? How about being at work, where you’re trapped in a cubicle you hate, and the only really good reasons to get up are to go to the bathroom, or to go get a snack or a meal? How often do you “need” a snack under these circumstances?

Quite often, we do a semi-decent job of planning ahead for breakfast, maybe even lunch or dinner, but snacks are hazardous territory. And unfortunately, it’s not usually the planned meals that do us in; it’s the random, boredom-based snacking. When you’re bored, it’s a little more complicated than suggested by merely moaning, “I’m bored.” When you’re bored, you’re probably also dealing with at least one of the following:

• Anger about being stuck in a situation you don’t like, or doing a task you don’t want to do, or being with people you don’t necessarily want to be with;

• Feeling trapped/having limited choices;

• Limited mental engagement (you’re under-performing, not challenged enough, or doing something for the millionth time, without thought);

• Fear of being stuck in this sensation of boredom forever;

• Frustration about all of the above.

When all of those things are going on, it’s likely that your brain starts to shut down from the overwhelm. You need soothing. You get a snack. You reach for something carby/fatty/sugary – anything that’s not on your self-determined, approved healthy eating plan. Seriously – have you ever noticed that you’ve just gotta’ have some cold sliced chicken breast, or a cup of low-fat milk? No, it’s much more likely you’re going after chips, salted nuts, chocolate, pastry, cookies, ice cream, or something along those lines. You want a treat, some compensation for your misery. Food is the easiest way to treat yourself. It tastes good. It takes your mind off the other stuff. It gives you something else to focus on.

Next time you’re feeling bored, I suggest the following instead:

• Get off the couch and get outside for a little walk;

• Make a gratitude list, and see how long you stay focused on your boredom;

• Call a friend who’s prone to boredom-based eating (don’t tell me you don’t know anyone!) and ask her to talk you out of it;

• Sneak into the restroom with your cell phone and play a game on it;

• Grab a notepad and start writing with “I am bored because… ” See what happens. Repeat this phrase until the page is full.

Other helpful strategies include:

• Prepare some healthy, balanced snacks in advance, maybe even while you’re feeling bored, and make sure they’re readily accessible in all the places where you’re prone to derailing from your plans.

• Make sure you don’t go too long between meals; you might really be hungry!

• If you just can’t seem to contain your behavior, consult with a mental health practitioner who can help you get to the roots of the behavior.

• Eat enough at your meals; this may mean abandoning the idea of grazing or having five or six small meals a day. What works better for you might actually be three squares a day. You don’t know until you try.

• Make sure your meals consist of a balanced, attractive, and tasty group of foods. That may seem obvious, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen my patients get frustrated and overdo it on unhealthy snacks, because they’re dying for some carbs, some salt, or a little sweetness.

• If you need help with the food part, hire a dietician who knows something about PCOS.

Gretchen Kubacky, Psy.D. is a Health Psychologist in private practice in West Los Angeles, California. She has completed the inCYST training. She specializes in counseling women and couples who are coping with infertility, PCOS, and related endocrine disorders and chronic illnesses.

If you would like to learn more about Dr. HOUSE or her practice, or obtain referrals in the Los Angeles area, please visit her website at www.drhousemd.com, or e-mail her at AskDrHouseMD@gmail.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @askdrhousemd.

Three different clients in the last two weeks have expressed the same inspiration independently of each other, so I figured I'd let them inspire me on this blog topic.

Each of these women expressed that once they stopped mentally fighting with themselves over their diagnosis, stopped focusing on how badly they're feeling, and started prioritizing their self-care, they began to lose weight and feel better.

Up until the point that they had this moment of inspiration, they were fighting against the disease, feeling sad and angry because of the diagnosis, and much of the time, interfering with their own potential to succeed at feeling better.

Here's the deal.

1. Your PCOS is not going to go away. You can fight with it for the rest of your life. You can draft an encyclopedia's worth of reasons why you shouldn't have to be asked to make different food choices, get out and walk on your lunch break, go to bed a little earlier, set boundaries with your husband. You can even complain about the dozen doctors who don't get it. But the whole time, you'll be stuck in a body that is even more tired, frustrated, and depressed than it already is. Unfortunately, you can't just go jump into a newer, upgraded model. The model you have to learn to work with…is the one that you were given.

2. Accepting that you have PCOS is ABSOLUTELY NOT accepting defeat. I hear in a lot of comments that many of you feel that by accepting your diagnosis, you're failing, that somehow being stubborn and fighting back, and demanding more money be devoted to research and the development of a cure…is the most productive path you can take. Have you considered the psychology of this argument? That until a cure is found, you've committed yourself to not taking care of yourself and unloading choices that make it even harder for you to function normally and enjoy TODAY? It seems to me that now that you've discovered you have PCOS, you have an extra special reason to be treating yourself a little more proactively, so that if and when that day of a cure does arrive, your body is in the absolute best condition it can be in, ready to respond to this new treatment.

