The Hemp Connection [Search results for technology] 

Sometimes I find interesting medical news in somewhat unusual places, namely the July 1, 2009 issue of the Wall Street Journal. On the front page of the “Personal Journal” section, there’s an article entitled “Fertility Methods for Older Women Spawns Doubts: Evidence Fails to Support Use of Popular Technique for Screening Embryos.”

The technique, PGS (pre-implantation genetic screening) is believed to reduce the risk of serious chromosome-related disorders, such as Down syndrome. While PGS is routinely practiced by reproductive endocrinologists (the doctors who are there to help you get pregnant when you’re struggling with infertility), the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (www.ASRM.org) now states that numerous clinical trails have concluded that live birth rates are not enhanced by the use of PGS.

What does this mean for you if you’ve got PCOS, you’re over 35 (not so charmingly referred to as “AMA,” or “advanced maternal age,” which pretty much instantaneously places you in the high-risk category) and you’re trying to get pregnant? I am an AMA PCOS patient, and I’m aware that it means several things, all of which point to the need to be a proactive patient:

Be aware of where you stand in terms of fertility timeframes – as stated above, biologically speaking, the clock really starts ticking at an accelerated rate once you hit 35. Although we hear about celebrities who are giving birth well into their 40s, they are almost always taking advantage of assisted reproductive technology when doing so. Thinking you have another decade to go before your fertility declines is neither realistic nor helpful, especially if your goal is to have more than one pregnancy.

Know your doctor’s practices – while there are commonalities among reproductive endocrinologists in the ways they practice, refer back to the ASRM for “best practices” guidelines and see if your physician is in compliance. If you aren’t comfortable with what you know, talk to your doctor, and ask questions until you’re satisfied. If you’re still not satisfied, consider changing physicians.

Know your doctor’s tendencies – is he or she precise, analytical, thorough, and well-versed in the very latest in reproductive medicine? Do you feel like your doctor is treating you as an individual, and not just a member of a particular demographic? You have the right to comprehensive assessment, a detailed treatment plan, and enough explanation about the doctor’s policies, procedures, practices, and success rates.

Exercise your right to say “no” — your doctor may not have read the very latest research, or may adhere to a belief that PGS or some other technique constitutes the best treatment for you. Your doctor is here to advise, consult, and treat, not dictate (except in life-threatening circumstances), so take the time to study proposed treatments and tests before making a decision. By the way, PGS is considered an experimental technique, and it is a costly one – adding approximately 20% to the average $10,000 cost of a round of IVF.

In the journey through assisted reproductive technology, the AMA PCOS patient needs to be aware, realistic, thorough in her research, and unafraid to question the value and price of technology. To learn more about assisted reproductive technology, I recommend the ASRM website, as well as RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association (www.RESOLVE.org).

I have been in Vermont all week, busy teaching PCOS classes at Green Mountain at Fox Run. I have been so busy that checking email and answering my phone has been pretty much an afterthought. I realized how easy it is to drift into becoming attached to electronics in unhealthy ways.

I decided to Google"iPhone addiction" just for fun, and found a Stanford survey reporting the following results obtained from 200 students, most of whom had had their iPhones for less than a year:

When asked to rank their dependence on the iPhone on a scale of one to five, five being the most addictive, ten% said they were fully addicted. 34% ranked themselves a four and only 6% said they weren't addicted at all.

Nearly a third worried they may become addicted someday.

A full 75% admitted to falling asleep with the iPhone in bed with them, and 69% said they were more likely to forget their wallet than their iPhone when leaving in the morning.

Why is that an issue? When you are so attached to what is coming out of your electronic gadget, you are not paying attention to important cues your body may be giving you about stress, emotions, hunger…you may be so caught up in what is happening on Facebook that you fritter away time that you could be spending on yourself, in physical activity…your life is virtual, not REAL.

I see disturbing trends that show how detached we are becoming, such as people Tweeting from a meeting, reporting that they are at the meeting. How can you possibly be getting anything out of the meeting if you're not even paying attention to the people you are physically with?

I see people posting Facebook status reports from"getaways" in remote locations…when I thought the point of getting away to a remote location is to not be communicating with the rest of the world for a little bit.

I hear stories of people so attached to their iPhones that they actually feel phantom vibrations if they try to live without them.

If you bring your phone to bed with you, it's disrupting your sleep. And when your sleep is disrupted, you are more likely to be insulin resistant and hold on to weight.

Tell me…honestly…is that 3 am text you're waiting for really worth the 5 extra pounds you may be carrying just to get it?

Electronic food for thought: If you are really that important and indispensable, you don't have an iPhone. Your personal assistant does. If you're unable to detach from your Blackberry, you're a slave. Everyone you allow to contact you at 3 am is someone who has taken control of part of your life.

Take it back! Challenge yourself to leave the phone for a half hour or an hour. Leave it in the kitchen at night. Don't bring it to the gym. Give yourself one technology-free day a week. See what happens to your awareness. Of your emotions. Of your hunger/fullness. Of your choices of how to fill your time.

You might find that you start setting more limits with mailing lists, Facebook friend lists, Twitter follows, etc., because all that electronic chaos interferes with your life.

Technology isn't a bad thing, at all…my business is able to exist because of it. But if it is not used respectfully it may be one of the most important reasons your optimal health is so elusive.

You can't just read about, status report, tweet, electronically discuss healthy living. You have to LIVE it.

If you're a foodie…a New York Times lover…or a Twitter junkie, you likely saw the article last week about the strong possibility that genetically engineered salmon may soon make its way to our marketplace. These salmon can grow twice as quickly as natural salmon, therefore making salmon more available to the growing market of people who have been educated to believe that this fish is the only one providing a significant source of omega-3 fatty acids. (An important note: These fish will not grow to humongous size, they will merely reach their mature size more quickly than natural salmon…a"body builder fish," so to speak.)

Essentially, this new type of salmon is an Atlantic salmon with genes spliced into its DNA from the Pacific Chinook salmon and the pout, another salmon-type of fish. The genes allow the new fish to produce growth hormone year round, and therefore grow year round, instead of just during the summer.

Aqua Bounty, the company that created this fish, has to provide seven sets of data to the FDA, proving that this new fish is the traditional equivalent of natural salmon; they've already submitted five of those sets.

