You’ve probably heard that a “Mediterranean Diet” will help you live longer. What is a “Mediterranean Diet”? Essentially, a diet like that of the Greek and Mediterranean regions–a diet low in meat and dairy products, but high in vegetables, legumes, fruits and nuts, cereals, fish, and olive oil, with a moderate alcohol intake.

Recently, though, there’s been some concern that although a Mediterranean diet might be good for your heart, it appears to lead to weight gain and obesity. (And we know that being overweight is NOT good for your heart!) Specifically, surveys done in the European Union indicate that those who most closely adhere to a Mediterranean diet (the Greek population) have a high prevalence of overweight and obesity.

A study published last year in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Am J Clin Nutr 2005;82:935-40) seems to show that a Mediterranean diet does not, in and of itself, lead to weight gain and obesity.

The study included 23,597 male and female volunteers between the ages of 20 and 86 who were recruited to participate in a much larger European study to investigate cancer and nutrition. Subjects who had coronary artery disease, cancer, or diabetes were excluded.

For the study itself, each volunteer was weighed and their height measured so that their Body Mass Index (BMI) could be calculated. Their waist and hip circumferences were also measured and their Waist-to-Hip Ratio (WHR) was calculated. Finally, each volunteer answered a detailed food questionnaire regarding their dietary intake over the past year, which allowed the researchers to assign each volunteer’s adherence to the Mediterranean diet on a scale of 0 to 9, with 9 being the the highest level of adherence to the Mediterranean diet.

Researchers also collected information on the subjects’ level of education, whether they smoked and if so, how much, their level of physical activity, and their average caloric intake, among others.

The results? The researchers found that:

BMI Increased:

• As age increased
• For smokers
• As caloric intake increased (for men, but not women)

BMI Decreased:

• As educational level increased
• With higher physical activity

What they did NOT find, however, is any indication that a high level of adherence to the Mediterranean diet actually caused the subjects’ BMI to increase. Even when the researchers did not take caloric intake levels into account, they found that a higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet only increased BMI by 0.21 among men and 0.05 among women. They found similar results for Waist-Hip Ratio, as well. The high level of obesity in Greece? Most likely had more to do with low levels of exercise and overeating than with what type of diet people were following.

The take-home messages are twofold. First, no diet, even a heart-healthy style of eating like the Mediterranean diet, is a magic bullet. You can eat lots of food that is good for you and still risk your health by being overweight. Moderation in eating is key. Second, exercise is critical to low BMI and overall health. You can improve your health by improving your diet, but the only way to be slim AND healthy (because you can be slim and UNhealthy) is to eat right and exercise.

A practicing, board-certified Internist in northern Virginia, Tim’s love of food preparation began as a teenager working in the restaurant business. Starting as a dishwasher, by age twenty-two he opened his own restaurant: a small country-French café. After three years as chef-owner, Dr. Harlan decided to return to school. He’d originally intended to pursue a degree in hotel and restaurant management, but events led him toward medicine and the decision to become a physician. In medical school, Dr. Harlan wrote _It’s Heartly Fare_, a book best characterized as a food manual for patients with cardiovascular disease. His latest book, _Hand on Heart_, is a healthy cookbook.

Dr. Gourmet has been an on-air consultant to the TV Food Network show “Cooking Thin” as well as a host on the DIY network show, “AskDIY”. In 2002 “The Dr. Gourmet Show” won an Emmy award.

Dr. Gourmet is a natural outgrowth of Dr. Harlan’s interest in good food and good health: “Eating well and eating healthy are the same thing,” he says.

Low self-esteem produces a game of control. It causes a person to suffer in silence - suffering that can lead to anorexia.

Do you struggle with painful feelings about yourself, as a person? We can have so much in our western world, but lack the one thing we most desire - acceptance and a feeling of self worth!

Tania was a beautiful teenage girl. She was given compliments, but felt unable to accept them. Her distorted image of her body led her to become anorexic. This article is not primarily about the signs and symptoms of anorexia. It’s purpose is to help the reader discover what lies behind the eating disorder called anorexia nervosa.

First of all, we need to understand how low self-esteem and anorexia are related.

The Link Between Low Self-esteem and Anorexia

A sense of low self-esteem can be caused through inadequate nurturing as a result of emotional, physical or sexual abuse as a child. Abuse is when a person uses their power or position to force another person to perform in order to meet their needs.

