A Child’S Health Journal

By Dr. Vincent N. Cefalu Sr.

This book is a simplified version for the child who must begin looking at life from the real side. I was severely overweight for a very long time, and because of this, there was damage to my blood vessels and heart that will be permanent. So my intention is to warn the extremely young person that healthy eating is absolutely necessary, and the earlier it is started, the better the child will be able to keep the weight down later on in life and avoid its consequences. I present what I consider to be the perfect diet for the youngster to become healthier. It is a sad fact that overweight children are constantly teased by their friends, and they know that losing weight and becoming more attractive is the only answer.

I explain some reactions that are constantly taking place inside our body so that the child can understand why it can be difficult to lose weight, why we become overweight, how overeating causes type 2 diabetes, and what must be done to prevent these problems. Also, a diabetic would hopefully come to realize that losing weight is the only sure cure.

Along with this, I remind all my young readers that there are many dangerous things that exist around us, some made by man, such as smoking, radiation, and certain drugs and products, that need to be avoided. I also discuss some accidents that, far too often, cause deaths, and I tell how they can be prevented. Furthermore, I am obligated to emphasize the drug and sex problems since, sooner or later, the child will be finding out the true facts, so I present these in easy-to-understand language. What they are able to learn now will pay off tremendously in the future. The child might even find many of my poems along the way somewhat enjoyable and amusing.

Regardless of whether you are part of a school system or a parent or guardian, you should be concerned about the many disasters that surround us today, and you would want your child to become better prepared to meet these challenges. On this basis, I offer honest and realistic advice based on my personal and professional experiences.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 9, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524506483

Dr. Vincent N. Cefalu Sr.

Dr. Vincent N. Cefalu Sr. graduated from Amite High School in 1966. He subsequently received a bachelor of science degree in zoology from Southeastern Louisiana College and a medical degree from Louisiana State University in New Orleans, accomplishing the latter in just three short years. He completed a one-year “rotating O” internship at Earl K. Long Hospital in Baton Rouge and then moonlighted for many years in emergency rooms all over the state of Louisiana. He eventually held many professional jobs, including the public health clinic, local mental health clinic, and substance abuse clinic; was awarded several state contracts; served as medical director of both the parish and Hammond city jails; practiced family medicine for thirty years; and held the position of coroner for fourteen years at a midsize Louisiana parish.

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© 2016 by Dr. Vincent N. Cefalu, Sr.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2016909088

ISBN:      Hardcover            978-1-5245-0650-6

                Softcover              978-1-5245-0649-0

                eBook                  978-1-5245-0648-3

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Rev. date: 06/08/2016

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Contents

Disclaimer

Dedication

My Medical Background

Introduction

The All-Important Mental Factor

Mental Problems Can Even Help Sometimes

Emotional Problems Are So Important

Heredity Does Count

Happiness Is A Necessity

Dangers Of Too Much Interaction With Others—Sex Scare

Some Beginning Commonsense Poems

Key To Longevity

Make The Decision To Change

My Diet Program

Last Thought On Healthy Eating

Continuance

Combination Of Obesity And Stress Is A Catastrophe

Wise Eating

Continuing Advice

Commonsense Poems On Emotional And Physical Health

Other Harmful Things

Our Serious Drug Problem

Always Seek Help For Your Problem

Continued Dangers

Youngster, You Must Decide!

Further Suggestions

My Theory On Autism

Another Silent Killer

The Worst-Case Scenario Involving AIDS

Conclusion

Closing Thoughts

Change Now Before It’s Too Late!

Never Impossible For A Young Person To Lose Weight

The Powerful Influence Of Obesity On Us

Our Cesspool

Most Things Around Us Are Unsafe

Closing Statements

Life, My Comparison To Building Blocks

Outdoor Life Is A No-No For A Child

No Limit On The Number Of Infections

Some Commonsense Poems Of Mine

Departing Real-Life Poems

My Most Sincere Ending Poems

DISCLAIMER

A LTHOUGH MUCH OF the information in this book was taken from my coroner records and patient files, many of my opinions are based on my personal recollections and true-life experiences. Some of my recommendations and statements are highly argumentative but were based on my past work at a public health clinic, a local mental health clinic, a substance abuse clinic, and several hospitals. If any of my opinions appear to conflict with your personal physician’s advice, I would adamantly defer to his or her viewpoint. I always encourage individuals, especially youngsters, to strictly follow the guidelines established by their private physicians.