This is what happens when we get overly enthusiastic about one type of fish and recommend it to the exclusion of all other possibilities in the sea. Greed sets in.

What is of concern to me is that these fish, according to current labeling laws, would not even be required to be labeled as genetically engineered. (The FDA to date actually opposes mandatory labeling on a food"merely because it was genetically engineered"). The CEO of Aqua Bounty, Ronald Stotish, has already absolved himself of responsibility in this area, claiming that since his company would only be selling eggs to fish farms, and not fish to markets, they would not be the party in the production chain to regulate. His take?"If there's no material difference, then it would be misleading to require labeling."

It seems as though this would be a great way to tank the entire salmon industry, given the fact that people tend to be all-or-nothing in their consumer choices and would likely shift away from all salmon"just to be safe".

If this technology is approved, it will still take 2 to 3 years for these salmon to show up in your stores.

For those of you reading this blog who know how much we love to recommend fish for your health, here are some questions to ask yourself and points to remember when making your own seafood choices.

1. ALL seafood contains omega-3 fatty acids. You don't have to eat just salmon! The benefit is double, as every ounce of fish you eat replaces an ounce of a more saturated type of meat. So whether it's bass, tuna, scallops, or shrimp, your choice is perfectly fine.

2. The Monterey Bay Aquarium, the go-to place for fish recommendations, lists Atlantic salmon, farmed and wild, as a type of seafood to avoid in their seafood watch program.

3. To help increase the total omega-3 supply, consider trout! Farmed trout, which is genetically and nutritionally slightly higher in omega-3's than salmon*, is on the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Best Choices List. You can buy it boned if that is a deterrent. I've been experimenting with trout and many of my salmon recipes work very well. It's a bit more fragile as far as cooking methods, but the flavors you cook with can work just fine.

4. In addition to trout, there are numerous farmed fish options getting the Monterey Bay green light, including: char, clams, cobia, mussels, oysters, striped bass, and tilapia.

4. If you're an adventurous eater…why not just eat the pout? It's plentiful and edible.

5. Speak up! Don't let this issue fall through the cracks. The only reason this kind of technology can even survive…is if consumers create a market for it.

*Trout contains 1.6 grams omega-3's per 100 grams
Salmon contains 1.4 grams omega-3's per 100 grams

I received notice yesterday that a new omega-3 product has hit the market. It's called"New Harvest", and it caught my eye because it is a vegetarian source of essential fatty acids. We have a lot of vegetarians reading our blog so I wanted to know more. This is what I learned by going to their website.

1. The manufacturer is Dupont Chemical.
2. The omega-3's are produced by using a specific type of yeast, Yarrowia lipolytica, to turn corn sugar into fat.

I do like the fact that companies are working to find alternatives for humans that do not involve depleting the world's fish supplies. And I do like the fact that this has potential to help vegetarians.

My problem with this product is that it appears to be a product of genetic engineering. I'm not convinced that this is a completely risk-free technology. And, given the fact that a very high percentage of our readers are either trying to conceive or are pregnant, I have to remember that any food or supplement choice we encourage here has the potential to affect at least two lives, only one of which has a choice in what they are exposed to.

I'm in the process of deciding for myself about genetic engineering. It is a relatively new technology and I don't believe it's been around long enough for us to be 100% confident that it is 100% safe. Each of you has your own opinion about whether or not you wish to incorporate these foods into your diets. It took enough work for me to find the answers to simple questions I had about this product, that I decided to simplify the process for anyone else who might have similar questions.

I also wish, instead of marketing their product as"yeast-based", DuPont had been more forthcoming about the fact that it's more accurately positioned as"corn-based".

I apologize in advance for the irony of using a technologically-based medium to share information about the potential health risk that technology may pose…but then again, if you're using a computer to read this, and you've got PCOS, you may be a member of the exact choir I need to preach to.

Earlier this week, a New York Times article described research about the effect on the brain that constant brain stimulation from tech toys may be having. When rats have a unique experience, they seem to better retain what they learned from that experience if they are allowed to give their brain a break from the stimulation.

Every time a neuron is required to process information, you can consider that an oxidative moment. If you are constantly using your neurons without giving them a break, you are allowing them to be broken down more rapidly, and not providing them with the rest they need to recover. Eventually, they can't keep up with the input and they lose the ability to do their job efficiently.

As we have become able to carry the Internet with us, we've become less tolerant of quiet moments. We immediately jump to Facebook, Twitter, or IM's to fill the void. (The other day, I actually watched my clerk at the convenience store alternate texting someone while he rang up my purchase!) Shortened attention spans only decrease our patience, and that carries over to other aspects of our lives. We can't tolerate a half hour workout. We can't stick with a new way of eating long enough for it to work. We can't follow through with our wellness goals, because the discomfort that new behaviors inevitably brings can be avoided by Googling for the next best diet or exercise plan.

You've heard of mindfulness? I encourage you to work toward what I'm starting to call Technomindfulness. If you ignore it, you can't possibly be aware of how you feel, how hungry you really are, what kinds of stress signals your body might be trying to send to you in order to get some rejuvenation time.

Here are some ways to engage in Technomindfulness.

1. Challenge yourself to step away from your computer and your smart phone for a half hour. If it's hard, try 10 minutes. Gradually increase your time away. See how long you can go without checking for IM's and e-mails.

2. Limit Twitter use to the beginning and end of the day. Utilize a program such as Tweet Deck that can help you to organize your incoming information into categories.

3. Regularly review your Facebook friends list and remove individuals you have no productive need to keep up with. Again, keep a Facebook schedule.

4. Challenge yourself to exercise outdoors, without an iPod.

5. Keep your technology away from your dinner table and your bedroom.

6. Limit yourself to the use of one gadget at a time…no multitasking!

7. Challenge yourself to refrain from Tweeting about an event you may be at until the event is over. Just enjoy the event…you went to experience it, not Tweet about it!

8. Ask yourself when you have the urge to IM, if the person you were IM'ing were right in front of you, would you be having the same conversation? Or are you pushing buttons and sending messages simply because you can't tolerate that lack of stimulation.

9. Turn your IM program off for a day!

10. Save up your time reading our blog for one or two times a week. The information isn't going anywhere. I'd rather you read it and then log off and disappear for awhile…because then I know you're actually using it. Reading it at the expense of your exercise program is not how I intended us to be used!

