Glenbard North's Gomez wins third state title

Gabby Gomez celebrates here title victory in the 115-pound class at the IHSA Girls' Individual Wrestling State Finals on Saturday. The state champion grappler from Glenbard North finished the season with a perfect 42-0 record after defeating Loyola Academy's Harlee Hiller in the championship match, 4-3.

Photos: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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BLOOMINGTON - Glenbard North wrestler Gabby Gomez is a beast. Nationally ranked, she rolled through the girls' 115-pound state bracket unscathed to win her third-consecutive state wrestling title after besting Loyola Academy's Harlee Hiller in the weight class finale.

Gomez opened her third visit to the IHSA tournament with a pinning Normal University's Allison Kroesch (21-13). Already up 9-2 in the second period, the Panther pinned the Pioneer at 2:45 to advance to the quarterfinal round.

In her next match, Gomez put on a mini-clinic. She scored four takedowns and collected points on two near falls in the first period on Springfield's Ella Miloncus. Up 12-3 in the second period, she casually pinned Miloncus at 2:16 after adding two points for a reversal to her match score (14-3).

Squaring off against Lincoln-Way Central's Gracie Guarino (29-1) in the quarterfinals, Gomez tallied a takedown in each of the first two periods and scored on a reversal to win her bout, 6-1.

The anticipated title match between Gomez and Harlee Hiller went the distance, but not without controversy. Hiller, a junior who won last year's 105 title and made school history as the first female wrestling state champion at Loyola Academy, was driven off the mat by Gomez into the penalty box wall six feet away. Despite a protest by the Loyola coach and after a brief recovery period, the match continued.

Hiller tied the match up at 2-all in the third period on an escape from a restart. The knot lasted a little more a minute when Gomez scored the match-winning takedown to go up 4-2. Hiller collected another escape point before the match ended at 4-3.

Gomez, a junior at North, has not lost a prep wrestling match during her career. Now 83-0, this time next year, if all goes according to plan, she could be the first Illinois high school girl to wrestle all four years without a loss.

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State Championship
Match Gallery

Gabby Gomez vs Harlie Hiller
115 Division

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Carnivore diet challenges norms, reveals health transformations

The carnivore diet is just one type of a low carbohydrate diet. The ketogenic diet and the Atkins diet are also considered low carbohydrate diets.

Photo: Pixabay/PEXELS

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by Tim Ditman
OSF Healthcare

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URBANA - Though not everyone is sold on it, Philip Ovadia, MD, isn’t shy about the carnivore diet. And the cardiothoracic surgeon at OSF HealthCare has studies and a remarkable personal experience to back it up.

“I’ve been on a carnivore diet for five years. For another two to three years prior, I was on low carbohydrate diets in general,” Dr. Ovadia recalls.

“I have lost over 100 pounds and maintained the weight loss. I reversed my prediabetes. And today as I’m approaching 50 years old, I really feel better every day than I did in my 20s and 30s.”

Dr. Ovadia says anyone can try the carnivore diet, but you should do so with guidance from a health care provider.

The carnivore diet: what (and what not) to eat

Dr. Ovadia calls the carnivore diet “our ancestral diet.” He says as long as humans have been around, meat has been a fundamental part of their diet. Ancestral humans would add plants, like fruits and vegetables, “seasonally and sporadically,” he says.

Today, the carnivore diet looks about the same. A person consumes animal products like meat, dairy and eggs but abstains from plant products and processed food. Some people are stricter than others about what they choose depending on their needs. For example, some people cut out spices and seasonings on their meat, while others use them.

Yes, Dr. Ovadia admits this diet flies in the face of advice we’ve heard since we were kids.

One, we’ve been told to incorporate fruits and vegetables into your diet.

“There are no essential nutrients that are not available in animal products,” Dr. Ovadia retorts. “The animal has eaten the fruits and vegetables. In many cases, ruminant animals like cows have multiple stomachs that are better able to digest the plant products and better able to extract the nutrients. Those nutrients end up in the animal meat.