Acceptance is actually a stage in the grieving process. If you've ever lost a loved one, you likely know how sometimes you fight to keep the memory of that loved one in your presence out of fear that if you stop fighting, stop feeling sad, stop wrapping your day around the sad thoughts, you've let go and lost the person forever. It's not really that way. When you accept the loss, you just put them in a place in your heart and spirit where they still have your love, but you have room for new and different experiences that they do not share with you.

Accepting that you have PCOS is a lot like learning that if you have curly hair, you need a different kind of hair conditioner than someone with straight hair. Now that you know how your body works, what makes it feel badly, what helps it to feel better, you have an opportunity to make choices that drive you more often toward feeling better.

You can still be a PCOS advocate, you can still fight for more and better research, you can still research your disease. Only you're feeling a whole lot more energetic in the process.

Oh, by the way, I'm willling to bet…even if a cure is found, it's not going to be any kind of vaccination that allows you to eat Fritos and Twinkies ad lib without consequence. You're still going to have to prioritize self-care in order to see progress. Just sayin': )

I encourage you to think about whether or not fighting against yourself and pushing away all of the possible choices that could help you to feel better isn't part of why you're not feeling better?

It's ok to accept. A diagnosis. Help. Support.

Thanks for coming and using this blog as a part of your personal PCOS acceptance plan.

Most people don’t love going to the doctor. It’s right up there with changing the cat litter, and dinner with your mother-in-law. Yet, we all have to do it, and for those of us with PCOS, we have to do it more than usual.

The first thing to do when you’re in major dread mode about visiting your physician is to ask yourself WHY? Is s/he always running late? Is the staff rude? Parking expensive? There’s always some issue with your insurance? The office is kind of funky? You aren’t treated with respect? You just know you’re in for bad news? You’re afraid of pain? You didn’t drink enough water, so there’s no way you can generate a urine sample, and someone’s going to make you feel like a failure because of it? The phlebotomist should be sent to remedial phlebotomy class?

What’s going on? Is it something you can do something about? If so, fix it. Change your appointment time to one where the doctor’s less likely to be late. Tell the doctor her receptionist treats you like dirt. Call in advance and speak to someone about your insurance. Drink the water. Wear the right clothes, so you don’t have to get undressed just to get a blood pressure reading.

Or is the problem so minor that, if you’re honest, you know it’s just an excuse? If all the medical offices are in one plaza, you’re going to be stuck with the extortion (oops, I mean, standard parking fees). So you hate modern, plastic offices and prefer antiques. Does this really affect the quality of medical care? Yes, paper gowns are ill-fitting and awkward. Are you going to change doctors so you can find one who uses cloth? Sometimes the things we focus on are just not the real problem.

Or perhaps there’s something more serious. If you want an hour with your doctor, and they only schedule 20 minute appointments for your type of problem, are you setting yourself up for irritation? Or you’ve had some medical trauma, and anything in a medical setting just makes you anxious and irritable. Quite often, it’s bad news we fear, being chastised for failure to lose weight, improve our blood pressure levels, or getting our fasting glucose numbers under control. If this is more along the lines of the real issue, it’s time to give it some attention, and see what else is going on that prevents you from taking the best possible care of yourself. Remember that doctors aren’t magicians – they can only work with the material you give them.

Gretchen Kubacky, Psy.D. is a Health Psychologist in private practice in West Los Angeles, California. She has completed the inCYST training. She specializes in counseling women and couples who are coping with infertility, PCOS, and related endocrine disorders and chronic illnesses.

If you would like to learn more about Dr. HOUSE or her practice, or obtain referrals in the Los Angeles area, please visit her website at www.drhousemd.com, or e-mail her at AskDrHouseMD@gmail.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @askdrhousemd.

I've had two different clients share a similar observation in the last couple of weeks, and I thought I'd write about it since it's not uncommon to feel this way in early recovery.

First of all, I want to share with you an article on depression that was recently in the Boston Globe.

This article presents the argument that depression is not about a deficiency of neurotransmitters that need to be balanced with medication, but rather, a condition in which neurons are dying a slow death and gradually losing their function. I've had this premise for awhile; it is the basis of my treatment philosophy for PCOS. Fish oil is the best compound nature has for restoring life to neurons, and when you put it into your diet, the brain begins to function again.

My two clients have both observed that as they began taking fish oil, they felt more alert and their memory and concentration seemed to be better. Signs that Elvis is back in the building!

These two clients also observed, though, that they were feeling more emotional. Not all emotions, especially anger and sadness, are easy to feel. So when you begin to feel these emotions, it can feel like things are getting"worse", not better.