We're in the middle of a fun series here in Phoenix, called"Training Your Mental Athlete". It's designed as a wellness program for highly energetic, intelligent, creative people, for whom it is extra important to nourish brains and nervous systems.

We started off last week with an event featured on skin. Sarah Jones, inCYST's very first registered yoga teacher, created a whole class of yoga poses designed to improve skin circulation and tone. Here's the class warming up for yoga.

Susan Van Dyke, MD, came for the second half, and shared her wisdom regarding keeping skin healthy. She had a lot of great information about choosing healthy skin care products and sunscreens. She also gave us a peek at some of the technology she has to help reduce the effects of sun damage and other skin problems. Participants were invited to come to her office and have a special imaging done that visualizes the degree of sun damage existing under the skin that is not yet visible to the eye. It was eye opening!

Deborah, wo has been participating in inCYST events for five years, enjoyed her very first yoga class. Sarah is telling her about more classes she can enjoy at Metta Yoga, who is hosting this series.

We have more classes through December! Here is our poster with details. For registration information visit the Metta Yoga website.

If you missed this event, and you're interested in Dr. Van Dyke's services, she's got a great open house coming up. Here's information about the schedule. Note, there are a ton of giveaways! I learn so much when I go to these event, there's always a new technology she's using. It's totally worth putting into your schedule!

Last week I had the opportunity to hear James May, the founder of Wisdom Natural Brands, based here in Phoenix, tell his story of how he became involved with developing the stevia industry. Below is a white paper he shared with us that is referenced and provides a lot of very interesting information. This is a business paper, not a scientific publication, but it does contain references that can get you started if you're looking for more information.

It's not just a sweetener, apparently it has some endocrine and appetite effects as well (may decrease your appetite for sugar), and a new study suggests it may help to improve memory.

Also, I'm providing a link to a brand new website, Stevia University, which is a resource for all things stevia. Be sure to bookmark it!

Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni Prepared by James A. May and provided as an educational service by Wisdom Natural Brands
Stevia has been correctly framed as the promised sweetener that can help resolve many of the world's sweetener, obesity, and diabetes concerns. Stevia can also solve much of the poverty of the farmers in third world countries by giving them a cash crop to grow, even improving the productivity of their soil and the quality of their other crops.
Stevia can be the next generation of the world's most preferred steetener. Consumers are becoming even more excited as they learn that stevia extract was not originally a chemical invention targeted for a totally different purpose, such as a drug or insecticide, which, after it was tasted, became an artificial sweetener (1).
Stevia, in its various forms has always been a natural sweetener that also offers numerous health benefits. In its natural forms it has been in use in parts of South America for more than 1500 years and, as a high intensity sweetener, in Japan and Asia for over 35 years. (2) Millions of people have ingested stevia daily and there has never been a documented adverse reaction reported (3).
Modern consumers have joyful anticipation for increased use of this sweetener that does not cause fat storage, does not adversely affect blood sugar or blood pressure, reduces caries and gum disease, does no harm, is good for the human body and — can taste great — depending on the extraction methods utilized.
The Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) of the World Health Organization has studied and approved 9 of the numerous naturally occurring glycosides residing in stevia leaves to be safe for human consumption in high intensity sweeteners. They are: stevioside, rebaudioside A, rebaudioside B, rebaudioside C, rebaudioside D, rebaudioside F, dulcoside A, rubusoside, and steviolbioside. Any combination of these glycosides totaling a minimum of 95%, the balance being other components of the stevia leaf, meets the standard set.
HECFA refers to steviol glycosides rather than stevia glycosides in determining acceptable daily intake (ADI) amounts of 4 mg per kilogram of body weight. This provides a 100-fold safety factor, meaning the human body can handle 100 times this amount and still be within the safety limits. However, steviol is one of three metabolites (i.e. the breakdown aglycones being steviol, isosteviol, and a unit of glucose) of the stevia glycosides, therefore, this related to 12 mg of the naturally occurring stevia glycosides per kilogram of body weight. Stevia glycosides are broken down into the three metabolites by bacterial action in the intestinal tract. It is well documented that steviol and the other metabolites are entirely excreted from the body.
In a presentation of the recent science regarding stevia at the 2009 annual meeting of the Calorie Control Council, Claire C. Kruger, PhD, DABT, CEO of Spherix Incorporated, a biopharmaceutical company, reported that"Stevia glycosides have very low toxicity in animals and there is no evidence of risk in humans, including repeat dose systemic toxicity, carcinogenicity, developmental, or reproductive effects. The weight of evidence indicates that steviol glycosides are not genotoxic." She also reported that"Stevia extracts and steviol glycosides show no DNA damage in a broad array of in vitro and in vivo assay," and that the"safety of ingestion of steviol glycosides in hmans has been corroborated in clinical trials; measures of tolerance, body weight, clinical chemistry, hematology and urinalyis did not show any evidence of untoward effects." She reported that critical newly published studies (5) resolve questions about any untoward effects after long term repeated exposure to steviol glycosides.
The Proceedings of the 3rd Stevia Sumposium 2009, held in Belgium reported recent scientific studies that found that,"Stevioside (i.e. the combination of Stevia glyucosides- lowered glucose, insulin and cholesterol. It had no effect on triglycerides or glucose tolerance," and that it"inhibited atherosclerosis by reducing macrophage, oxidized LDL and lipids. Furthermore, stevioside treatment increased the smooth muscle area of the plaque. This increase, together with the reduction of macrophages resulted in an increase of the smooth muscle cell-to-macrophage ratio". The scientists concluded by stating that"this is the first report showing an association between stevioside treatment and increased adiponectin and insulin sensitivity, improved antioxidant defense and reduced atherosclerosis. The decrease of oxidized LDL by stevioside is particularly important in view of our recent observation that LDL is associated with metabolic syndrome components." (6) No allergic reactions to stevia have been reported (7).
A patent application submitted to the US Patent Office, dated February 17, 2011, makes several significant claims, as a result of their scientific research, pertaining to stevia and brain function."Thus to summarize, stevia extract enabled improved learning and memory performance, to a similar, or better, extent as a natural reference substance, ginkgo biloba, and a pharmaceutical positive control compound, rolipram. These data showed that stevia-treated mice not only learned better than other groups but also retained their memory for a longer time period." When the product was given to human subjects they reported that,"Cognitive function, alertness and the ability to focus on work are seen to improve." The product they used was make by cooking leaves in water and is basically the same product sold by SweetLeaf (R), as stevia concentrate, since 1982.
SweetLeaf Stevia Sweetener is the only commercially available stevia extract that is made with a revolutionary new technology that uses only cool purified water and a series of filters. All other brands, currently in the market, utilize old technology that incorporates various chemicals, solvents and alcohols, including ethanol and methanol. Because stevia extracts can be between 200 and 300 times sweeter than sugar, they must be blended with other ingredients utilized as a carrier to make them palatable as a table-top sweetener. While all other brands use a sugar product, SweetLeaf(R) uses inulin, extracted from chicory root, which is a natural soluble fiber and prebiotic, thus creating a sweetener that improve health and vitality. SweetLeaf (R) wass the first stevia brand in the United States to acienve the FDA GRAS (Generally Recognied As Safe) designation.
REFERENCES
1. Aspartame was developed in 1965 by GD Searle, a pharmaceutical company, to be a prescription only drug for peptic ulcers. After it was tasted the company began the process to obtain FDA acceptance as a sweetener,which was achieved in 1981. According to Discover Magazine, 20 Things You Don't Know About Sugar, Sucralose (Splenda) was originally developed to be an insecticide (Oct. 2009, 121).
2. May, James A, The Miracle of Stevia, Kensington Publishing Corp. New York City, NY, 2003, 7, 32-42.
3. Geuns, Jan MC. Review: The Safety of Stevioside Used as a Sweetener, Proceeding of the first symposium: The Safety of Steviiside, KULeuven, 2004, 112.
4. http://www.steviauniversity.com/. Health and Healing Benefits of Stevia.
5. Ferri et all 2006; Jeppesen et al 2006; Barriocanal et al 2008; Maki et al 2008.
6. Gerraert, Benjamine et a, Natural Sweetener Stevioside Inhibits Atherosclerosis by Increasing the Antioxidant Defense in Obese, Insulin Resistant Mice, Atherosclerosis and Metabolism Unit, Deptarmtne of Cardiovascular diseases and Leuven Food Science and Nutrition Research Center Laboratory of Functional Biology, Katholieke University, Leuven, Belgium.
7. Geuns, op cit p. 85.

