Tom Horvath, PhD Part 1 suggested that tracking what you eat rather than what you weigh promotes better health and could also lead to slow but sustained weight loss over time. Part 2 adds further detail about what to eat. Even if there were only a minor reduction in some of the less-than-healthy foods you eat, the introduction of better foods is a significant improvement for your health. The food diary will remind you to keep it filled with good food. Part 1 emphasized consulting with your doctor if appropriate and the Mediterranean diet with its focus on fruits and vegetables. Part 2 adds eating 1) at least 30 different plant foods each week and 2) probiotic foods (not supplements). Both actions support increasing and maintaining the diversity of the gut microbiome. What is th...

Longterm: A Podcast on Recovery Interview with Tom Horvath, Ph.D. Episode: Understanding Recovery Beyond the Stereotype YouTube: https://youtu.be/c3wGl2If6o8?si=8HplQQxea6gMuG7c Spotify and all other podcast platforms: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/tiking/ The host is Ti King. The podcast was described this way: Dr. Horvath explains that SMART Recovery is a free mutual-help group, similar to AA in its community-driven support. However, it stands apart with its self-empowering philosophy, contrasting with the "powerlessness" approach. SMART Recovery does not require belief in a higher power and supports individuals choosing to reduce harm, moderate, or abstain from substances, allowing for personalized goals. The program teaches a variety of coping and thin...

By Tom Horvath, PhD Many of us are concerned about our weight. We might check the scale regularly, and not much else. I suggest that a food diary of everything you eat is a much more sensible approach. A simple version is a list of foods you eat at each meal, without listing how much you ate. There are apps, such as My Fitness Pal, which can streamline some aspects of this process. The apps also provide nutritional analysis of what you are eating. If you have food you tend to eat regularly (e.g., eggs at breakfast, bread at lunch), it is easy to copy them forward. There are free and paid versions, which means you have options when it comes to food diaries. This app was recommended to me by a registered dietitian (RD). I have found it useful. Be aware that there is no legal definit...

Crave: The Hidden Biology of Addiction and Cancer, by Raphael E. Cuomo, PhD A Book Review by Tom Horvath, PhD This compact and compelling book describes how our moment-to-moment actions regarding food, sleep and rest, physical activity level, electronic activities, relationships, and daily life in general contribute to increasing or decreasing our risk for developing cancer and other diseases. These actions often have the character of addictive behaviors, “the relentless cycle of stimulation and reward that defines ordinary life (pg. 1).” The impacts of these actions accumulate over time, altering “the internal landscape…the body’s terrain pg. 1).” This book could have been entitled The Body Keeps the Score, but that title was taken! “The term ‘addiction’ is reserved for beh...

By Tom Horvath, PhD In the US many individuals who might benefit from addiction treatment never attend. Although there are probably many reasons for this non-attendance, surely one of the primary reasons is the typical rigidity of US treatment programs. In a commentary published in the Journal of Addiction Medicine, the official journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), the committee overseeing the development of ASAM’s Engagement and Retention of Nonabstinent Patients in Substance Use Treatment presents a summary of the document. The California Department of Health Care Services funded this project, and it offers a path forward to get more people to seek addiction treatment. As this commentary states in its abstract: To improve population outcomes, it is im...

How Many Quit Attempts Are Needed to Be Successful? By Tom Horvath, PhD It is common knowledge that abstaining from a substance that has become problematic is difficult and may require multiple attempts to be successful. But how many attempts does it take to succeed in quitting addiction? One effort to answer this question, based on the International Quit & Recovery Registry, was recently published. Subjects were 344 individuals who have registered with this registry. The substances studied were pain meds, opioids, stimulants, alcohol, tranquilizers, inhaling, anesthetics, cocaine, cannabis, nicotine, and hallucinogens. They are listed here in the order of most attempts to fewest attempts. How many quit attempts is complicated not only by the specific substance, but also...

The CHIME Model for Addressing Addictive Problems (and Life) In many approaches to addressing addictive problems, eliminating or at least reducing the problematic substance or activity is the immediate priority. That priority makes sense, except when it does not. You might not be ready to make that level of change, even though you may recognize your addictive problem is indeed a problem. An alternative approach is to focus on what you could be adding into your life, rather than taking out of it. Various alternative approaches have been suggested. We covered some of them here and here. By adding positive aspects to your life, in time, you crowd out the need or desire for other (problematic) approaches to pleasure, satisfaction, and happiness. The CHIME framework arose from an im...

Early Research on LSD for Alcohol Problems: A Look at State Mental Hospitals and Elsewhere By Kenneth Anderson, MA In the 1950s, researchers such as Humphry Osmond and Abram Hoffer in Saskatchewan, Canada developed a unique therapy for alcoholism which entailed using a psychedelic experience to alter the beliefs and values of the alcoholic patients. Set and setting were essential variables in successfully inducing a psychedelic experience. The term "set" refers to the internal mindset of the person about to undergo the psychedelic experience. Patients were given weeks of psychological preparation by the researchers before they were given LSD, in order to ensure that they had the proper mindset for a positive and life-altering psychedelic experience. The term "setting" referred to th...

by Tom Horvath, PhD Do you consider the food manufacturing companies to be “drug dealers?” Back to that question in a moment. What’s a food manufacturer? A company that creates ultra-processed foods (also known as “hyper-palatable foods”). Ultra-processed foods are manufactured first by taking genuine foods and breaking them into specific components (such as starches, sugars, flavors, and fats). Then those components are combined (depending on the food) with salt, artificial sugar, hydrogenated fats, artificial colors, stabilizers, etc. The result is a food that is highly tasty (and preferably has a long shelf life). This food might be hard to pass up, but your body will typically appreciate it if you do. How to spot a manufactured food? Two basic clues are the length of the in...

Negativity Bias: How Negative Are You? By Tom Horvath, PhD Almost 25 years ago two psychologists coined the term “negativity bias.” It refers to our tendency to focus on information, cues, or ideas that are negative, even when we have positive information around us. For instance, after a meeting in which our ideas are presented, we are more likely to remember and focus on the one criticism, rather than the five positive comments. Even animals have this bias, so it has a long history. The negativity bias has the advantage of promoting our survival, particularly in a hunter-gather environment. We were better off staying focused on the rustle in the bushes nearby (because it might be an animal seeking to eat us) than the good taste of what we ourselves were eating. We are descended ...