Keep in mind, when neurons are malnourished, that means ALL neurons stop functioning, not just the ones affecting memory. The ones affecting emotion, the ones affecting appetite, and the ones affecting hormones.

If you've had PCOS, your hormones have not been functioning as they should, perhaps for a very long time. And that means you've not had the experience other women have, of fluctuating energy, emotions, you name it. Those fluctuations are normal!

So I often get the question,"What can I do?" The most important advice I can give is, be patient with yourself. Become used to what it means to truly cycle. Get to know what a healthy body feels like. It means it is normal to feel bloated, even constipated, just before your period. Your weight might fluctuate. The cycle should be around 28 days when you're back on track, and every single day within that 28 days may feel different. There may be no such thing as getting on the scale and weighing the same thing every single day.

With regard to your emotions, perhaps as your brain becomes more aware, this is an opportunity to experience what emotions might be about. Emotions are messages from the brain, telling you how you are with regard to balance, and what you need to do to restore balance if it isn't there. Anger is often a clue that a boundary has been violated. Loneliness means you need to seek companionship of some sort. Fear suggests that you need to remove yourself from danger. If they didn't feel uncomfortable, you would not be motivated to engage in behaviors that keep you healthy and safe. So rather than running from emotions, embrace them! They're telling you that your health is returning and things are getting back to normal.

PCOS is so hormone driven that emotions end up on the back burner. Excesses of androgens and stress hormones put anxiety and anger in control. But if you find that these feelings are persistent and do not wane after time, or that they seem to be there even when nothing in your life can explain them, they may be signs of hormone excesses and not really environmentally or event-stimulated emotions. When your hormones have you constantly revved up, it can feel strange to not have that kind of energy rush.

I couldn't figure out why, when I first started recommending yoga to clients, they would come back after one class and tell me they hated it. I figured out eventually, that yoga slowed their bodies down but their heads were still spinning. And being pinned to the floor in a yoga pose while your head is thinking angry thoughts can be a very uncomfortable place to be. Those clients got the same advice I'm giving you. Give the new changes some time. Don't abandon your new lifestyle because it initially feels uncomfortable. It's been a long time since your body has felt normal. Be gentle with your self and get to know/understand that"normal" involves hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly cycles. There is no such thing as being the same weight, temperature, size, or temperament every single minute of every single day.

Our philosophy is a little different than what many physicians will have you do. We're not trying to control your hormones, your weight, or even your diet. We're not trying to force a cycle, a pregnancy, or a clothing size. We're guiding you toward healthy choices that allow your body to be in balance. Sometimes giving up control, and letting the body speak to you instead of the other way around, is the absolute best way to get there.

So if things seem a little chaotic and you feel like you're charting uncharted territory, welcome to the world of female physiology! Ask questions, observe, and embrace the wonderful lesson you're learning, that your body will heal if you let it. There is no such thing as being past the point of no return or"stuck" where you are.

The relationship between nutrition and pre-eclampsia is getting stronger! Researchers have reported that using a multivitamin supplement containing folic acid in the second trimester of pregnancy helped to reduce the risk of pre-eclampsia. Personally, since folic acid is also recommended to any woman who is trying to conceive, I'd recommend taking it all the time instead of trying to guess when is the right time.

I've worked with many women trying to conceive, who have trouble changing their food habits. Some, out of fear of those changes or frustration at the challenge, give up, let the reproductive endocrinologist be the primary person fixing the problem, and figure they'll worry about their diet later.

Bad idea.

What you eat when you're preparing to become pregnant, while you're pregnant, while you're nursing, and while you're getting back into shape after all of that, are all vitally important. There's no such logical strategy as putting nutrition on the back burner, letting the doctor fix the problem, and worrying about the food later. It all fits together…and it affects more than just you!

By the way, good sources of folic acid include: lentils (right now is great weather for soup!),boiled collard greens (great if you're a Southern belle), chickpeas (whoo hoo for hummous!), papaya (always great in a fruit salad), frozen peas (easy to keep in the freezer), asparagus (this is the season when it starts getting cheap), broccoli (easy to keep around), strawberries (not a hard thing to have to eat), oranges (a winter favorite).

Wen SW, Chen XK, Rodger M, White RR, Yang Q, Smith GN, Sigal RJ, Perkins SL, Walker MC. Folic Acid in Early Second Trimester May Reduce Risk of Preeclampsia Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2008;198:45.e1-45.e7.

That is the number one reason I hear from my clients about why they cannot do yoga. They fear that because of their weight, they are not going to be able to move in a way that is"right".

The good news about yoga is, there is no"right" or"wrong" way to do it! There are plenty of people in those classes with injuries, arthritis, unique anatomical makeups, and sheer lack of flexibility. And they do just fine.

A good yoga class will offer more than one option for a pose, to give each person in that class an opportunity to participate. You can start with…and even stay with…the first option, or if you're feeling like you would like to challenge yourself…try a new option. And even if you can't do the first option, or hold it, the first time around, the effects of your moving your body in new and different ways are still there.

So with yoga, you simply get credit for showing up and trying!

Afraid you can't get through a class? The power of a simple pose can be significant. A simple downward dog (see photo) is associated with the following:

•Increased strength in your arms, shoulders, sides, chest and upper back, while stretching the muscles in your ankles, calves, thighs and lower back.

•Improved digestion.

•Improved symptoms of menopause, and relieved menstrual discomfort.

•Relief from mild depression and stress.

http://hatha-yoga.suite101.com/article.cfm/benefits_and_best_practices_of_downward_dog

If you've never been to a yoga class, you have no idea what you might gain. Give it a try and see what happens!

At Expo West, I am always as interested in the beauty care section as I am foods. I have come home with lots of great information that I've shared with all of you about how to have the healthiest skin you can. However, Expo West has also taught me that the hype in the beauty industry is as bad, if not worse than, what I work with daily in the food industry.

We are an appearance-based culture, and as a culture we fear aging. That gives the beauty industry a lot of ammunition to work with. A simple promise of younger skin, a suggestion, and magical thinking takes over.

The booths for these products are all beautiful, and the claims sound reasonable. It is only when you get home, away from the lights and the pictures of someone else's flawless skin, that logical questions start to have a chance.

For example, I was very taken by the beautiful orange and white booth of a company called Sibu Beauty. They were selling a product line based on the ingredient"sea buckthorn". This is a berry native to Tibet, with a high anti-oxidant content that helps it to survive the harsh mountain climate.

The big claim of this product line, though, is its high contents of all of the omegas — 3, 6, 9, and 7. Not real fond of omega-6…as you know, it's pro-inflammatory.

Omega-7? Yes, 7. Never heard of it, so I took as much information as I could so I could come home and research more.

Went to the company's website, clicked on the"science" link, found no links to studies specifically supporting their claims, no clinical studies, no before-after pictures.

I did see a photo of a beautiful young woman who likely had yet to see a mark of aging hit her flawless skin and who very likely couldn't point out Tibet on a map if you asked her to.

Here's what bothers me about these companies selling anti-aging programs using ingredients from exotic places like Tibet and the Amazon. If you Google Image pictures of women from these countries, you see beautiful faces like the one to the left, with the history of the elements carved into their expressions. Why do these companies who sell these supplements from these exotic places like Tibet and the Amazon, never show the faces of real people who live there. Shouldn't they be the real testimonials for how these products work?

The site proudly shared that it had been promoted on Dr. Oz. Do you know what it takes to get your product on Dr. Oz? A good PR agent, mostly.

Out of fairness to the man, however, I did watch one of the videos from his sea buckthorn segment. He didn't really talk much about skin, but rather focused on two rats, both who had eaten a high fat diet, one of which managed to stay thin because it had also been given sea buckthorn. So my takeaway here was that Dr. Oz was promoting the concept that you can eat crap as long as you can get your hands on some exotic foreign berry extract. (C'mon, Mehmet, really? I could give you a laundry list of exciting nutritional angles for your show…teaching people who to eat junk and stay thin is not one of them.) I digress. The truth is, Dr. Oz spoke about sea buckthorn in general, not the brand promoting the fact that Dr. Oz promoted the product.

Went to my favorite resource, PubMed, and looked up sea buckthorn. I did see some studies with regard to wound healing, a lot about anti-inflammatory action, and even more about it being therapeutic for ulcers. But no rave reviews for the product as an anti-aging agent. And I even found one study suggesting that skin fatty acid content did NOT respond to sea buckthorn supplementation.

Finally, contacted a good friend in the beauty industry, who has a background in library science and who deconstructs cosmetics labels like I deconstruct food labels. She'd heard of the product, even tried it herself, wasn't impressed.
So here we have a product with proven therapeutic benefit that is not being promoted, being promoted for something completely wacky by a celebrity who knows when he talks miracle weight loss his ratings stay where the advertisers want them, being sold to do something completely unrelated to either by its manufacturer and unproven in clinical studies.
If your head is spinning, it should be. This is an awful lot of smoke and mirrors. If it gets to be this confusing, your hype and fraud radars should be going crazy.

Save your money.

Yang B, Kalimo KO, Tahvonen RL, Mattila LM, Katajisto JK, Kallio HP. Effect of dietary supplementation with sea buckthorn (Hippophaë rhamnoides) seed and pulp oils on the fatty acid composition of skin glycerophospholipids of patients with atopic dermatitis. J Nutr Biochem. 2000 Jun;11(6):338-40.