If you have PCOS, and you’ve tried to get pregnant, you may have already discovered that you can add infertility to the list of “what’s wrong with my body.” Infertility often feels like one more failure of your body to perform as expected, and one more thing that feels out of control. There are actions you can pursue to shift your mind and shift your body, however:

1) Get out of denial – know the timeframes for diagnosing infertility (generally six months of trying without a successful pregnancy if you’re over 40; one year if you’re under 40). Know that infertility isn’t just a matter of stress or bad timing – although those can be contributing factors. Know that infertility is a treatable condition, but it takes finding the right medical team, and that may include some highly specialized people, like a reproductive endocrinologist.

2) Have your anger – infertility is definitely something to be angry about. You’re mad, you’re frustrated, you’re irritable, you feel deprived, you want what you want – something other people manage to have without even trying – and you are entitled to rant and rave about it. But don’t let anger become your primary way of experiencing your infertility. Take the energy that powers that anger and turn it towards a more productive experience.

3) Fully experience your regrets – as much as you can understand them in the moment, experience your regrets. These might include the fact that the romance and private experience of love and sexuality are separated from the process of reproduction. Perhaps it means acknowledging that you won’t have a biological child. Or it might even mean deciding that children are not part of your future, at least not right now.

4) Grieve what you need to grieve – this might include some of the regrets mentioned above, or whatever else you feel or define – loss of womanhood, loss of health, loss of a specific type of relationship. Get support for this grieving if you need it, from other women in the same situation, or from a professional counselor.

5) Refocus your dreams – now that you’ve moved out of the hope or fantasy of “accidental” or sort-of-planned pregnancy, cried, had your rage, and gathered some support, decide what’s next – assisted reproductive technology, adoption, surrogacy, or a child-free life.

6) Take action to achieve that dream – make sure you’re on the same page with your spouse or partner, if you have one. Do the research to find a great reproductive endocrinologist, a supportive counselor, a knowledgeable dietician, and any other resources you need. Join online support communities that are specific to infertility, just as you joined this PCOS-specific community. Make a plan – give yourself some general timeframes and budgets for what you are willing to do.

With luck, planning, focus, and support, you may well be able to achieve the family you’ve been dreaming of, in spite of infertility.

If you'd like some help keeping those resolutions, and making 2010 a year of positive change, check out some of the counseling opportunities available from some of our inCYSTers!

Ann Arbor, Michigan
Terrie Holewinski (University of Michigan Medical Center) will be offering a"Gaining Control of PCOS" workshop on January 18th and 25th, as well as February 15th and 22nd, March 23rd and 30th, April 19th and 26th. The cost is $138 dollars for two 1 1/2 hour group sessions and a 1/2 hour individual dietitian consultation.

For more information women call 734-998-5679
Austin, Texas
Christine Marquette has two offers: (1) Through the end of January she is offering a 10% discount for all"new" clients on any of her services (packages and individual appointments), (2) she is offering Inherent Technology's DNA kit for weight management for $110 while supplies last. You can read more about the kit at http://www.inherenthealth.com/our-tests/weight-management.aspx

West Los Angeles, California
Gretchen Kubacky, Psy D (psychology) is offering a free in-person half hour consultation with prospective clients to determine if we're a good fit.

Phoenix, Arizona
Monika Woolsey (me) is offering a 10% discount on any consultation scheduled before the end of the month.

If you have PCOS, and you’ve tried to get pregnant, you may have already discovered that you can add infertility to the list of “what’s wrong with my body.” Infertility often feels like one more failure of your body to perform as expected, and one more thing that feels out of control. There are actions you can pursue to shift your mind and shift your body, however:

Get out of denial – know the timeframes for diagnosing infertility (generally six months of trying without a successful pregnancy if you’re over 40; one year if you’re under 40). Know that infertility isn’t just a matter of stress or bad timing – although those can be contributing factors. Know that infertility is a treatable condition, but it takes finding the right medical team, and that may include some highly specialized people, like a reproductive endocrinologist.

Have your anger – infertility is definitely something to be angry about. You’re mad, you’re frustrated, you’re irritable, you feel deprived, you want what you want – something other people manage to have without even trying – and you are entitled to rant and rave about it. But don’t let anger become your primary way of experiencing your infertility. Take the energy that powers that anger and turn it towards a more productive experience.

Fully experience your regrets – as much as you can understand them in the moment, experience your regrets. These might include the fact that the romance and private experience of love and sexuality are separated from the process of reproduction. Perhaps it means acknowledging that you won’t have a biological child. Or it might even mean deciding that children are not part of your future, at least not right now.

Grieve what you need to grieve – this might include some of the regrets mentioned above, or whatever else you feel or define – loss of womanhood, loss of health, loss of a specific type of relationship. Get support for this grieving if you need it, from other women in the same situation, or from a professional counselor.

Refocus your dreams – now that you’ve moved out of the hope or fantasy of “accidental” or sort-of-planned pregnancy, cried, had your rage, and gathered some support, decide what’s next – assisted reproductive technology, adoption, surrogacy, or a child-free life.

Take action to achieve that dream – make sure you’re on the same page with your spouse or partner, if you have one. Do the research to find a great reproductive endocrinologist, a supportive counselor, a knowledgeable dietician, and any other resources you need. Join online support communities that are specific to infertility, just as you joined this PCOS-specific community. Make a plan – give yourself some general timeframes and budgets for what you are willing to do.

With luck, planning, focus, and support, you may well be able to achieve the family you’ve been dreaming of, in spite of infertility.

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.

Dear Doctor:

I have, or think I have, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). In any case, I have a lot of symptoms that make my uncomfortable physically and mentally, and I really need your support on this one. Please know:

• I’ve been through a lot. Most doctors haven’t diagnosed me correctly, and I’ve had to deal with a lot of challenges getting to a place where I can try a new doctor, and have some trust that it might actually go well this time.

• I may have one or more female relatives who were undiagnosed and/or untreated for PCOS, and/or who died as a result of PCOS-related complications, such as heart disease, diabetes, or endometrial cancer. I may appear to be fearful and over-anxious as a result.

• I’m frustrated with how long it’s taken to get a diagnosis, not having complete information, and being treated as if my PCOS isn’t an important medical condition.

• I need to be treated with respect, especially when I describe symptoms that don’t make sense to you, or don’t fit the pattern. I need you to stretch your imagination, and ask even more probing questions.

• I may have medical trauma, especially if I’ve had lots of surgeries, one or more miscarriages, failed IVF attempts, a long bout with assisted reproductive technology, or if I received several diagnoses simultaneously. I’m trying not to be scared of you, but I’ve been poked, prodded, questioned, and inspected about as much as I can handle. I’m tired of having blood drawn, trying new prescriptions that don’t work or have horrible side effects, and having to show up at the gynecologist’s office a whole lot more than once a year. I’m tired of devoting huge chunks of my time, income, and emotional resources to chasing after a remedy or a cure. That doesn’t mean I’m not willing to do more, but it does mean that it may take me a bit to adjust to the idea of MORE.

• I need you to be patient while we’re figuring this out, and not give up on me. I understand from talking to other women with PCOS that it can take a while, a number of blood and fasting glucose tests, and some consultation before you can determine for sure that I have PCOS. I also know that sometimes you can’t be 100% sure, but maybe I need the same medical treatment anyway. I’m prepared for that, and I need to know you’re not going to get bored with my case before we’ve figured it out.

• I do my research. I’ve read books and articles about PCOS, and I follow a few blogs and chat boards about PCOS, so I know what other women with PCOS are going through. I know I’m not a doctor, but I may bring you information or questions gleaned from these sources. I hope you’ll take it seriously.

• I have valid opinions about what’s best for me, and sometimes that doesn’t mean traditional western medical care, or prescription medications. Right now, I’m open-minded, and I promise to keep you informed about anything else I’m trying. I hope you’ll support me as I try natural alternatives, dietary management, etc. And if you think something I want to try is actually dangerous to my health, please don’t pull any punches.

• I respect your input, and I still may need time to consider whether your recommendations are what’s best for me. It can be really overwhelming to be in your office, considering a lot of new information, and having to make what feels like very important decisions. Sometimes, I may bring a friend or my significant other with me, to help me stay focused. I still may need additional time to consider the options, and do my own research before I make a decision.

• I need you to be my healthcare partner, and my advocate. I view this as teamwork. You’re the one with the most knowledge about bodies in general, but it’s my body, and I’m definitely the expert on my body. Some other doctors don’t get that, and I need you to advocate on my behalf with them, especially on very important matters, like surgical decisions.

• I need you to be upfront about what this means for my health in the long run. I am willing to do the work to get well and stay well, but I need the big picture. I can’t make appropriate decisions without it. Don’t be afraid of scaring me. I can handle it (even if I do get a little upset in the moment).

• I need you to be aware that it’s very common for women with PCOS to have depression or other mood disorders, and to screen me appropriately, and sometimes with frequency. I need you to be fearless about making referrals when appropriate – and that includes mental health care. If I need a health psychologist, a support group, or some other form of therapy, please tell me so. Thank you!

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.

Due to some unusual cramping and bleeding, I went in to see my reproductive endocrinologist (RE), who is dually board certified as a gynecologist and an endocrinologist. If you have PCOS, and especially if you’ve ever tried to get pregnant and had a problem doing so, you have probably been referred to a RE. REs have a specialized understanding of the way our hormones affect our fertility, blood sugars, insulin resistance, and other PCOS-related conditions. They treat many PCOS patients, because PCOS is a primary cause of infertility.

One vaginal ultrasound and one pregnancy test later (the doctor and I duly noting that I am well over 40, infertile by all medical definitions, and just about as likely to be pregnant as Mother Teresa), it was determined that there’s a UFO in my uterus! Well, not really, but that’s what it looks like on the ultrasound screen. So, if it’s not a polyp, a cyst, a fibroid, or a baby, what is it?

Cancer comes to mind, and the possibility of cancer necessitated an endometrial biopsy, which is a very uncomfortable procedure in which the tissue in your uterus (the endometrium) is sampled (that’s medical-speak for pulled out in tiny chunks) and sent to the laboratory to be tested. Fortunately, no cancer was found. However, given that PCOS patients are much more prone than average to conditions such as hyperplasia (a proliferation of sometimes questionable looking cells) and endometrial cancers, the recommendation is almost always surgery to remove the tissue, be it a polyp, a cyst, or in this case, something unidentified. I am fortunate to have a highly skilled, aggressive doctor, who knows me and my condition very well, and I agree with this recommendation.

