Good articles!

How many of us have heard a zillion times over that yo-yo dieting "screws up" your metabolism and makes weight gain easier? Worse, how many of us have used that excuse not to try to lose weight? While there might be many reasons that someone who alternates crazy starvation routines with out and out binging regains quickly (increased activation of lipoprotein lipase for example), overall there really is no evidence to back up the myth that a history of yo-yo dieting condemns you to a life of being overweight. Even if you have yo-yo dieted, you can still lose weight and keep it off permanently. You may have to do a bit of "metabolic healing" and "balancing"-- bringing hormones into balance and eating in a way that corrects high blood sugar and the tendency towards high levels of insulin (the fat storage hormone), but you can definitely do it. A new article in the New York Times today confirmed that the idea of yo-yo dieting permanently screwing up your metabolism is indeed a myth.

For years I've been saying that health, healing and losing weight aren't just about finding the "perfect diet" (information) or the "perfect drug" . They're about the whole person. In a really moving, terrific article today, Dr. Thomas Gross talks about the healing benefits of simple human interaction. In this case, the person's immune system got stronger and their sleep improved. It's a beautiful example of the healing powers of simple connection. And think about it- when's the last time you ever did anything life-changing simply because you got good "information"? If it were that simple, no one would smoke. We change our behavior when we're inspired, when we're optimistic, when we're connected and when we feel "gotten". All those set in motion a huge pharmacology in the brain that takes us on the path of health and healing.