DEDICATION

T HIS BOOK, PROBABLY my last publication, is dedicated to all my grandchildren who made my life more meaningful. How many grandparents are blessed by having been around most of their grandchildren while they were growing up and having helped to raise several of them? A special thanks goes out to two of my grandsons, Joshua Bourn and Kaden Larussa, both having a lot of God-given talent, who offered great assistance to me in preparation of this book. Anytime I had a question regarding a complex word or questionable issue, I would readily seek their advice.

In the distant future, when their children ask what their great-grandfather did, hopefully they will be proud to direct them to my book collection, particularly this one written from a child’s viewpoint. I don’t know if this is leaving a legacy behind, but, in my case, it’ll do just fine.

MY MEDICAL BACKGROUND

I GRADUATED FROM Amite High School in 1966, received a bachelor of science degree in zoology, which is the study of animals, from Southeastern Louisiana College in Hammond, Louisiana, and then received my MD degree (doctor’s license) in three short years from Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans. I then finished a one-year internship at Earl K. Long Memorial Hospital in Baton Rouge, where I worked for one year all over the hospital, especially in the emergency room. I learned a lot of valuable things that a young doctor would need in order to help heal people later on. After this, I worked for many years in emergency rooms all over the state of Louisiana on weekends, so I saw a lot of things that can happen to children. Of course, during my education at LSU Medical School, I was fortunate in being able to receive my training at two of the largest public health hospitals in our state—Earl K. Long and Big Charity in New Orleans. In January 1974, I opened my medical practice—as a doctor—in Amite, Louisiana. I left after one year because I was unhappy and moved fifteen miles away to Hammond, Louisiana, where I have lived ever since. During my thirty-year medical practice, I worked at three hospitals and saw patients of all ages, including babies, and I also delivered well over 350 babies. I also worked for many years at our local mental health center (treats mental problems), substance abuse clinic (treats people on drugs and alcohol), and public health clinic (state run), working in both the family planning (birth control) and sexual disease sections. I also had jobs with several of our child protection agencies, wherein I treated battered (beat-up) or neglected children—those not receiving proper attention. In case you’re not familiar with this state agency, anytime a child is hurt by anyone, the person who did it must answer up to why it occurred. He may even have to face charges in court later on. Also, the child may have to be taken away from the parents or guardians and placed with another family for his or her safety.

Fourteen years of my family practice was spent serving as a coroner of Tangipahoa Parish, which is a midsize rural parish in Louisiana located midway between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. A coroner, who is usually a doctor, examines people after they die to find out why they died. In order to be able to determine why the person died, sometimes an autopsy would have to be done, which means that the dead body is opened up, and his or her insides are studied. The coroner is usually elected by the people. As you know, individuals, including children, can die from many causes. The person can die from a suicide (killing himself), homicide (killed by another person), and all kinds of accidents, such as train and car accidents. I can tell you that I have seen accidents occur from the most strange circumstances and at the most unlikely places.

The coroner is also the doctor who examines newborns who die, and he also has the job of seeing anyone who overdoses (takes too many drugs or alcohol) or dies from an infection. An infection is a disease that is caused by a germ, which is a very small bug that can only be seen through a microscope. There are all kinds of these tiny living creatures, such as bacteria or viruses, which I won’t go into, since you will be learning about them later in your education. During my practice, I also worked at two of the largest jails in our area, as I treated the prisoners who developed medical problems. And the thing I’m most proud of is that I personally performed over 1,500 autopsies at many places around our parish.

The coroner also has the job of dealing with mental patients, who are those having emotional problems; in other words, those who are not thinking right. He also checks out anyone who is found to possibly have a drug or alcohol problem. I was very lucky in having a lot of patients during my practice, which I felt was due to my great personality—being able to get along and talk to other people nicely—and my ability to show other people that I care about their problems. I hope that after you become aware of all of my past work activities, you will be able to see that I am more than qualified to give my opinions in this book.

INTRODUCTION

A FTER THE COMPLETION of my last book, A Young Person’s Guide to Healthy Eating & Longevity, I had absolutely no intention whatsoever of writing again until many of my readers suggested that I write a book strictly for younger children, since obesity is running rampant in their age, and many of them were unable to understand a lot of the language in it. So after several weeks of quite a few complaints, and then another several weeks of intense thinking, I decided to write a more simplified version that would be more understandable on a kids’ level. It would obviously have to be more to the point and extremely easier to read; basically, a book for children. This would be my sixth and probably last publication.

In this book, I will discuss many over-the-counter products, including energy drinks and certain drugs, that young children must avoid. I will explain why no one should give in to the massive advertisements over the media. Large manufacturers claim to have all kinds of plant and animal extracts, even some weird minerals and vitamins, that can cure everything known to man. I will explain how there are no magic potions or miraculous cures.

I write specifically for the child who must begin looking at life from the real side. Many parents or guardians may feel like some of my topics shouldn’t be tackled at their extremely young and delicate age, but sooner or later, they will be finding out the true picture on the outside, so I intend to present them in simple words. I feel like if you learn some of the disheartening facts now, you will become more able to deal with them later. As it is said, An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, which means that what the youngster finds out now can prevent disastrous situations later on.

I explain some reactions that are constantly taking place inside our body cells so that the youngster can understand why it can be difficult to lose weight, why we become overweight, and how overeating causes diabetes, along with what must be done to prevent these situations. I discuss some problems that occur when beginning a diet program that cause people to start eating again, and I explain what can be done to avoid them.

Along with this, I remind all of my young readers that there are many dangers that exist around us, some made by man, that need to be avoided. I also discuss some simple rules that must be followed in order to prevent accidents, which, far too often, cause deaths. I am obligated to emphasize the drug and sex problems, but, unfortunately, these are the two topics that many adults object to; they don’t want their kids finding this out until they are much older. However, I have seen too many young people suffering serious problems, some permanent, from their lack of knowledge. In other words, had they known beforehand, it might have made a tremendous difference. Once a life is ruined, there is no going back in time.

As a child, you really should attempt to discuss all kinds of matters with your parents or caregivers and explain to them that you will be finding out about many things later on, but that you are ready and willing to hear about these terrible things now so that you can be better prepared to meet the challenges you’ll face later. There is no such thing as hurting a child emotionally or leaving a permanent scar just from finding out the brutal facts of life at a younger age. In this respect, I put everything in a small child’s language.

Considering the many problems that I saw during my practice and what I personally went through, I give advice regarding what being severely overweight for a very long time can do. So my intention is to warn the extremely young person that healthy eating is absolutely necessary, and the earlier it is started, the better he or she will be able to keep the weight under control. I render suggestions to obese children who would like to increase their longevity. Simply put, they won’t live nearly as long by being huge at a young age, and this is an absolute fact. People aren’t aware of the serious mental and physical impact of obesity on a young person; many of them are embarrassed by their friends and schoolmates.

In reality, there is no way that any youngster can abstain completely from all the fattening foods or the multitude of substances and devices that are considered dangerous. Some of them, like the sun, can be harmful, but all you can do is practice preventive methods, which I will discuss. Attempting to adhere to every guideline and eliminate every harmful substance can cause a child to have more stress and emotional problems than it’s worth. In the long run, happiness and satisfaction are all that matters.

When it comes to my diet plan, every little emotional problem must be dealt with as much as possible. Many people get into the habit of nervous eating, wherein they eat constantly, reaching out for anything and everything, in order to help satisfy their appetites and, at the same time, calm some of their terrible feelings. On this basis, most of the people whom I treated in the past who were nervous wrecks were also severely overweight. So as they say, get your house in order first, meaning that you should get matters straight before you attempt to follow a more difficult path, such as a diet program.

Many of my opinions come from my personally having performed over 1,500 autopsies, as I just stated. Believe me! I witnessed a lot of weird things and consequences resulting from overeating. I tell about my own disgusting problems from having been over four hundred pounds for over thirty years. This caused me to develop what is called atherosclerotic disease, which is the clogging up of our blood vessels (the tiny tubes that carry blood in our body). Other people call this hardening of the arteries. In real simple language, this is a buildup of plaques inside our arteries (certain type of blood vessel) from eating fatty foods for a long period of time. Plaques form on the inside wall and cause them to get narrower, and a person can have a heart attack or stroke; in other words, a blood clot (blockage) can form in one of the blood vessels going to the heart or brain.

In my book, I also detail a good diet program that even a child can follow that resulted in my losing 272 pounds over a ten-month period. I continue to follow it, and I have successfully been able to keep my weight down. In fact, I haven’t even gained one pound over the past fourteen years. I also provide some very cheap and easy-to-prepare low-calorie recipes that I concocted that are good appetizers and filler-uppers. If you are severely overweight like I was, I’m sure you will try anything to get your weight down so that you can become much healthier and better looking.

Along the way, I provide some of my own little homemade poems. Some of them may sound stupid, but I include them to keep my young readers’ minds occupied so that they will pay more attention to my suggestions. That is, it will keep them from getting bored—keep them awake. Some of my poems may actually be funny.

I am not a genius and certainly not incredibly smart, but no so-called expert can question what I personally lived through and saw during my lifetime. In a nutshell, I lived through what I now warn children about, since I found out too late what being overweight could do to our body. I tell it like it is!

So if you are interested in learning about things that you can do now that will help you later on in life, I will provide you the opportunity. If you are serious about losing weight or want to know how to keep from getting obese, I feel that my knowledge will rub off onto you and that you will be able to understand things better. Hopefully, you will become health-conscious. In simple terms, that’s what my book is all about.

THE ALL-IMPORTANT MENTAL FACTOR

By Far, the Most Important!

M ENTAL HEALTH IS the most important thing in life. It involves our mind, which determines our ability to think and be able to make proper decisions. Simply put, without a normal mental state, it would be impossible for a person to be happy and live a normal and long life. It’s how we feel. The mind determines why we act the way we do and determines our attitude and behavior, so it must remain healthy. When you come down with a mental illness, which is also called a mental disease or emotional problem or bad state of mind, this can mean several things, such as not thinking right, feeling terrible, not acting properly, or not having any energy; you may not feel like doing anything. You could also be depressed, meaning that you feel down in the dumps or have a low feeling or always upset. And the worst thing about all of this is that it’s not just an adult problem. I assure you that children of all ages can be affe cted .

The brain controls everything in our body, including all of our moods and attitudes; that is, our feelings. It can cause you to develop strange or abnormal symptoms, which are signs that something is wrong in the body. For example, it can cause a person to sit around all day long feeling sad, nervous, or shaky, or even tired or weak. You could also have other symptoms that could be coming from your mind such as dizziness, stomach cramps, headaches, nausea or vomiting, or some other weird pain coming from anyplace in the body. And there are some other harmful symptoms that can be signs of a mental problem, such as becoming hyperactive (having too much energy), developing a flight of ideas (shifting from one topic to another when talking), becoming easily upset, or having temper tantrums.

You may be thinking about a recent event that you can’t get out of your mind or something serious that occurred to someone in the family or someone else you know real well, like someone dying. Maybe you feel nervous or down over your school or church studies, such as feeling that it is too hard, or you simply don’t like it, or it’s taking too much time from other things that you like better, such as outdoor activities like playing a sport. Even boyfriend and girlfriend problems can bring on ill feelings. Anything that happens in life can be the reason why you feel in the dumps. Almost any small incident anyplace, especially at school, can cause you to feel lousy, no matter how unimportant it may seem. Also, any problems that our family members encounter, such as money problems—not being able to pay the bills—can affect us.

These disastrous feelings can be present for a very brief or very long time, and even become permanent (last forever). Therefore, any emotional problem or irrational thinking (acting strange or saying things that don’t make sense) must be worked up by your medical doctor, either a family physician or pediatrician. This means that the doctor must do a battery of tests, such as blood tests and X-rays, to determine if there is a physical disease (some type of illness or problem with something inside of your body). If something is found, you can receive the proper treatment and get much better. On the other hand, it can turn out to be something serious, such as cancer or a problem with one of the organs inside the body. In this case, treatment may not completely cure the problem. The sad fact about life is that even babies and young children can develop serious medical problems, and, unfortunately, they can die from them just like adults.

If the doctor cannot find any underlying illness (serious problem inside your body) that could be causing your terrible symptoms, he may decide that you have a mental problem or mental disease (it’s coming from your mind). Children don’t have as many emotional problems as adults, but when they do, it can be even more serious. Like a physical illness, it can be short term (last very briefly) or become permanent.

Anytime a child feels bad, an attempt must always be made to get rid of it, because it can cause terrible things such as wanting to hurt yourself (suicide) or feeling like you want to hurt somebody else (homicide). If you develop one of these feelings, the first thing that you must do is discuss these bad feelings with your older family members, mainly parents or guardians or grandparents. They are more mature in their thinking and have the responsibility to take care of you, because they always worry about your well-being and feelings, especially keeping you happy.

Therefore, if you develop annoying symptoms or uncomfortable feelings, you must share your thoughts with family members so that they can get you the help that you need in order to find out what the problem is and for you to receive proper attention. If the problem can’t be solved by talking to the family members, the process would begin with your doctor (getting medical treatment). After this, you may have to be referred to a counselor, sometimes called a social worker, who is an expert in helping people of all ages. They specialize in being able to talk to people, find out what’s causing the problem, and then decide the right treatment that is needed. Sometimes, just talking can help the symptoms go away. Other times, you may need to see a psychiatrist or psychologist, both of whom are doctors that specialize in treating mental problems. They can decide whether you need to take medications. No child should ever have to take drugs, but there are situations when they may be necessary short term or for a longer time.

There are a lot of different types of drugs, with each one being used to treat a certain feeling or thinking problem. And certain drugs have different effects on the body. Some may even cause us to feel worse at first, and others may take a long time before you feel better. Some drugs may eventually have to be changed to something else or adjusted (taking more or taking less). I won’t mention all of the side effects that can occur, which are weird symptoms that can develop from taking the medications. But you must always follow the doctor’s advice until your feelings completely go away. You must do everything that you are told in order to feel better so that you can avoid suffering from a permanent problem. In other words, if you were to keep bad emotional feelings for a long time, it could possibly cause physical damage to your body. Simply put, it is a fact that nervous or depressed feelings can bring on a heart attack, even in a young child. It is definitely not that common, but it does occur, so I must warn my young reader about it. To explain this, the emotional problem can actually cause the blood pressure to become dangerously high, and this increased pressure can cause a blood vessel (tube carrying blood) in the heart, which is called a coronary artery, to burst; literally pop. A blood vessel can also go into spasms, meaning that it can become constricted (much narrower), and cause a heart attack that could result in a child’s death. And the awful truth is that it can happen to a normal person without any underlying medical problems, since our feelings are so important and can be so damaging to our body. And again, I’ll say that it would be very unusual to occur in a young child, but it can happen under the right set of circumstances.

A child’s emotional feelings can cause the blood pressure to stay elevated, and keeping this condition over a long time can cause the blood vessels to thicken, meaning that the muscles making up the walls of the arteries (type of blood tube) would get larger, causing the opening through them to get narrower. Therefore, less blood would flow through them, and, eventually, something serious can occur, such as a blood clot (blockage of an artery) to an extremity, which can cause the individual to lose an arm or leg. This whole process of gradually developing blood narrowing is called atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. This can truly end up causing a terrible disaster. So you must take note that atherosclerosis is usually related to unhealthy eating and old age, but nervous problems can also trigger it.

Furthermore, sadly, a stroke can occur, which is a blood clot to the brain, and I don’t have to tell you what this can cause—not only an inability to think but also a physical problem, such as being paralyzed (loss of use of an arm or leg). Of course, all of this would take a lot of time to develop, but since you would be experiencing blood pressure problems at a very young age, you would not live as long. In other words, because you developed a nagging mental problem at an early age that affected your blood pressure, you will come down with the blood vessel disease much sooner in life. And, of course, this would only be the case if the emotional feeling wasn’t dealt with.

On the other hand, the high blood pressure by itself can cause a young individual to feel bad all the time, sometimes developing headaches, dizziness, or weakness. So you can see why emotional health is extremely important and how it can be absolute killers over a long time. I’ll reiterate that being nervous or depressed over a long time can bring on all kinds of problems, even a heart attack or stroke. So in real life, you can actually die from a broken heart.

