Connect with us

Health

How My Trip to Quit Sugar Quickly Became a Journey Into Hell

Published

on

How My Trip to Quit Sugar Quickly Became a Journey Into Hell

And from the more westerly of the two docks, it was possible to stare directly at the smaller, even more westerly, even more private dock reserved for the exclusive use of guests staying in the Vivamayr villa (which goes for 3,750 euros per night). My fellow regular guests and I squinted at the private villa dock and tried to discern the facial characteristics, or even the age, of the woman we saw there. (Impossible.) Constantly, people were eyeing one another to see if anyone was a celebrity. As nice and as expensive as Vivamayr was, just about everyone knew of somewhere even nicer and even more expensive, where even wealthier people could pay money for similar services; I overheard so much talk of such places that I eventually found myself thinking of Vivamayr as their rundown, dumpy cousin. Was this, I wondered, the key to Vivamayr’s success? Can the ultrawealthy be convinced of the program’s virtue only if their destination is, in some way, less than ideal?

When I’d chronicled my relentless pursuit of sweetness for my Vivamayr doctor, her eyes had sparkled like sanding sugar on grocery-store cookies cut in seasonal shapes. “I have something in mind,” she said at our first meeting: “Functional MyoDiagnostic” testing for “food intolerances.” I had no idea what the hell that was; sounded great.

On the appointed afternoon, I climbed steep sunlit stairs to her office. She bade me lie down on an exam table. I was to use my thigh muscles to move my knee toward my head, overpowering gentle pressure from her as she pushed the knee in the opposite direction. I moved it easily. She began tapping teensy smidgens of substances onto my tongue with the aid of a wooden depressor. After each deposit of crumbs, I was instructed to repeat the knee-to-head maneuver. If my tongue encountered a substance my body “does not like,” the doctor said, my muscles would get weaker for up to 20 seconds, before recovering. In this way, she would identify allergies, weaknesses and deficiencies in my diet. I moved my knee without any trouble until she placed a fine white powder onto my tongue; suddenly, I could barely push against her. “That’s actually what I thought,” she said.

My muscles had reacted poorly to a few crumbs of yeast, the doctor reported, which meant that my craving for sweets was caused by a fungal infection in my gut. The microorganisms of the infection, she explained, lived on sweets, and I was feeding them constantly. “We have to starve it out,” the doctor said, of the thing growing inside me. “You know what it means: No sweets. No yeast.” I would also have to take medication. I was staggered. What I had believed was my own preference was apparently the insatiable appetite of a foreign invader. “What would cause this?” I asked. The doctor believed I had had this infection “for a very long time”; perhaps it grew out of an antibiotic I took at some point in childhood, she said. She was “absolutely astonished,” that my body had not been further ravaged.

I was not ready to give up sweets just because I had lost control of my person decades ago to some alien fungus that had hijacked my mind in its relentless pursuit of sugar. Because I was functioning well with the infection, I wondered aloud, wasn’t there a risk that, if I tried to eradicate it, my body chemistry would fall out of whack? The only risk, the doctor said, was in continuing to allow it to flourish unchecked. “It might interfere with your intestines” if I kept it “too long,” she said. “It might really harm your bowels. And your sugar craving will never end.” If I successfully eradicated the infection, she added, my digestion, which was already good, might, in some way, become even better.

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Health

Man’s extreme energy drink habit leads to concerning medical discovery, doctors say

Published

on

Man’s extreme energy drink habit leads to concerning medical discovery, doctors say

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Eight energy drinks per day may lead to serious health consequences, recent research suggests.

A relatively healthy man in his 50s suffered a stroke from the overconsumption of unnamed energy beverages, according to a scientific paper published in the journal BMJ Case Reports by doctors at Nottingham University Hospitals in the U.K.

The unnamed man was described as “normally fit and well,” but was experiencing left-side weakness, numbness and ataxia, also known as poor coordination or unsteady walking. 

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER

Advertisement

When the man sought medical attention, it was confirmed via MRI that he had suffered an ischemic thalamic stroke, the report stated.

The patient’s blood pressure was high upon admission to the hospital, was lowered during treatment and then rose again after discharge, even though he was taking five medications.

The 50-year-old man (not pictured) admitted to drinking eight energy drinks per day. (iStock)

The man revealed that he consumed eight cans of energy drink per day, each containing 160 mg of caffeine. His caffeine consumption had not been recorded upon admission to the hospital.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES

Advertisement

Once the man stopped drinking caffeine, his blood pressure normalized, and he was taken off antihypertensive medications.

High caffeine content can raise blood pressure “substantially,” a doctor confirmed. (iStock)

Based on this case, the authors raised the potential risks associated with energy drinks, especially regarding stroke and cardiovascular disease.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

They also highlighted the importance of “targeted questioning in clinical practice and greater public awareness.”

Advertisement

The authors say this case draws attention to the potential dangers of over-consuming energy drinks. (iStock)

Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel reacted to the case study in an interview with Fox News Digital.

“This case report illustrates the high risk associated with a large volume of energy drink consumption, especially because of the high caffeine content, which can raise your blood pressure substantially,” said Siegel, who was not involved in the study.

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ

“In this case, the large amount of caffeine appears to have led directly to very high blood pressure and a thalamic stroke, which is likely a result of that soaring blood pressure.”

Advertisement

Fox News Digital reached out to the case study authors and various energy drink brands for comment.

Continue Reading

Health

5 Surprising Ozempic Side Effects Doctors Are Finally Revealing (Like Back Pain and Hair Loss)

Published

on

5 Surprising Ozempic Side Effects Doctors Are Finally Revealing (Like Back Pain and Hair Loss)


Advertisement


Surprising Ozempic Side Effects Doctors Want Women To Know | Woman’s World




















Advertisement











Advertisement




Use left and right arrow keys to navigate between menu items.