Emotional abuse is the subtlest form of abuse. Most of us at some time or other, whether to a greater or lesser degree, have been victims of emotional abuse. It could come from anyone who has a position of authority who requires you to perform in order to have his or her needs met.

Tania was a victim of emotional abuse. Her self-rejection grew as her parents were not able to meet her emotional needs even though she lacked nothing materially.

Emotional abuse usually begins as a generational problem. Tania’s parents did not know how to meet her needs as they themselves had unmet needs. They were what we call an ‘adult child’, searching for someone to nurture them and fulfil their needs.

Tania sensed these needs and subconsciously sought to fulfil them by ‘being there’ for her parents. As opposed to the adults ‘being there’ to meet her emotional needs! Tania listened as her parents shared their challenges but neither of them were able to spend quality time with her to allow her to open up and share her concerns. Tania had a false sense of security because she felt needed, but lacked someone to care for her own needs. This left her feeling abandoned and abused because she was not being affirmed.

As Tania did not have her own emotional needs met she was left with feelings of low self-worth, emptiness, loneliness, self-hate and depression. To compensate for her feelings of low self-worth she grew up putting more emphasis on `doing’ rather than being’. This set the scene for Tania to become anorexic!

Can you relate to Tania in some way? Do you feel empty inside wishing someone would meet your inner needs? Keep reading and you will discover how you can become all you can be.

Low Self-Esteem Is the Root of All Addictions- including Anorexia Nervosa

It has been said that addictions are an attempt to hide the real ‘me’ from the outside world. Addictions can come in many forms to help you feel better, change your mood and avoid painful feelings. In an attempt to avoid pain one can subtly be led into deception, lies and denial. Anorexia Nervosa was Tania’s way of changing her perception of herself - her intense, irrational fear of being fat kept her in a cycle of deception and control. Let’s look at how this cycle works.

Low Self-Esteem produces a Game of Control

Those with low self-worth often convey a sense of control. To avoid others seeing the real person, and in fear of falling victim again, they may either control others by being assertive, or control themselves by being non-assertive.

Tania’s mother’s commented to me that from her perspective she felt Tania used her eating disorder to control and manipulate her. It was like Tania was, consciously or subconsciously, trying to control both herself and her mother.

The non-assertive approach of control

The person with a non-assertive approach sees self-worth as being based on what people think about himself/herself: it is important at any cost to gain the approval of others. Sufferers of anorexia go to extreme lengths to achieve their goal of acceptance.

It is important to note that in endeavouring to deal with low self-worth, a person can swing from being non-assertive to assertive, or visa versa. One can start out as an assertive achiever, as we will discuss in the next section, and swing to become a non-assertive, non-achiever or “loser”.

The non-assertive approach produces a cycle, which begins with denial and a desire to please because of fear of rejection. These people become resentful and angry with themselves and others when their goal is not achieved, which leads to depression and increased feelings of rejection of self or others. Then in order to feel better about themselves, they begin the cycle of control again.

The assertive approach of control

The person with an assertive approach strives to feel good about himself/herself by meeting certain standards. Feelings of never doing well enough or being good enough can create a fear of failure, which results in both a drive for perfectionism and control of self and others.

Life becomes a problem to be solved for anorexia nervosa sufferers. They are constantly caught up in ‘doing’ rather than ‘being’ content, restful and enjoying life. If you have feelings of never doing well enough or being good enough you will know what I mean!

The perfectionist has inflexible rules on how people should act or think. Deep down, it is felt that self-value is only obtained through achievement; therefore new challenges or other people’s opinions are threatening, as the perfectionist feels that mistakes are to be avoided at any cost to prevent shame.

The assertive approach also produces a cycle, which begins with denial and a desire to control self and others through fear of failure. To achieve this goal the assertive person is legalistic and critical of self and others. These people become defensive and angry when their goal is not achieved, which leads to feelings of loneliness and depression. To feel better about themselves they begin the cycle of control again to achieve their goal.

Life becomes a game of control! How do we get out of this cycle we get ourselves into through low self-worth?

For all who struggle with low self-esteem, I invite you to see a cartoon presentation on our website (www.ydyc.org) that will give you hope and freedom from the cycle of deception and control. It will help you make a fresh start and become all you can be.

As a trained nurse I strongly recommend that you seek professional help if you are suffering from anorexia nervosa.

Wilma Watson is a trained nurse and producer of the website http://www.ydyc.org. She has a passion to help people reach their maximimum potential.

(Ailsa’s Apple Crumble Diet)

I’m Scottish, so it’s not a big stretch that I love Oatmeal, like any Good Scot! We grow up eating tons and tons of Porridge, and then anything else with lots of Oatmeal in it. Oatmeal is like Soul Food for the Scots! After my Second Child (Aidan) was about Two, and I still hadn’t lost that ‘Baby Weight’ — not all of it, since there was a fair bit to lose… Anyway, I knew I had to come up with something that was tasty enough to make me want to eat it, and good enough to replace my delicious Chocolates. And it had to be something I could make quickly and easily, and that I could just incorporate into my regular daily diet. That’s when I came up with ‘The Scottish Diet’, with the Apple Crumble for One Recipe.

And in case you’re wondering, ‘The Scottish Diet’ is not “Eat Sweeties all day, then have Fish & Chips for Dinner” … although that does sound good! ha,ha! No, no. It’s all about the Oatmeal for this Diet. Oatmeal is a food that ’stays’ in your system (”sticks to yer ribs”, as they say in Scotland…), so it’s a great thing to add to your Daily Diet to help you feel satisfied and full and at the same time control your hunger for a few hours. It’s very filling, as well as being nice and tasty. Oatmeal is a Natural Whole Grain Product, so it digests slowly, which is good for maintaining your Blood Sugars (important for Diabetics or when you need to control your Food Intake and Cravings…).

Oatmeal helps with Lowering your Cholesterol and, of course, it’s good for ‘moving things through’ your system. Sorry — had to say it! Actually, if you or someone you know has IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), tell them about this Apple Crumble for One so they can give it a try. And the Bran & Barley in this Recipe are great for that, too. There have been some Studies to indicate that Cinnamon may help with Diabetes, so if you are dealing with that, add an extra Tablespoon or Two of Cinnamon in your Oatmeal Mix, or sprinkle it on each bowl of Apple Crumble.

There’s a Full Serving of Fruit in each Bowl of the Apple Crumble for One, so that’s very good for your overall health. It’s nice and sweet, and you can change the Flavor of the Crumble Dish by adding different types of Fruit, and occasionally sprinkling some Chopped Nuts on top of the Crumble. Chopped Pecans with the Apple Crumble is very, very tasty.

Quick word about the word ‘Diet’. Not a big fan of that word, except in the sense of ‘what you might eat each day’ in a nice, normal kind of way. I’m no’ one for denying myself, if you know what I mean! ha,ha,ha! My take on depriving yourself is that it is a surefire way to prevent weight-loss, since then you’re mad that you can’t have what you really want (and feel you clearly deserve…!). I think you can still have a treat — just keep it in moderation, and have your wee treat in the early part of the day. Maybe for a mid-morning snack, or in the middle of the afternoon. It’s the Bedtime Cheesecake you want to avoid… If you eat the treats during your busy part of the day, you’ll have ‘used up’ your treat by the time you go to bed.

Anyway, make up a giant batch of the Apple Crumble Oatmeal Mix, keep it in the Fridge with a jar of Apple Sauce, and have it at least once a day. More often if you are wanting to lose a fair bit of weight. I lost well over 30 pounds on this ‘Scottish Diet’, but some of it snuck back on, so now I’m back at it. Good thing I love it so very much!

If you want to lose 20 pounds or more, have the Apple Crumble for One for Breakfast, Snacks, and Lunch. When you get down to the last Ten Pounds, or to maintain your New Weight, have the Apple Crumble once or twice a day to keep things nice and stable. (And I feel like ‘the last ten pounds’ are your own personal decision about how much you think you should weigh, or how you want to look — not some stooopid number in a book… you know when you look and feel good, so go with your ‘gut instinct’, so-to-speak, on that one!)