Therefore, you must remain happy and not keep a hopeless feeling in order to have a great life; nothing will be possible unless you are thinking right and feeling great. That is, a child who has mental issues will be unable to be productive, meaning that he or she would not accomplish the most out of education or sports, and any goals would become difficult, usually impossible. Naturally, because of the weird thoughts, there would be concentration problems, such as the inability to focus on other more important things. As you get older, you will unfortunately begin seeing a whole lot of young people dropping out of school or literally flunking out. In most of these cases, mental problems are to blame. You must make up your mind never to be one of them.

You must be wondering how something that comes from your brain can do all of this to our body, so I will explain. First of all, our brain controls every part of our body, not only thinking and how we feel, but everything in our body is under the direction of our central nervous system, which makes up the brain and the nerves that are inside our spinal cord. In case you don’t know that much about the spinal cord, this is our backbone, which is made up of many small bones from our neck area to the tail bone. Inside these bones, in the center, is a very long nerve, with smaller nerves branching out from it and then exiting through holes in the sides of the bones all the way down. Each nerve is composed of millions of nerve cells that are called neurons, and they are responsible for sending signals, which are small electrical currents—electrical impulses—to all of our organs and muscles. After all, if it wasn’t for this, no muscle or organ would work properly or perform normal everyday activities that we require, nor would we be able to breathe and have a heartbeat. No muscle could function without something telling it what to do. The nerve cells control every tissue and organ in our body, and also control the amount and kinds of enzymes (protein substances) that must be produced in order to carry on our normal body processes.

We know that there are thousands of chemical reactions that take place in our body that are necessary in order to live and stay healthy. That is, there are many enzymes (important chemicals produced by cells) that must be produced by different tissues in our body, including muscles and organs. Even the cells in our lungs, heart, and kidneys make important enzymes. Some enzymes act on our muscles; they basically tell them what to do. Then there are hormones, which are chemical substances that are produced by certain glands in our body. If something bad happens to a muscle or organ, of which includes the brain, we can develop a disease, which means that there is a serious problem going on. In other words, there is something wrong with our body, either one part or the whole system. When this happens, we develop a symptom, which is a sign that tells us that something abnormal is taking place. On this basis, you can see how too low or too high a level of an enzyme or hormone can cause a mental disorder or physical illness. For example, headaches or any other type of pain, weakness, dizziness, and numbness are all symptoms. Therefore, whenever something unpleasant or weird takes place, as I reiterate, you must always tell someone else about it so that a cause can be found.

As I have already stated, there are quite a few things that can cause a symptom—some are minor and can be treated very easily, and others are very serious and can be disastrous. For example, a child having a low blood count could be in need of iron, and the symptom could be weakness or dizziness. This type of problem would be easy to correct. On the other hand, there are endless other diseases, such as cancers, heart disease, and liver or kidney failure, that can be extremely serious. So I must reiterate that regardless of whatever the symptom is, it must always be checked out by your family doctor or pediatrician. As the old saying goes, Nip it in the bud, meaning that you must always do what you can to treat something before it gets worse. I will mention cancer as an example. If the child was to develop a pain in one part of the body and not have it medically checked out, it could become extremely large and grow, even causing a young kid to die. Had the child gone to the doctor when the symptom first appeared, the cancer could have possibly been removed and completely cured. The sad fact about serious diseases is that no child is protected from getting them. So don’t ever think for one moment that you can’t come down with something life-threatening, including infections, which I will explain later.

MENTAL PROBLEMS CAN EVEN HELP SOMETIMES

It Can Serve as a Double-Edged Sword!

I N REAL LIFE, there are no perfect individuals. Simply put, no one can escape—get away from—having emotional problems or terrible feelings. It’s a fact of life; basically, part of living. Having said this, I can tell you that I had a problem, which I will explain in hopes that you can see where I’m coming from and why I write the way I do. As you will find out as you grow older, emotional problems or bad feelings can affect a person in all areas of life. That is, there could be difficulty in thinking, studying, or doing certain activities. In other words, having a problem can affect us in many ways. And a mental problem can have both good and bad sides. For example, in my case, I was diagnosed as having what is called bipolar manic-depressive illness , which is a sickness wherein there are different types of behavior at different times. To explain this, there are high periods when the individual is very energetic and low periods when the person feels down—sad and useless. The low period usually consists of weakness or excessive worry, wherein the person can be counterproductive (causing more harm than good). On the other hand, the manic or high state can help the person do a lot more things than he or she can normally do. On the terrible side, it commonly causes the individual to do destructive things, such as being obsessed (concerned too much with things) or compulsive (uncontrollable urge), and even become suicidal. The two problems that I encountered were drug abuse (taking harmful substances) and the compulsion to work constantly, never taking any time off for relaxation.