Use escape to exit the menu.

Advertisement

Continue Reading

Health

Relationship coach blames Oprah for pushing family estrangement ‘for decades’

Published

on

Relationship coach blames Oprah for pushing family estrangement ‘for decades’

Join Fox News for access to this content

You have reached your maximum number of articles. Log in or create an account FREE of charge to continue reading.

By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News’ Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive.

Please enter a valid email address.

Having trouble? Click here.

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Oprah Winfrey is shining a light on family estrangement, which she calls “one of the fastest-growing cultural shifts of our time” — but one expert says the media mogul helped fuel that very culture.

Advertisement

“A Cornell University study now shows that almost one-third of Americans are actively estranged from a family member,” Winfrey said on a recent episode of “The Oprah Podcast,” referring to adult children going “no-contact” with parents, siblings or entire family systems.

Winfrey said the trend is a “silent epidemic” that can be especially relevant during the holidays.

ONE TOXIC BEHAVIOR KILLS RELATIONSHIPS, LEADING HAPPINESS EXPERT WARNS

But family and relationship coach Tania Khazaal, who focuses on fighting “cutoff culture,” took to social media to criticize Winfrey for acting as if the estrangement crisis appeared “out of thin air.”

“Now Oprah is shocked by the aftermath of estrangement, after being one of the biggest voices pushing it for decades,” Canada-based Khazaal said in an Instagram video, which drew more than 27,000 likes and 3,000 comments.

Advertisement

Oprah Winfrey recently discussed what she called a “silent epidemic” of family estrangement on her podcast. (Theo Wargo/Getty Images)

Khazaal claimed that Winfrey’s messaging started in the 1990s and has contributed to a cultural shift where walking away became the first resort, not the last.

According to the relationship coach, millennials, some of whom grew up watching Oprah, are the leading demographic cutting off family members — and even if it wasn’t intentional, “the effect has absolutely been harmful,” Khazaal told Fox News Digital.

FAMILY BREAKUPS OVER POLITICS MAY HURT MORE THAN YOU THINK, EXPERT SAYS

The coach, who has her own history with estrangement, questioned why Winfrey is now treating the issue as a surprising crisis.

Advertisement

“Now she hosts a discussion with estranged parents and estranged kids, speaking on estrangement like it’s some hidden, sudden, heartbreaking epidemic that she had no hand in,” she said in her video.

Nearly one-third of Americans are estranged from a family member, research shows. (iStock)

Khazaal said she believes discussions about estrangement are necessary, but insists that people shouldn’t “rewrite history.”

“Estrangement isn’t entertainment or a trending conversation piece,” she added. “It’s real families, real grief, parents dying without hearing their child’s voice.”

JENNIFER ANISTON, KATE HUDSON, HEATHER GRAHAM’S SHOCKING REASONS THEY BECAME ESTRANGED FROM THEIR PARENTS

Advertisement

Winfrey reportedly responded in the comments, writing, “Happy to have a conversation about it — but not on a reel. Will have my producer contact you if you’re interested.” But the comment was later deleted due to the backlash it received, Khazaal told Fox News Digital.

“I would still be open to that discussion,” Khazaal said. “The first thing I’d want her to understand is simple: Setting aside cases of abuse or danger, the family unit is the most sacred structure we have.” 

Experts emphasize that estrangement should be a last resort. (iStock)

“When children lose their sense of belonging at home, they search for it in the outside world,” she added. “That’s contributing to the emotional fragility we’re seeing today.”

Her critique ignited a debate online, with some social media users saying Khazaal is voicing a long-overdue concern.

Advertisement

PSYCHIATRIST REVEALS HOW SIMPLE MINDSET SHIFTS CAN SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE CHRONIC PAIN

“The first time I heard, ‘You can love them from a distance’ was from Oprah … in the ’90s,” one woman said.

My son estranged himself from us for five years,” one mother commented. “The pain, hurt and damage never goes away.”

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ

Others, however, argued that Winfrey’s podcast episode was empathetic and that estrangement shouldn’t be oversimplified.

Advertisement

Mental health experts say the conversation around estrangement is more complex than any single celebrity influence, and reflects broader cultural shifts.

Experts say today’s focus on boundaries and emotional well-being has reshaped family expectations. (iStock)

In the episode with Winfrey, Joshua Coleman, a California-based psychologist, said, “The old days of ‘honor thy mother and thy father,’ ‘respect thy elders’ and ‘family is forever’ has given way to much more of an emphasis on personal happiness, personal growth, my identity, my political beliefs, my mental health.” 

Coleman noted that therapists sometimes become “detachment brokers” by unintentionally green-lighting estrangement.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER

Advertisement

Jillian Amodio, a licensed master’s social worker at the Maryland-based Waypoint Wellness Center, told Fox News Digital that while public figures like Winfrey help normalize these conversations, estrangement might just be a more openly discussed topic now.

“Estrangement used to be handled privately and quietly,” she said.

Winfrey’s take on family estrangement is prompting a broader discussion amid the holiday season. (iStock)

But even strained relationships can be fixed with the right support, experts say.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES

Advertisement

Susan Foosness, a North Carolina-based clinical director of patient programs at Rula Health, said families can strengthen their relationships by working with a mental health professional to improve communication, learn healthier conflict-resolution skills, and build trust and empathy through quality time together.

“No family is perfect,” Foosness told Fox News Digital.

Khazaal agreed, saying, “Parents need to learn how to listen without slipping into justification, and children need help speaking about their pain without defaulting to blame or avoidance.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Winfrey for comment.

Advertisement

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending