About nine years ago, an 18-year-old Josh Sabatini was hanging out with some random friend in some random house on some random night.

He was used to drinking, sometimes smoking, occasionally taking a pill or two.

On this night, though, Josh decided to try heroin for the first time.

The friend, who had some experience, told Josh that maybe he shouldnt. But Josh insisted, and the friend relented, tied Josh off and shot him up.

It knocked me flat on my back, said Josh. I recognized in that moment that I was going to do that again. That whatever this was, I had been looking for it and found it without even realizing I was looking. This thing here was more powerful than anything I ever experienced.

Leading worship at Blainesburg Bible Church is part of the path to a new life for recovering addict Josh Sabatini.

Mark Marietta/Observer-Reporter

This was the closest thing to euphoria that Id ever felt in my life, and why not visit that again? I was coming back here again and again and again.

For nearly three years, Josh visited opioids again and again and again, shooting heroin, then, when a friend got hold of a bunch, hydromorphone.

When Josh was using, from 2008-11, opioid addiction was nothing new. But it wasnt the epidemic it is now.

In 2010, according to the National Institutes of Health, about 20,000 opioid overdose deaths were recorded in the U.S. In 2015, that number jumped to nearly 35,000. Heroin overdose deaths increased from fewer than 3,000 in 2010 to about 13,000 in 2015. The number of deaths from heroin combined with another drug in most cases, fentanyl went from about 6,000 in 2010 to more than 20,000 in 2015.

I didnt personally know anybody that was addicted, said Josh. It wasnt an issue for the people in my community.

A 2008 graduate of Bethlehem-Center High School, Josh was an athlete who was voted prom king by his peers. His childhood was normal, and his parents, Kellie and Larry Sabatini, worked hard to provide for their son and daughter.

School was never really his thing, but football was, so he enrolled at Waynesburg College to play.

An injury in the first game put an end to sports for Josh.

I was done with football, and, therefore, kind of done with school. At that point, I started to party a little bit, said Josh, who dropped out soon after.

The partying led to experimentation, which Josh said he didnt plan and didnt anticipate.

It was just kind of part of the night. Nothing was a big deal for me yet. I was kind of floundering, he said. Partying was just kind of what happened.

That first hit of heroin changed everything, though.

When I look back now, its hard to comprehend what I was then. Obsessed is what it is, but thats not a good enough word. Addicted is the word, said Josh, 27. The idea of getting high drives your life, and nothing and nobody is bigger than that. Whatever you have to do to make that happen, you will. I became very good at manipulating people. And lying. And spending a lot of time alone so that people wouldnt know.

Josh kept different hours from his parents, with whom he lived, and held onto a job.

Josh Sabatini taught a Sunday school class and was morning worship leader Aug. 27 at Blainesburg Bible Church.

Mark Marietta/Observer-Reporter

I didnt know it was as bad as it was, said his mother, Kellie. I thought he was partying, maybe smoking marijuana. I was clueless that he had an IV heroin drug problem. I ... started going through his phone, watching his bank account. We did what most families try to do and manage on our own. I took his car keys and drove him to work.

Now we know people would deliver drugs to our door while we were sleeping, she said. It was a nightmare.

Josh said he pawned some of his own items, took out cash advances on his paycheck, then stole things from family and sold them.

I remember knowing I was in trouble, knowing that this was bad and also knowing that I began to feel normal whenever I was high. My tolerance had grown at that point. It was difficult sometimes to get that euphoric high. To feel normal throughout the day, I had to get high. It was very hard to picture life without that, Josh said. At that point, future plans stop. You dont necessarily see a future. You just simply see the next day of, How am I going to get high? Its actually incredibly stressful.

The addiction, he said, was short and fast.

Three years, literally, almost killed me. I had destroyed myself and people around me in a very short time.

One day in 2011, Josh shot up and vomited. The next day, his eyes, nose and chest turned yellow.

This was the closest thing to euphoria that Id ever felt in my life and why not visit that again? I was coming back here again and again and again.

At Washington Hospital, he was diagnosed with hepatitis C, a liver disease that can be spread through IV drug use. Though his doctor knew he was an addict, Josh told his parents he contracted the disease from a recent tattoo.

Kellie grew up witnessing her parents deal with her brother, who, at 38, died in recovery from a heart attack after a 20-year addiction. Kellie couldnt believe her own son was an addict until the diagnosis opened her eyes.

Josh was a functional drug addict who never missed work, never missed church and did everything he could do to mask this. He was a great kid even when he was an addict. When he was stealing and pawning, he would come home at night and play cards around the table with us. He was never disrespectful, never mean, never rude, she said. There was a time I stood in front of my bathroom mirror and said 25 times, Your son is a drug addict. And I still didnt believe it.

The night he got sick, Kellie called her sister, who is a nurse. She told Kellie to look in his eyes.

They were as yellow as the sun, Kellie said. Im driving him to the emergency room. He knows what it is, and I dont. (Staff) told me he had hepatitis C. Theyre telling me he didnt get it from a tattoo; hes a drug addict. My brother died. I thought (Joshs addiction) was a death sentence. I thought, Im going to watch my son die the way I watched my brother die.

Josh continued to deny his opioid addiction, but Kellie no longer believed him. A few days later, he broke down and admitted he had a problem.

Josh Sabatini addresses the congregation of Blainesburg Bible Church.

Mark Marietta/Observer-Reporter

As scared as I was to not be high, I think at that point, for the first time, death became a real fear for me, he said.

Kellie immediately called a local treatment center, where detox and in-patient treatment typically lasts two weeks to 28 days.

Before Josh could get in, a pastor of their church called and recommended Teen Challenge now Pennsylvania Adult and Teen Challenge a faith-based recovery program with a long-term option that lasts 11 to 14 months.

Kellie said it took months to persuade Josh to go to long-term treatment.

He knew he could quit for 28 days, so he begged to go to Greenbriar, Kellie said. In my heart, I knew (Teen Challenge) was the answer. I said, You have to go to this program or you have to leave. I said, You will leave this world as you came in naked and hungry. I cant watch you die. I said, In order to be a part of this family, you have to go. He actually agreed.

It was the Fourth of July. We dropped him off at this place he knew nothing about. He comes back a God-loving, amazing young man.

For the next 14 months, Josh lived at Teen Challenge, first in Allegheny County, then Rehrersburg, where he dedicated his life to recovery, following a program that included counseling, Bible study and work.

At this point, I am an unbelievable advocate of long-term recovery, he said. It is a ridiculous notion to think a man can inject drugs in his arm for years and learn everything that he needs to learn in 30 days to stay clean.

The program was effective because it wasnt about not doing drugs, he said. It was about creating a new lifestyle.

Ive always said a diet sucks because all you think about is food. Not trying to do drugs sucks because all you think about is drugs. The best diets that work are the diets that come with a lifestyle change, making a commitment to become a different person, he said. Its about becoming a new me, and thats what this program did for me. I became a different person than I was.

Josh is employed by Blainesburg Bible, the church that supported him through his recovery, as an outreach coordinator. He works with youth and occasionally preaches before the congregation. He speaks at community events with Western Pennsylvanias Fight Against Addiction.

Almost immediately after leaving rehab, Josh started meeting with families of addicts. Hes met with 20 or so people who are addicted.

Kellie Sabatini meets with son Josh to pick the music for the morning worship service at Blainesburg Bible Church.

Mark Marietta/Observer-Reporter

When I came out, people, for the first time, were coming to a place where white middle-class kids were addicted to drugs and their parents didnt know what to do. I began to ... share my story a little bit and make myself available, he said. I wasnt necessarily trained, but I was free, and I was willing to come and say, Look, regardless of what people say, this is beatable. This is 100 percent beatable. I know people that beat it every day. I know guys that went through the program with six, seven, eight years clean, have a family, have kids. I have a wife now; I have a house. I have a dog. This is possible to beat.

Josh met his wife, Lindsey, after he got out of treatment, at a restaurant where they were both working. While Lindsey didnt know him while he was using, Josh said she is one of his biggest supporters.

The familys goal is to prove that success is possible and to end the stigma associated with addiction.

Like Josh, Kellie said she always speaks up when someone shares a story about addiction. Her daughter, Rachel, is also a recovering addict. Rachel, too, went through the Teen Challenge program and has been in recovery for months.

I was never that parent who said, This will never happen to my kids, because of my brother. Those (public service announcements) used to say, Have dinner together, then your kids wont do drugs. Thats not true. We talked. We had dinner. ... Both of my kids ended up on drugs. If you think thats not a hard pill to swallow, it is, Kellie said. Nobody wants to raise a drug addict. We live in a small town. Everybody knew my son was a drug addict. We were vocal. We talked about it. If people asked, we told them how he was.

Kellie is a part of online support groups for parents of addicts. She says that while she sometimes has guilt because her children are in recovery while others have children who are still addicted or who have died, she shares the successes because its encouraging.

Its a tremendous blessing. We have an obligation to share that. When much is given to you, you have to give back, she said. If you can give hope to one family, you still have an opportunity. I will stand and shout my story from the rooftops if it offers other families hope.

While there is support in the recovery community, Josh is disturbed by the amount of criticism addicts receive from those who have not been affected by it.

There was no excuse or reason I should have done drugs. I had a great family. I had a great home. I had everything I ever wanted and more. There was nothing in my life that drove me to drugs other than the fact that I was just a punk who liked to party, said Josh. People who are addicted they sometimes and very often have very tragic pasts. ... For me, that wasnt the case. If there was ever anybody who didnt deserve help, it was me, because I had everything that life could offer somebody. And I took that and I threw it all away.

I think people need to remember the addict is a person. The addict has a heart. The addict has a soul, he said. We dont get to decide whether a life is worth saving or not. These are people. Just because theyve made a mistake, it doesnt mean they dont deserve a second chance. Or a third, or a fourth, or a fifth. Its not our job to put a limit on that.

When he speaks at events, Josh illustrates the stigma of addiction in the vein of Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter.

If I took the worst mistake that everybody made and I made them wear it on their chest, and I defined them by it, and I judged them for it every day, they would hate it. They would say, Thats not me. Im more than that. I screwed up.

I think thats what the addict is. Theyre a person that gets judged for their worst mistake every moment of every day. Its important that we remember that we wouldnt like that, and if we needed help, wed want someone to help us.

Link:
Recovering addict speaks candidly about drugs, rehab, stigma - Observer-Reporter

Its important to keep abreast of new health research. (Photo: Liz Weston, StockSnap)

Its hard to keep pace with the news these days. It can be difficult to find time to read up on the latest sports or health news. The best way to stay informed is to have someone make it easier on you. With that in mind, I thought Id share some recent articles and research I find interesting.

Less sittingA study by Finnish researchers set out to find if office workers who lived sedentary lifestyles could change their habits with counseling and assistance. In total, 133 office workers were studied for one year. They were separated into two groups, with one group serving as the control group, meaning they didnt receive treatment by the researchers. The second group was given tailored counseling sessions in order to discuss strategies to reduce sitting at work and leisure time.

Initially, the second group was able to decrease their leisure time by 21 minutes per day, and their active time and breaks in sedentary time increased. After a full year, this same group was down to eight fewer minutes sedentary leisure time, but the control group increased their own time slightly.

The cholesterol and cardiovascular disease biomarkers for the intervention group improved, and the leg muscle mass of this group was maintained. At the same time, the control groups muscle mass decreased by half a percent.

Those changes might not seem like a lot, but over time, these differences can add up. I think of it the same way I think of weight gain. On average, people gain 1 to 2 pounds a year from early adulthood to middle age. Its the sort of thing that sneaks up on us, and we dont realize how much has changed until the change itself seems massive.

So, although this research is preliminary, its worth noting if for no other reason than as a reminder we should work to maintain our muscle mass. I, for one, would like to still be walking around in my old age.

Unusual treatments for depressionAnyone suffering from depression should go to their primary care doctor and explain their symptoms and feelings to them. That should always be the first option, because he or she can then refer you to a specialist (if needed) to help deal with the problems youre facing. (Anytime I discuss improving depression symptoms, my suggestions are always a supplement to what your doctor prescribes.)

With that said, a recent article in U.S. News discussing unusual treatments for depression caught my attention. The author, David Levine, does a good job of explaining some techniques you may not have heard about, putting them into a context of claims versus actual results. Context with these options goes a long way. The treatments include cuddling, transcranial magnetic stimulation, bouldering, probiotics, ketamine, hallucinogens and lithium.

Thankfully, the drugs and medical procedures involved arent going to happen without your doctors approval, as there can be severe side effects related to their use. Most of these methods probably wont be the secret cure you may be searching for, so its important to always be cautious before trying anything new.

The best way to improve your depression symptoms remains a combination of better diet, consistent exercise and following your doctors advice.

Consistency key for weight lossIf youre looking to lose weight, you should first focus on getting your mind right and not ignoring the mental aspect of this process. However, a new study reminds us of what we may already know, even if we dont want to believe it.

The study was published in the journal Obesity, and its conclusion is that the key to achieving your weight loss goals is consistency. Since we usually gain about 1 or 2 pounds a year, its a bit silly that when we try to lose weight, we hope to lose that same amount about once a week, isnt it? Nobody likes to wait for the results we want, yet crash and fad diets almost never work.

Researchers followed 183 overweight or obese adults who participated in a weight loss program that provided counseling on their diet and exercise. Their weight was tracked and measured every week.

What they found was that the participants whose weight fluctuated the earliest in the program had the hardest time maintaining their weight by the end of the year. Essentially, the people who lost the most weight the fastest set themselves up for failure because they tried to do too much all at once.

The quick, early weight loss they experienced set them up for failure in the long term. The participants whose weight fluctuated less in the beginning were more likely to control their weight and lose more weight over the long term.

Moderate consumption of fats, carbohydratesThisnew studytries to get at the heart of what a good diet really looks like.

The research involved more than 135,000 people across five continents, and while the results may not surprise you too much, such a large study needs to be paid attention to. Essentially, the best diet includes a moderate intake of fat, fruits and vegetables, and involves avoiding too many carbohydrates.

As I continue to stress, moderation remains the key. Not all fats are bad, and fruits and vegetables are an important part of any proper diet. However, a high consumption of carbohydrates and added sugar (more than 60 percent of your diet) is dangerous and linked to a higher risk of early death.

Jay McKenzie loves soccer, history and feeling great. Hes on a quest to eat better and exercise more, and he wants to share his experiences along the way. You can email him at[emailprotected]with comments or questions. The opinions expressed in this column belong solely to the author, notNooga.comor its employees.

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Fresh and Fit: 4 new research articles you should read - Nooga.com

Published 4:31pm, Sunday, September 3, 2017

A massive diet study called PURE, just published in The Lancet, seemed to receive only slightly less media attention this past week than Hurricane Harvey. And yes, in a sense, the two are connected as I will explain. PURE stands for Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology. I think, however, to provide a quick understanding of what the study really means, it could have meant: Poverty Undermines Reasonable Eating.

Media coverage of PURE has ranged from mildly hyperbolic to patently absurd, including the assertion that vegetables and fruits may not be good for us this week. That is pure nonsense.

In brief, PURE was designed to look at health outcomes associated with variations in diet in countries not well represented in prior research, and across the range from high to very low socioeconomic status. A total of 18 countries with a particular focus on the Middle East, South America, Africa, and South Asia- and about 135,000 people participated. Dietary intake was assessed with a single food-frequency questionnaire at baseline.

There were two main findings that have spawned most of the mainstream media coverage, and social media buzz. The first was that, while health outcomes improved and mortality declined with higher intake of vegetables, fruits, and legumes in multivariable analysis adjusting for other factors, that benefit peaked at about three servings per day. This has been widely interpreted to suggest that, at odds with conventional wisdom on the topic, more is not better with regard to vegetables, fruits, and beans.

The second finding garnering media attention was that across countries, the higher the intake of carbohydrate as a percent of calories, the higher the rates of disease and death; whereas the higher the percentage of calories from fat, the lower these rates.

Roughly 8 percent of those in the lowest intake group for vegetables, fruits, and legumes (VFL) died during the study period; whereas only 3 percent of those in the highest VFL intake group died despite the fact that the highest VFL intake group was slightly older at baseline. Overall, and rather flagrantly, mortality was lowest in the group with the highest intake of VFL. The lowest levels of heart disease, stroke, and mortality were seen in those with the highest intake of VFL.