“When you really dig into the scientific literature around fruits and vegetables, their benefit is in substituting for processed food,” which is prevalent today, Dr. Ovadia adds. “In the context of someone eating a lot of processed food, when you start eating fruits and vegetables, you see improvements in health.”

Two, we’ve heard red meat increases the risk of heart disease and cancer. Dr. Ovadia says studies have proven that false.

Dr. Ovadia also points out that the carnivore diet is just one type of a low carbohydrate diet, and those diets have been studied. The ketogenic diet and the Atkins diet are other low carbohydrate diets.

“It’s not that there are negative studies or positive studies,” on the carnivore diet, Dr. Ovadia says. “There just aren’t a lot of studies.”

Other things to know

Dr. Ovadia says studies and his own experience show the carnivore diet’s benefits: reversing or improving diabetes, obesity, autoimmune conditions, inflammatory bowel disease and mental health.

“People on the carnivore diet are often eating once or twice a day and not having snacks because they’re not hungry,” Dr. Ovadia says. “When you eat nutrient-dense animal foods, you find you’re hungry less often.”

If you have a medical condition, Dr. Ovadia stresses the need to keep in contact with a health care provider while on the carnivore diet.

“If someone with Type 2 diabetes goes on a very low carbohydrate diet, their medication may need to be adjusted. They’re not taking in carbohydrates, and their blood sugar can get low,” Dr. Ovadia warns. “I often see people with high blood pressure who are on medication that start these diets. Their blood pressure starts to get low, and their medication needs to be adjusted.”

Dr. Ovadia adds that people on the carnivore diet tend to have fewer bowel movements, but this is not usually accompanied by constipation.

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Don’t confuse these types of cancer

by Tim Ditman
OSF Healthcare

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ALTON - Anal and rectal cancer occur in parts of the body near each other, and they both have prevention steps and time-tested treatments. But they are different types of cancer, says Raman Kumar, MD, a colorectal and general surgeon with OSF HealthCare.

Rectal cancer

Dr. Kumar says the rectum is the last part of the colon, where stool is stored.

Signs of rectal cancer include bleeding, irregular bowel movements (such as the shape of the stool changing and the inability to have a complete bowel movement), weight loss, fatigue and pain in the rectal area.

Rectal cancer impacts men and women roughly equally, and it’s seen “at almost any age,” Dr. Kumar says. If you smoke and eat a lot of red meat and processed food, your risk will go up.

Anal cancer

Dr. Kumar says the anus is where stool comes out. He says signs of anal cancer can be like those of rectal cancer. But often, he says an anal cancer diagnosis starts when a person believes they have hemorrhoids, or when the veins or blood vessels around the anus and lower rectum become swollen and irritated due to extra pressure.

“It turns out not to be a hemorrhoid. It could be a mass or a lesion. You could have some bleeding, especially when you’re wiping with toilet paper or wet wipes,” Dr. Kumar says.

Anal cancer’s prevalence in the United States is “very low,” Dr. Kumar says, with around 8,000 cases per year. Around two-thirds of the cases are women, and it’s more common in age 50 and up.

“The number one cause of anal cancer is HPV, the human papillomavirus,” Dr. Kumar says. “So, it is considered a sexually transmitted disease.”

But he says you don’t have to be sexually active to get anal cancer. Regardless, there are vaccines for the most common HPVs that cause cancer.

Prevention and treatment

Symptoms aside, Dr. Kumar says there’s a must-do for anal and rectal cancer prevention: get on a colonoscopy schedule as advised by your health care provider. A colonoscopy is when a provider inspects your colon and surrounding areas using a tiny camera on the end of a tube. Dr. Kumar says generally, colonoscopies start at age 45. But they could start earlier if you have a family history of cancer.

Other tips: Don’t smoke. Exercise regularly. Eat a healthy diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables and fiber. Thirty grams of fiber per day is a good goal, Dr. Kumar says.

If you do have symptoms of anal or rectal cancer, see a provider to get checked out.

Dr. Kumar says treatment for anal cancer is usually chemotherapy and radiation therapy. He says when treated properly, the typical five-year survival rate is around 80%.

