Cold Turkey

You've heard about the "Wheat Belly" diet, right? Well, technically, it doesn't exist. Dr. William Davis points out that the word "diet" does not appear on either the cover of his bestselling "Wheat Belly" book published in 2011 or on the follow-up, "Wheat Belly Cookbook," which was published last month and already tops bestseller lists. And that omission is intentional, Davis said. "Wheat Belly" is about stripping your plate of a substance that contributes to heart disease, causes joint pain, inflammation, foggy thinking, bloating and much more, Davis said.

(Editor's note: Writer Mary MacVean tried out trainer Jackie Warner's diet and exercise plan from her latest  book “10 Pounds in 10 Days.” Here's her experience. Read about her previous days , too.) Day 4 Jackie Warner has appeared in The Times as one of the fitness experts in our “Try This” feature in the Saturday section, showing various exercises. She is the definition of buff, while my upper body is more like the definition of undefined.

Singer Amy Winehouse may have died from detoxing from alcohol too abruptly, her family allegedly claims in a story in the British tabloid The Sun. While toxicology tests on Winehouse, who died Saturday, are still pending, her family supposedly told the newspaper that although the singer's doctor told her to stop drinking gradually, she might have ignored the advice and gone cold-turkey, a drastic process her body may not have been able to handle....

It's a mark of a civilized society that we look after the unfortunate during hard times. On that score, the United States is about to (once again) come up short. Hundreds of thousands of long-term jobless Americans are now receiving their final unemployment checks sooner than they expected. Congress renewed an extension of unemployment benefits in February, but it also phased in a reduction in the number of weeks of extended aid and made it tougher for states to qualify for cash.

Turkey breast fits into every time, diet and money constraint. Turkey breast is low in fat, cooks quicker than a whole turkey, fits easily into the refrigerator or freezer and is often on sale. But though a turkey breast is smaller than the whole bird, it can still provide meals for three days or so, which is about the length of time that cooked poultry should be refrigerated in a covered container. Defrosting Turkey Breast: * Remove wrapping before defrosting.

It's a mark of a civilized society that we look after the unfortunate during hard times. On that score, the United States is about to (once again) come up short. Hundreds of thousands of long-term jobless Americans are now receiving their final unemployment checks sooner than they expected. Congress renewed an extension of unemployment benefits in February, but it also phased in a reduction in the number of weeks of extended aid and made it tougher for states to qualify for cash.

Many people won't be working the Friday after Thanksgiving, and for 70% of them, their employers will be paying for the four-day weekend. According to the Bureau of National Affairs Inc., the percentage of employers giving workers two paid days' off at Thanksgiving hasn't changed much since the private workplace information agency began its holiday survey in 1977.

When Paul Silvas, also knows as Paul Silks, began serving time in the County Jail in Vista for auto theft, he didn't realize his sentence carried an unforeseen penalty. He would not be allowed to smoke for the duration of his incarceration. It wasn't a court order or a form of jailhouse punishment that abruptly nipped Silvas' pack-a-day cigarette habit. When Silvas entered the Vista jail, he had stepped into a smoke-free zone.

Britain's ongoing mad cow and hoof-and-mouth debacles should give pause to those who remain committed to a meat-centered diet. Certainly both hoof-and-mouth and mad cow disease are not part of a program of divine retribution meant to even the score between humans and the billions of animals we abuse in the process of rearing them for slaughter. These maladies are just the most recent, and certainly not even the most compelling, reasons to eliminate meat from one's diet.

RECENTLY, a man who was addicted to cocaine came to us determined to kick his habit. His sister, who was with him and who offered her complete support, wanted him to enter a hospital program. What did we think? Our first question was: "What other ways have you tried to stop using the drug?" During the past few years, with the media watch of the detox of the rich and famous, hospital and clinic programs have gotten increased attention.

Smokers who count on nicotine patches or gum to help them quit may want to reconsider: A new study finds that these and other nicotine replacement products aren't effective at preventing former smokers from relapsing in real-world conditions. Among 787 adults who had quit smoking within the previous two years, nearly a third reported having returned to using cigarettes, according to a study published online Monday by the journal Tobacco Control. Those who had used nicotine patches, gum, inhalers or nasal sprays were just as likely to relapse as those who had quit without them, researchers from Harvard University and the University of Massachusetts found.

Toxicology reports show Amy Winehouse did not have drugs in her system, according to a statement by the "Back to Black" singer's family. The results, which have not yet been publicly released, indicated that there was alcohol present in her body at the time of death, but it's unclear in what amount. The announcement throws even greater mystery over the cause of the soul singer's untimely death on July 23. Some had theorized that the "Rehab" singer, who had struggled with drug problems, may have succumbed to an overdose.

Singer Amy Winehouse may have died from detoxing from alcohol too abruptly, her family allegedly claims in a story in the British tabloid The Sun. While toxicology tests on Winehouse, who died Saturday, are still pending, her family supposedly told the newspaper that although the singer's doctor told her to stop drinking gradually, she might have ignored the advice and gone cold-turkey, a drastic process her body may not have been able to handle....

For years, Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands) has proudly delivered a cornucopia of federal dollars to the folks back home -- more than $82 million this year alone, including money for road improvements and medical research. But he and nearly all of his House Republican colleagues say they are swearing off such "earmarks" this year to demonstrate fiscal responsibility. The change of heart has set up an election-year argument over who is best serving their constituents -- Republicans who say lean times demand belt-tightening, or Democrats who continue to seek special funding for local projects such as buying parkland in the Santa Monica Mountains or offering healthier food in Chicago schools.

More often than not, people live lives of quiet desperation in jobs they hate. But not Bob Newhart. No sooner had he become an accountant than he knew he had to get out. "I just made the decision that I was going to try comedy, and if didn't work, then I knew it didn't work," he says. "Then I would go back and do whatever. But at least I wouldn't torture myself the rest of my life, wondering whatever would have happened. . . ." He didn't make the transformation overnight.

Seventy years ago, Bill Wilson -- the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous -- declared his powerlessness over alcohol in a book by the same name. The failed businessman contended that, as an alcoholic, he had to "hit bottom" before changing his life and that sobriety could only be achieved through complete abstention. For generations, Americans took these tenets to be true for everyone. Top addiction experts are no longer sure. They now say that many drinkers can evaluate their habits and -- using new knowledge about genetic and behavioral risks of addiction -- change those habits if necessary.

Driving by, you might wonder if you've stumbled on a gathering of somewhat indiscreet spies. It's night, the parking lot of an otherwise deserted municipal park is filled with cars, each with at least two people inside carefully examining documents by flashlight, making notes and discussing strategy in subdued voices. One by one, they start their cars and drive away, all heading in the same direction.

Style of turf. The first place to start is with the type of turf. Tall fescue is the most drought-tolerant of the main types of popular lawn grasses. Bahia, centipede or buffalo grasses also require less water. Cut higher. Cutting the blades higher, to 3 or 4 inches tall, can shade the soil's surface and reduce evaporation by 70% to 80%, according to Paul Tukey, author of "The Organic Lawn Care Manual."

Why did Shawn Hubler bother to call People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals if she knew what its director of farmed animal campaigns would say about the turkey she bought online for Thanksgiving ("The Virtuous Turkey," Nov. 20)? After being advised to spare the bird and have a meatless meal, she announces that "nobody's going to tell me how to set my Thanksgiving table." So if PETA had told her to eat the turkey, would she have spared it the blade? Maybe not, since the reason she bought the "endangered" turkey in the first place was because "everyone who was anyone" did so last year.