What, then, accounts for the strange reporting, implying that everything weve been told about vegetables, fruits, and beans is wrong? These benefits were adjusted away in multivariable models. Those people in PURE with the highest VFL intake were ALSO benefiting from less smoking, more exercise, higher education, better jobs, and quite simply- a vastly better socioeconomic existence. A multivariable model enters all of these factors to determine if a given outcome (e.g., lower death rate) can be attributed to one of them to the exclusion of the others. The exclusive, apparent benefit of VFL intake was, predictably, reduced when the linked benefits of better education, better job, and better life were included in the assessment.

This no more means that VFL was failing to provide benefit in those with more education, than that more education was failing to provide benefit in those eating more VFL. It only means that since those things happen together most of the time its no longer possible to attribute a benefit to just one of them.

Unlike dietary fat, which the investigators examined in all of its various categories, carbohydrate was all lumped together as a single class. This produced an apparent paradox in the data: disease and death went down with more intake of vegetables, fruits, and legumes but up with carbohydrate. Whats the paradox? Vegetables, fruits, and legumes are, mostly, carbohydrate!

What explains away the apparent paradox is that vegetable, fruit, and legume intake was apparently highest in the most affluent, most highly educated study participants while total carbohydrate as a percent of calories was highest in the poorest, least educated, most disadvantaged. In those cases, carbohydrate was not a variety of highly nutritious plant foods; it was almost certainly something like white rice, and little else.

The conclusion, and attendant headlines, for PURE might have been: very poor people with barely anything to eat get sick and die more often than affluent people with access to both ample diets, and hospitals. One certainly understands why the media did not choose that. It is, however, true and entirely consistent with the data.

These papers were released concurrently with the devastation in Houston, and the Gulf Coast, of Hurricane Harvey the greatest rain event in the recorded history of the continental United States. The unprecedented rainfall is related to climate change, which in turn is monumentally influenced by global dietary choices. How appalling that the PURE findings were not merely misrepresented to the public in irresponsible reporting pertaining to human health effects, but in reporting that ignored entirely the implications of that bad dietary advice for the fate of the climate, and planet.

This week as last, whole vegetables and fruits are reliably good for you, and for the most part, the more the better. The benefits of that produce, however, do not preclude the benefits of an education, a job, and medical care nor vice versa.

This week as last, most of the hyperbolic headlines about diet, telling us everything we thought we knew before was wrong are pure nonsense.

Dr. David L. Katz;www.davidkatzmd.com; founder, True Health Initiative

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Dr. David Katz: Preventive Medicine: PURE diet nonsense - New Haven Register

The Economist

How to provide a protein-rich diet to a growing population The Economist A fashionable idea is for Westerners to eat more insects, which contain up to three times as much protein as beef and already form an integral or supplementary part of up to 2bn people's diets, according to the FAO. But for that to happen, many will ...

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How to provide a protein-rich diet to a growing population - The Economist

Karla Hult, KARE 5:47 PM. CDT September 02, 2017

Dr. William Frey, of the HealthPartners Neuroscience Center, sits down with KARE 11's Karla Hult to talk about the latest Alzheimer's research. (Photo: KARE 11)

ST. PAUL, Minn. A world-renowned Alzheimers expert took the stage at the Minnesota State Fair to discuss the latest research breakthroughs and other developments with the disease.

Dr. William Frey, of the HealthPartners Neuroscience Center, joined KARE 11s Karla Hult to explain the latest findings from the recent Alzheimers Association International Conference and the research being done at the St. Paul medical center. Frey developed the intranasal insulin treatment that has been shown in multiple clinical trials to safely improve memory, attention and function in both Alzheimers patients and those with Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Frey also addressed specific behavioral and diet changes people can make to help ward off the disease, including a diet rich in leafy vegetables, nuts and fish. He also noted exercise and ongoing social engagement and education have been shown to help prevent or delay the disease.

Frey whose official title is Senior Research Director of HealthPartners Neurosciences and HealthPartners Center for Memory & Aging at the HealthPartners Neuroscience Center said his team is also still looking for more participants in the intranasal insulin study. For more information, call 651-495-6363.

And for more information on Alzheimers just go to the Alzheimers Association website, where youll also find information on how to register for the Walk to End Alzheimers, taking place at Target Field on Sept. 9.