So my overworking attitude, along with my bipolar illness, gradually led me into a serious disaster in the early 1970s when I took too many addicting (habit-forming) drugs, mainly Demerol, a pain pill, and Stadol, another narcotic. Of course, many doctors also experience these kinds of problems due to their high-stressed jobs and the fact that the addicting drugs are always within their reach. After all, they must have them around to be able to give to their patients. It’s a constant temptation. But I can’t blame it on my job. Most of it was my fault, a combination of my emotional problem and my own stupidity.

On the other hand, due to my realization that I had this disease and willingness to face reality, along with my strong willpower to continue, I returned to my practice, but only after my license was taken away for three months. I never gave up on myself, and I encourage any young person with a problem never to stay down for long, but, instead, pick yourself up and keep on trying until you’re back to normal. After a serious problem, never become uninterested and start sitting around all day long worrying yourself to death, because this will become a vicious cycle—a point of no return. Along with my willpower to continue, my wife helped significantly to get me through my problem with her extreme understanding and patience. So you can see that I am far from perfect, as most people are, and I serve as proof that anytime an individual encounters an emotional problem or bizarre behavior, there are usually other people around willing to help. That’s what friends and family are for.

I was not blessed with an above-average academic capability, meaning that I was not a very smart child. Therefore, I had to depend on some other means to be able to obtain my goal in life, which had always been to become a medical doctor. On the positive standpoint (my good side), my bipolar disease helped me throughout my education, since my ability to overachieve (do better than expected) and outperform (do more than what’s necessary)—spend more time studying—was obviously a result of this syndrome. It is a known fact that bipolar individuals tend to have a higher IQ (above-average intelligence) and possess a tremendous ability to succeed in anything that they attempt. In reality, I feel that this syndrome gave me the all-important asset of motivation (wanting to do more), so I used it to my advantage. In my situation, without my persistent desire to study more, I never would have been able to complete my education successfully and receive my medical degree. There is no doubt in my mind that my ability to concentrate and focus on something for long periods came from this disease.

You are probably wondering why I am discussing my emotional problem. I did this to hopefully impress upon you at your youthful age that bad things can happen when a person has a mental disorder, but there are ways to turn things around and, sometimes, even be able to accomplish more like I did. On the other hand, by detailing some of the weird things that it caused me to do, this would hopefully get you to understand how it molded my life and why I say some of the things that I do. You can see that I personally lived through a lot of mental issues. And also, maybe you will be in a better position to accept how an emotional problem can seriously influence an individual’s behavior, especially in a small child just starting out in life. Many of my opinions on obesity and other dangers around us were also influenced by my personal and job-related experiences.

Due to all of these factors, most of them brought on by myself, such as losing my medical license for three months, I faced a lot of stress. On top of this, my bipolar disorder was behind my always-wanting-to-work attitude. At times, it seemed almost unbearable, but I continued. Unfortunately, most individuals do encounter some degree of stress more than once during their lifetime, and many people are permanently affected (never get over it). Some even quit their jobs and never work again. Stress, as I will discuss later, can cause an enormous number of problems, of which weight gain can be one of the consequences. There was no doubt in my mind that constantly staying tensed up was a very important factor in my becoming massively overweight, as I kept a horrendous appetite during most of my practice. I literally ate myself to death! There is also no doubt whatsoever that my enormous weight, along with my high blood pressure (hypertension), was responsible for my eventually having a stroke (blood clot to the brain). I was very fortunate and blessed to have survived this ordeal and just be left with a memory problem.

On the other hand, my uncontrollable hyperactivity (always having too much energy) and constant feelings of depression and despair, apparently related to my bipolar illness, also played a part in my incredible appetite. Basically, I subconsciously used both