That was the good news, but then I learned the bad news – that my eggs had officially expired. While some doctors question the accuracy of the anti-mullerian hormone assessor, it’s a pretty accurate way to determine whether your eggs are still of use (and to what degree), or if you are pre-menopausal or post-menopausal. No longer having viable eggs was not unexpected, given my age. Nonetheless, there’s an emotional hit to all of this. There is a sense of loss, of unrealized potential, and a need to acknowledge that the door on having a biologically related child, created with my own eggs, has officially closed. At the same time, there is a surprising sense of freedom and relief accompanying this news. Given my personal and family medical history, I no longer have to make an active choice about passing on my genes. With assisted reproductive technology, the doors are open to carrying a pregnancy anytime up to age 53. I just know now for certain that, for me, a pregnancy would mean using donor eggs.

A visit to the RE can be painful or uncomfortable, confusing, enthralling, educational, inspiring, or worrisome – all at the same time. Surgical procedures and testing add to the complex mix of emotions aroused by having a condition or conditions you don’t entirely understand, an equally confusing array of treatment options, time pressures, and a host of medical practitioners, all with their own particular slant on what constitutes your best treatment plan, and why.

For me, that means surgery next month to remove the UFO, continued monitoring of my endometrial condition, and of course, more visits to the RE, especially should I decide to pursue a pregnancy with donor eggs in the future. I like the idea that I still have options, the immediately pressing medical concern is being addressed appropriately, and some aspects of my fertility still offer possibilities. PCOS has a rhythm and a flow of its own, shifting in prominence at various stages in your life and reproductive cycle, and contributes to a mix of emotional experiences. In choosing how to manage your care, your fertility, and your emotions, I hope you too are able to focus on the positive.

If you have not had the opportunity to hear Gretchen's interviews with pcoschallenge.com, please take the time to do so! Gretchen will also be hosting a PCOS expert webinar next Tuesday…to attend please contact www.pcoschallenge.net for more details on how to do so.

I don't know about you, but mushrooms just aren't my top priority when I'm writing my grocery list. They're fungus, right? They just can't have much to offer with regards to nutrition, with that neutral color and different texture!

Was I ever wrong! Last week I learned that mushrooms contain two nutrients with healing potential for women with PCOS. They contain chromium, a metal that can be helpful with cravings. You may have read earlier on this blog, chromium in large doses may damage DNA. So the wiser choice may be to include foods in your diet that provide this metal in a dose that Mother Nature has provided.

Mushrooms, surprisingly, also contain vitamin D! It's one of the few non-animal sources of this vitamin, so vegetarians take notice! Your pizza is a great place to sneak in some 'shrooms. You may have read that some mushroom producers are experimenting with a technology to increase the vitamin D content of mushrooms using light exposure. Even if you get the regular button mushrooms at the store that have not been processed in this fashion, they'll still contain vitamin D.

I spent last night looking at how different mushrooms vary in nutritional value. Regardless of what the type…portabella, shiitake, button…there was something valuable about each and every one of them.

So put them in your omelets, add them to your salads, toss them into your pasta sauce! Mushrooms, for PCOS, can be pretty marvelous!

If you'd like more specific help planning menus including mushrooms, our new inCYSTem menu planning/coaching program features mushrooms this coming week. If you sign up before October 23 and help us beta test this program, you pay half price ($7.50 for a month of ongoing menus and can continue to subscribe at that price for the following 5 months). Contact me directly at marika@google.com for more information.

It's 2010! It's also the time for reflection and resolutions. Don't forget to give yourself credit for the positive! Often times we try a new behavior, food, or activity, and because it didn't create a miracle or immediate change, we discontinue it and assume it didn't work. The truth was, we didn't give the new choice an opportunity to take hold and unfold.

We also tend to make the same old resolutions revolving around diet and exercise. Rather than fall into that trap here, I came up with a list of 10 other, less obvious, but equally important things you can do to help manage your PCOS.

Here's to another year of PCOS outreach. I am grateful for all of the wonderful people this blog has brought into inCYST's world, and I look forward to more good times and new friendships!

1. Prioritize yourself.

Most of my clients are highly intelligent, accomplished, passionate, and creative. But what strikes me is how easily they devote all of that energy to others…and have trouble using it to benefit themselves. Make time for healthy behaviors. They're appointments with yourself that are equally as important as any appointments you make with your doctor. Your body is trying to tell you that if you deserve anything, it's time for self-care. Make 2010 the year you agree and take action!

2. Be informed.

Over the year I've become busy with Twitter. I am disturbed at the number of tweets promising miracle supplements and cures for PCOS. Even moreso, I am disturbed to see that these tweets are the ones tending to be most often retweeted. The tweets with the most logical, evidence-based advice…sit there largely unread. If"fixing" PCOS was as easy as taking a pill, it wouldn't affect one in ten women. Don't get caught up with anyone promising a miracle or a pill. You deserve better than that. Be sure that any advice you try has research and evidence behind it to support its validity.

3. Be gentle with yourself.

I don't allow my clients to use self-deprecating language, and I confront them on self-punitive behaviors. Every single one of you is special. You deserve respect, and you deserve to celebrate the many positive things about you the rest of us see. You're not broken, and you don't need to be fixed. What you need is for the rest of us in your world to support a positive self-image and to see your goodness on days when you have a hard time with that. Expect more of that and less of the"broken speak" and see what comes into your life.

4. Take responsibility.
You can spend hours and hours on the Internet. You can participate in chat rooms and support groups and share your story. OR…you can take action. Many women I've tried to help have been more invested in sharing their story and their misfortune than they have in learning how to change their fortune. Are you suffering from what I call"PCOS Paralysis"? Is your time devoted to keeping you stuck, or are you consistently trying new things and working to be consistent with the behaviors that work? You can't see change unless you implement change. One step at a time is good enough. Those steps eventually add up to make a difference.