Pop into my Fitness Page to see some easy and very effective exercises you can do at home so you can start to Build Muscle, which is one of the other Big Keys to slimming down and staying in Shape. Remember never to ‘Drink your Calories’ — try to drink Water, Tea — anything that has no Sugar in it. I’m a ‘Tea Jenny’ (Scottish for someone who drinks a lot of Tea!), and I realized that I was adding a fair bit of extra Fat to my Daily Diet just from the milk in my Tea, so I switched over to Skim Milk Powder, which I love.

Oh, and here’s my last wee Diet Tip: Eat what you Love. If you aren’t enjoying the food tremendously, skip it. Enjoy every bite, or forget it. And Chew Slowly — the wolf-like eating canny be good for you! ha,ha,ha! Plus, that’s never good to look ‘beastly’ when you’re eating, right? So take wee bites, chew well, and eat yer Oatmeal! Soon you’ll be even more beautiful than you were before, if that’s possible … Oh, to be Gorgeous!!

Apple Crumble for One

Crumble Mix:

4 Cups of Oatmeal (Quick-cooking Rolled Oats)

1 Cup Flour (Regular, Barley or Whole Wheat… I use the Barley Flour all the time, now.)

1 Cup Bran Flakes

1/2 - 3/4 Cup Brown Sugar (Start with 3/4 cup of Brown Sugar, and gradually use less…)

1 - 2 tbsp. Cinnamon

3/4 to 1 Cup Butter, melted or soft (I always pop it into the microwave for about 30 seconds to melt it.)

2 tsp. Vanilla

Fruit Base:

Apple Sauce Just keep a jar of Unsweetened Apple Sauce in the Fridge — the ‘Fruit Base’ goes in a regular Bowl right before you add the Crumble Topping, don’t add it into the Apple Crumble Mix(!)…

Optional: You can add any other fruit — peaches, stawberries, blueberries, raspberries or any other Fruit Mix are delicious. This Dish uses a Full Serving of Fruit, so it’s very good for you, too!

I like to put some chopped Pecans or Walnuts sprinkled on the Apple Crumble, and that’s really tasty.

You can mix ‘n match so you always have ‘new’ treats!

Directions for the Crumble Mix:

Blend the Dry Ingredients, then mix in the Butter and Vanilla… I use a Pastry Cutter to mix up a big batch of the Crumble Mixture, but you can use a Spoon and Fork just as well.

Put it in an Air-Tight Container or a Large ‘Zip-up’ Freezer Bag and pop it in the Fridge.

I put in a 1/4 or 1/2 cup measuring cup — those plastic ones — right in the container so I can easily measure out a 1/4 cup for a small serving of the Apple Crumble Treat, or 1/2 cup of the Crumble mix if it’s for your Breakfast or Lunch.

(Add a wee bit more Cinnamon if you are dealing with Diabetes, since there have been some studies to indicate that Cinnamon may help in managing your Blood Sugars.)

How to Make Apple Crumble for One :

Pour about a 1/2 Cup of Applesauce into a Bowl (or Peel and Cut 1 Apple into little pieces and put on a plate)

Sprinkle 1/2 a Cup of the Oatmeal Topping over the Fruit.

Pop it in the Microwave for 1 Minute on High

The Cut Fruit will probably require between 2-5 minutes, depending on how soft the apple is, so the Apple Sauce is much faster and easier.

Voila! You’re done and now you have Apple Crumble for One! Good luck with the ‘One’ bit, though, since it often seems that someone comes into the kitchen just as this comes out of the Microwave who ‘just wants a wee bite’, then they take at least half of it! ha,ha,ha! But at least they’re all eating something tasty and healthy! Now, that’s a real treat!

I developed this Recipe to help me to lose some weight — about 30 pounds! No kidding! Check out my Apple Crumble Diet Page if you want to find out how you can lose weight with Apple Crumble, too! It really works!

Another name I considered for this Scottish Diet — “The Chin-Be-Gone Diet”… do you like that?? How about, “Oh, Hey! There’s my feet!”… you’ll only get that if you’ve been through the stage where you look down and really can’t see yer feet, then one miraculous day, there they are — in plain site! And, oh, that’s a joyous day, ain’t it?? ha,ha!

One More Thing (fer sures, this time!): I’ve heard a lot about psyllium lately. I hear it’s fantastic for weight loss, so that’s enough for me to run out and buy two boxes of whatever I can find that might mention ‘psyllium’ on the Label… Anyway, I found All Bran Cereal with Psyllium at Walmart, and now my favorite breakfast is Special K sprinkled with the All Bran with Psyllium, topped with a lot of Blueberries. Yum! It’s sooo crunchy and delicious… really!

And then I’ve started to occasionally sprinkle the All Bran Cereal (with Psyllium, of course!), onto the Apple Crumble for One, after it’s been in the microwave, so the ‘Bran Buds’ (oooh, that sounds tasty, don’t it? Bran Buds??) don’t get mushy. Gives the Apple Crumble, which I love, a little crunchy texture.

Dwight Tidbit: One morning I was having this for breakfast, when I said to Dwight that I couldn’t see the Psyllium listed as an ingredient when it was written right across the Cereal Box…. well, Dwight looks at me like I’m an idiot and says in a not-very-nice voice, “Psyllium is part of the Bran, Ailsa…” Hmmm. So I says to him, “Mystery Man, don’t talk to me like I’m the moron…”. I said it mostly to amuse myself, but now you can see how lovely it is around here in the mornings! ha,ha,ha!

Oh, and if you’re wondering how I got from ‘Dwight’ to ‘Mystery Man’, it’s very clear in my own head — Mister to Mystery plus man.. Mystery Man… seems about right, since there’s more than one mystery around here!

Ailsa Forshaw is a Writer currently stuck in Alberta, Canada, but with great aspirations of ‘living somewhere warm’– and Publishing many items! Ailsa’s website, http://www.buildyourownhouse.ca (http://www.theScottishDiet.com), came after years of Teaching, Building & Writing. She has Two lovely children, 17 & 5 (very careful planning), and is still married…with one gorgeous wee dog.
http://www.buildyourownhouse.ca

Drugs prescribed to relieve pain or relax muscles in backache disorders do not cure common back problems. These can become habit forming and may actually perpetuate the disease in case of excessive intake.

Certain safety measures, especially, for people in sedentary occupation, are necessary to
relieve and prevent backache. The most important of these is exercise which improves the
supply of nutrients to spinal discs, thereby delaying the process of deterioration that comes with
age and eventually affects everybody. Safe exercises include walking, swimming and bicycling.

The latter should be done keeping the back upright. Controlling one’s weight is another
important step towards relieving backache as excess weight greatly increases the stress on soft
back tissues.

Those with sedentary occupations should take a break to stand up every hour. Soft cushioned
seats should be avoided and position should be changed as often as possible. Persons with
back problems should sleep on a firm mattress on their sides with knees bent at right angles to
the torso. They should take care never to bend from the waist down to lift any object but instead
should swat close to the object, bending the knees but keeping the back straight, and then stand
up slowly.

Neck tension arising from long hours at the desk or behind the wheel of the car can be relieved
by certain neck exercises. These include rotating the head clockwise and anticlockwise, allowing
the head to drop forward and backward as far as possible and turning the head to the right and
left as far as possible several times. These exercises help to loosen up contracted neck muscles
which may restrict the blood supply to the head.

The diet of those suffering from backache should consist of a salad of raw vegetables such as
tomato, carrot, cabbage, cucumber, radish, lettuce and at least two steamed or lightly cooked
vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage, carrot, spinach and plenty of fruits, all except bananas.

The patients should have four meals daily. They may take fruits and milk during breakfast,
steamed vegetables and whole wheat chapatis during lunch, fresh fruits or fruit juice in the
evening and a bowl of raw salad and sprouts during dinner.

The patients should avoid fatty, spicy, and fried foods, curd, sweetmeats, sugar, condiments as
well as tea and coffee. Those who smoke and take tobacco in any form should give them up
completely.
Proteins and vitamin C are necessary for the development of a healthy bone metrix. Vitamin D,
calcium, phosphorous and the essential trace minerals are essential for healthy bones. Foods
that have been processed for storage to avoid spoiling have few nutrients and should be
eliminated from the diet. Vitamin C has proved helpful in relieving low-back pain and averting
spinal disc operations.

Hot fomentations, alternate sponging or application of radiant heat to the back will also give
immediate relief. Yogic asanas which are beneficial in the treatment of backache are
bhujangasana, shalabhasana, halasana, uttanpadasana and shavasana.

The back can be strengthened through proper nutrition, exercise and relaxation and in the
process general health will also improve.

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