2017 KARE-TV

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World-renowned Alzheimer's expert takes state fair stage - KARE

When an experiment turns into a tradition in Laughlin, it means there was a show worth taking a chance on at one timethen consistently that same show proved itself time after time to be one audiences didnt want to miss. The Memorial Day Comedy Festival at the Riverside Resort was that show. Experiencing comedy served up as a variety show with veteran comedian Gabe Lopez as the shows producer, performer and emcee was like discovering a hidden gem on the entertainment landscapemore along the lines of one of those underground clubs in Vegas, known only to a lucky few. But now the word is out and the Comedy Festival is coming back to the Riverside Resort over the Labor Day weekend this time.

If you are a local, or a regular visitor to Laughlinespecially if your visits are on holiday weekendsyou are aware that the Avi Resort & Casino doesnt simply wait for the Fourth of July to set off a major fireworks display. Nope. Beginning in 1996, and continuing every year since, they have been filling the skies above the Colorado River with the amped-up creations of Zambelli Internationale Fireworks on Memorial Day weekend, the Fourth of July and Labor Day weekend.

The Colorado Belle is home to a multitude of outdoor festivals that embrace particular themes and for the Labor Day Riverwalk Festival, its a celebration of the end of summer and the cooler temperatures just starting to take hold of the Colorado River regionthink of it as one big neighborhood block party.

Theres a lot to be said for being in the right place at the right time, but could Air Supplys long-time success be the result or a chance meeting or was the cosmos working overtime on a little something called destiny? Maybe, but one thing is for surenone of it would have been possible at all without their hard work and tenacity to make it happen.The two Russells, Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock, happened to be cast in the same Sydney, Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar in 1975, and everything changed after that.

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Levitra professional mail order - Levitra professional pills - Laughlin Entertainer

In honor of Labor Day, Inc. asked several Chicago athletes which teammate each views as the hardest worker.

Tarik Cohen, Bears: "The hardest-working person that I know, me being with the rookies, I feel like is Mitch Trubisky. Every time he's in a meeting I see him taking notes. It doesn't matter what kind of meeting we're in, he's always taking notes. ... If we're working out with him, he's pushing us to get that next rep, pushing us through the next sprint, just things like that."

Cre'Von LeBlanc, Bears: "I would have to say Tarik Cohen. He's a phenomenal kid. Loves football. Very excited, very enthused. The things he does on the field and how fast he can (LeBlanc snaps his finger) get to 10 yards is amazing. He's a video game. I like watching him, I like watching Tanner Gentry. I know what it's like being undrafted where you're scratching and clawing, fighting for reps, going hard every day. ... I don't think it's anything that (Cohen and Gentry) say, just the energy that they pick up from one another. If you see one guy going hard, balling, doing what he do ... it's like, 'Tarik made a play,' so probably Gentry, he's like, 'I gotta make a play.'"

Kahleah Copper, Sky: "I have to say (Courtney Vandersloot) and Allie (Quigley). They're like gym rats, always in the gym; last to leave or first one there. ... Sloot is a great leader for us. It's funny because I call her 'The General' because she keeps us in line and we go as she goes. ... She just laughs (at the nickname), she calls me 'Zero.' ... 'Zero' is just like an iso play that we run for me and I usually score on it, and she calls me 'Zero.'"

Stefan Cleveland, Fire: "(Goalkeeper) Matt Lampson, he works very hard. He's got the first spot right now, he's playing every game, but that doesn't slow him down at all. No sense of complacency that I've seen from him since taking over the first spot. ... His lifestyle really defines it for me. He stays to a very strict diet. Any training, he's focused the whole time, working very hard every repetition is so important to him. ... He's always working with diets, with different strength programs, trying to figure out what the perfect conditions are that he can create for his body to perform the best come Saturday. It's a never-ending process for him."

Kevin White, Bears: "One in particular, this guy right here, Markus Wheaton. He does anything and everything. First one in the building, last one out. He's always in the film room. You never catch him off guard. ... He just works really hard every play. He tries to help everyone even if you're competing against him or whatever it is. He's a team player. It's just great to have a guy like that."

Taylor Boggs, Bears: "The entire O-line. Everyone in the O-line inspires me. Olin Kreutz, he's the most inspiring former Bear. He was an animal for 14 years."

plthompson@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @_phil_thompson

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Chicago athletes reveal their biggest influences at 'work' - Chicago Tribune