5. Create a support network.

inCYSTer Stacey Whittle (Santa Monica, CA) recently shared this quote on her Facebook fan page: "In 2010 CHOOSE your friends. Do the people you invest much of your time with sharpen you and amplify your happiness/productiveness? You will take on the habits, attitudes, beliefs and even mannerisms of the people you surround yourself with." Look around you. Are you surrounded by people who support healthy change and who help you to add those changes in your life? Or are you expected to be a lone wolf in the middle of people who are stuck in the lifestyle that helped make you sick to begin with? Look for people who live the way you would like to, and spend more time with them.

6. Try something healthy.

It does no good to read about it, tweet about it, debate about it. You have to live it!

7. Persist.

Remember, the days you need to take care of yourself the most…are the days you least feel like it.

8. Turn off your technology and live!

There is only so much the Internet can do for you. The life that will turn your situation around, is the one that exists off of your computer/iPhone/television screen.

9. Get some sun.

It will increase your vitamin D levels, improve your melatonin metabolism, increase your activity, improve your mood, and give you some nature-based inspiration. It really works.

10. Celebrate your beauty.

You are not broken. You do not need to be fixed. Your beauty is about who you ARE. Not about what you could be. Celebrate it. Be proud of it. Don't wait until you lose weight/conceive/resolve your acne to take care of yourself. Take care of yourself first, and see what happens to your weight/fertility/skin. Make 2010 the year you take care of the beautiful person you are, the way you deserve to be taken care of!

We’re all subject to variables – our moods, our family’s moods, the weather, the price of oil, and natural disasters, or the way people in Iowa vote. Some we control, some we don’t, and some we just think we control. It’s important to figure out which ones are which, and treat them accordingly, or the cumulative stress and pressure of trying to bring them back under (that elusive and imaginary sense of) control is going to result in stress. And we all know, stress doesn’t help PCOS.

Let’s assume that, if you take a moment and breathe, you know which ones fall into the category of things we can’t possibly control – earthquakes, toddler’s temper tantrums, the fact that the bananas you put in the refrigerator have rotted, and so on. Since you can’t control, LET GO OF THEM. Gripe and groan if you must, but impose a time limit on it (I suggest five minutes per day of hearty whining – laugh, but try it and see how far you get with the practice).

Now for the things you are CERTAIN you can control – being on time (really? In that traffic?), your weight (and how’s that working with PCOS?), whether or not you get pregnant on schedule (assisted reproductive technology is amazing, but it’s not entirely predictable), the shade you dye your hair (ever tried doing it yourself, only to discover that whatever’s in the box doesn’t look quite the same as the picture on the box?), or how many people you have for your perfectly balanced dinner party (darn that man for getting a stomach flu at the last minute and throwing it all off). Hmmm… I’m still struggling to identify something you can absolutely control.

So is it all hopeless, and you should give up trying to have any sense of order or control in your life? No, but you’ve got be real about it, allow for the vagaries of other people’s desires and behaviors, understand that time waits for no man (or woman), and, most importantly, get that the only thing you can control is THIS MOMENT. You can choose what you put in your mouth, whether you do two more flights on the stair-stepper, kind words or nasty words, whether you act from love or something less, and whether you’ll focus your attention on yourself or trying to control others. That’s really about it. Not much, in the end. Not your spouse, your boss, your child, your mother, the environment, or anything else that is larger than this moment, or larger than you.

Somehow, the idea of that is actually really calming. It feels overwhelming to hold on to a belief that we can, if we’re just good enough, smart enough, fast enough, or coordinated enough, control everything, or almost everything. If you believe that, you’re pulling a con on yourself, and I encourage you to look at it more closely, and start releasing some of that false belief.

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 frequent traveler, chances are you have already had an opportunity to experience the new security measures at the airport, which include the new full body scanner.

One of the biggest concerns about this scanner has been the radiation exposure these scanners emit. Because radiation can affect fertility, a concern of many readers of this blog, I did some fact checking.

What is interesting to note is that before these scanners were even in existence, anyone stepping on an airplane was already increasing their exposure to radiation! In a 1998 study published in Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, scientists concluded that an airline captain is exposed to 37% more radiation per year (219 millirem) than a nuclear power plant worker in the same period of time (160 millirem). For the pilot, that is the equivalent to 22 chest x-rays, for the power plant worker, 16 chest x-rays.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology, in an independent study, reported that the average scan with the TSA backscatter x-ray scanner provides 0.0024 millirem of radiation exposure. Meaning, you would have to have 4,000 TSA scans to equal one x-ray. The people at greatest risk for increased radiation exposure from these machines is most likely the TSA workers themselves, who conduct their work in the presence of the scanners for hours at a time.

Bottom line:

1. Your biggest dose of radiation exposure is actually coming from the time you spend on the airplane at altitude, not the short amount of time in the scanner.
2. If you are a pilot, flight attendant, or frequent flyer with concerns about fertility, it certainly is a good strategy to start being more diligent about your intake of antioxidants. I've listed the important ones below that are consistently recommended as cancer fighters.
3. If you are a reporter researching the scanner issue, instead of scaring travelers, perhaps the more relevant issue is why TSA is not requiring its employees to wear dosimeters to be sure their own exposure over time is not an occupational risk. It might also be a very quick way to identify a machine that is malfunctioning and exposing flyers to unnecessary additional radiation.
4. Flight crews and TSA employees might want to consider packing their bags with more fruits and vegetables. Especially since these are not items commonly available in airport food courts.
5. In addition to the standard security questions TSA members should ask for your 24 hour diet recall to be sure you're sufficiently protected for your flight. (Couldn't resist that one…just KIDDING!)
6. For our specific population most likely reading this post, I strongly recommend you discuss your travel strategy with the appropriate caregiver if you have a history of cancer, are in the middle of infertility treatment, or have a history of sexual abuse. It's best to know what choices are most appropriate for your personal situation before standing in the TSA line.

So if you're heading home at altitude for Thanksgiving, consider that the broccoli, cranberries, and sweet potatoes (even a small extra sliver of pumpkin pie) aren't all that bad if you're going to have seconds. Enjoy them, as well as your family.

BEST ANTIOXIDANTS FOR COUNTERING RADIATION

Vitamin C parsley, broccoli, bell pepper, strawberries, oranges, lemon juice, papaya, cauliflower, kale, mustard greens, and Brussels sprouts.

Vitamin E mustard greens, chard, sunflower seeds, turnip greens

Vitamin A carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, spinach, beef, collards, kale, turnip greens, beet greens, winter squash

Lutein and Zeaxanthin kale, spinach, turnip greens, collard greens, romaine lettuce, broccoli, zucchini, garden peas, Brussels sprouts

Proanthocyanadins apples, cinnamon, cocoa, grape seed, grape skin, red wine, cranberry, black currant, green tea, black tea, and chokecherry.

Selenium button mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, cod, shrimp, snapper, tuna, halibut, calf's liver, and salmon.

Lycopene tomatoes, pink grapefruit, watermelon, and guava

Yesterday I introduced you to Nightly Beauty by Beauty Foods, a nutricosmetic primarily designed for improving skin health and appearance. I shared my own experience with this product while investigating its potential for PCOS. Hopefully my photos got your attention enough to want to read more! Today I'd like to share some of the science behind my thoughts.

Women with PCOS are struggling with inflammation. It hits everywhere, not just the ovaries. It causes diabetes, heart disease, depression. That much you know. It also ages skin more quickly than it should be aging. So other body tissues break down and aren't readily replaced. Your most important strategy, of course, is to reduce the inflammatory process with the kinds of choices we encourage here on this blog.

Nightly Beauty enhances that process with a few additional ingredients, BioCollagen and hyaluronic acid that aren't easy to correct with simple dietary changes.

Collagen

Collagen is one of the major components of skin. It's only been recently that it's been confirmed through research that supplementing the diet with collagen actually helps skin collagen. Right as we were preparing to post these blog entries, BioCell Technology, maker of the collagen in Nightly Beauty, distributed a press release announcing that the first human study of their collagen supplement confirmed that it actually does increase collagen levels in skin (types I and III). In their words,"results of the study showed that a majority of the participants experienced a remarkable improvement in skin texture, together with hydration, reduced scaling, and improved blood microcirculation".

Of course, since I've had the opportunity to experience this myself as I reported yesterday, I love this! However, this is just the wonderful side effect. There's something even more important for PCOS. Another inflammatory disorder many of you struggle with is arthritis. And when your joints hurt, you can't exercise. BioCell Collagen supplementation has also been proven to increase collagen type II, which is the type of collagen found in joints. They report that joint discomfort and stiffness in research subjects reduced by as much as 40% in 8 weeks.

Your faces are precious, but your quality of life matters more to me. If you can move, you can help your PCOS. If you can help your PCOS, you're more likely to feel better about yourself. This is the main reason I picked up the phone and called Jacque in the first place, I saw its potential for all of you writing and telling me that your joints hurt and no one was connecting it to your primary problem — inflammation.

Hyaluronic Acid

Hyaluronic acid, or HA, is known in the beauty world as the plumper. Many women take HA supplements to plump their lips. It also pulls water into skin, helping to plump and hydrate.

But did you know, HA is also a major component of the gelatinous fluid in your eyes? It's what helps to hold fluid in the eyeball. I didn't, until I started researching Nightly Beauty. Several months prior, I'd noticed my eyes were feeling dry, despite my faithful use of fish oils and upping my fluid intake. It didn't hit me until I started reading about HA and eyes that not long after I started taking this product my dry eyes started improving. Considerably. So I started reading more. Women with PCOS actually do experience more dry eye syndrome than women who don't.

There is considerable research into ways to deliver more hyaluronic acid to eyes, including eye drops and even controlled-release contact lenses. I'm having trouble finding any research either supporting or negating hyaluronic acid supplementation as a potential route of administration…but I'm not surprised. Nutrition is often an afterthought in research problem solving.

This product has not been researched specifically for dry eyes or for PCOS, but for women who are interested in trying something that has documented benefit for other PCOS-related symptoms and who also have dry eyes, it couldn't hurt to try it. I must state that Beauty Foods is NOT making health claims about this product. I am, in this blog post, reporting my personal experience and connecting research relevant to the product for my specific intended audience, independently of them.

If you do choose to try it, and you experience benefits, please let me know. I'd like to keep a running total of results and perhaps…include it as something we research at our new institute.

If you'd like to try Nightly Beauty for yourself, it's on sale this week at http://www.jpselects.com/. It's also available at http://www.beautyfoods.com/.

Let us know what you think!

Collagen-containing nutricosmetic shown to combat aging. http://www.cosmeticsdesign-europe.com/ http://www.cosmeticsdesign-europe.com/Formulation-Science/Collagen-containing-nutricosmetic-shown-to-combat-aging

Bonini S, Mantelli F, Moretti C, Lambiase A, Bonini S, Micera A. Itchy-dry eye associated with polycystic ovary syndrome. Am J Ophthalmol. 2007 May;143(5):763-771. Epub 2007 Mar 23.

Coksuer H, Ozcura F, Oghan F, Haliloglu B, Karatas S. Effects of hyperandrogenism on tear function and tear drainage in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome. J Reprod Med. 2011 Jan-Feb;56(1-2):65-70.

Ali M, Byrne ME. Controlled release of high molecular weight hyaluronic Acid from molecularly imprinted hydrogel contact lenses. Pharm Res. 2009 Mar;26(3):714-26. Epub 2009 Jan 21.

Liu L, Tiffany J, Dang Z, Dart JK, Watson SL, Daniels JT, Geerling G. Nourish and nurture: development of a nutrient ocular lubricant. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2009 Jun;50(6):2932-9. Epub 2008 Dec 13.

I have having fun learning how to use an iPad this week. The first night I had it, I was up pretty late installing apps and learning to navigate the system, which is new for me.

I also spent much of the night tossing and turning in bed, too wired tomrelax and fall asleep. I've written about this before, but since I have now experienced the phenomenon myself thought I'd pass along a little reminder.

IPads, because of how they are lit, interfere with melatonin production and they interfere with sleep. Be judicious with how you use them!

I made a conscious effort last night to turn mine off at about 7:30 and it made a huge difference.

This could be a bit of a drag for those of you who love to read in bed, but consider the ever-strengthening relationship between sleep and insulin function. the less you sleep the more likely it is that you will be insulin resistant.

For those of you sending me late night emails…I check time stamps and I will be calling you out! It's NEVER so important that you have to write me at 3 am!

The good news here is that I learn to navigate this gadget I'll surely be thinking of ways to use it to your benefit. During daylight hours, of course. Stay tuned!