“The only times we would operate on anal cancer are to get the original [cancerous] mass out and if the cancer comes back,” Dr. Kumar explains.

For rectal cancer, Dr. Kumar says around 40% of people can also be treated with chemotherapy and radiation. Others will need surgery to remove the cancer. But Dr. Kumar says medicine has progressed to where people can typically avoid a colostomy, or when a part of the colon is diverted outside the skin to bypass a damaged part of the colon. This is temporary and comes with a bag that collects the waste that would normally leave your body via a bowel movement.

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Area wrestlers earn All-Conference recognition

St. Thomas More's Brody Cuppernell tries to avoid a takedown attempt by Unity's Hunter Eastin during the IHSA 190-pound championship match at State Farm Center on Saturday. Eastin prevailed to win the Class 1A title with 5-2 decision over Cuppernell. Both wrestlers made the cut for this year's Illini Prairie all-conference first team. See more championship match photos here ...

Photo: PhotoNews Media

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URBANA - Eleven wrestlers from Unity and eight from St. Joseph-Ogden were selected by coaches and named to the Illini Prairie 2023-2024 all-conference teams.

Later today, the Rockets wrestle against the Shells of Roxana for a spot in tomorrow's semifinal round at Grossinger Motors Arena. The season also continues for Unity's Phoenix Molina, who is competing in the girls' IHSA wrestling championship, also at the arena.

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2023-2024
Illini Prairie Conference
All-Conference Wrestling

* Unanimous choice

First Team:

Zeke Young, Monticello (Freshmen, 106)
Hunter Romano, Monticello (Junior, 175/190)
Aidan Scholwin, Pontiac (Senior, 106)*
Ayden Mackey, Prairie Central (Senior, 144)
Emmitt Holt, SJO (Senior, 113)*
Holden Brazelton, SJO (Junior, 132)*
Coy Hayes, SJO (Sophomore, 150)
August Christhilf, STM (Senior, 175)*
Robbie Vavrik, STM (Senior, 285)*
Brody Cuppernell, STM (Senior, 190/215)*
Hunter Shike, Unity (Sophomore, 126)*
Taylor Finley, Unity (Freshmen, 132)
Kaden Inman, Unity (Junior, 144)
Abram Davidson, Unity (Sophomore, 157)
Ryan Rink, Unity (Junior, 165)*
Thayden Root, Unity (Senior, 175)
Hunter Eastin, Unity (Junior, 190)*

Second Team:

Owen Moser, IVC (Sophomore, 165)
AJ Toliver, IVC (Freshmen, 150)
Gavin Ridings, Monticello (Senior, 157)
Wyatt Vaughan, Monticello (Senior, 175/190)
Brandon Peters, Monticello (Senior, 285)
John Traub, Prairie Central (Junior, 132)
Darius Williams, Rantoul (Junior, 150)
Jackson Walsh, SJO (Sophomore, 113)
Landen Butts, SJO (Junior, 138)
Devan Swisher, SJO (Sophomore, 165)
Maddie Wells, SJO (Sophomore, 126)
James Schmidt, STM (Junior, 215)
Philip Christhilf, STM (Junior, 157)
Keegan Germano, Unity (Freshmen, 138)
Josh Heath, Unity (Sophomore, 150)

Honorable Mention:

Marrissa Miller, Monticello (Senior, 113)
Luke Andruczyk, Monticello (Freshmen, 120)
Will Osborne, Monticello (Freshmen, 126)
Russ Brown, Monticello (Junior, 165)
Hunter Melvin, Pontiac (Senior, 215)
Drayden Ramsey, Pontiac (Sophomore, 126)
Noah Davis, Pontiac (Freshmen, 120)
Drew Owen, Rantoul (Junior, 215/285)
Quincy Jones, SJO (Junior, 215)
Travis McCarter, Unity (Sophomore, 113)
Hudson DeHart, Unity (Freshmen, 215)

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Commentary |No way having a baby should cause a financial catastrophe

by Lindsay K. Saunders

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... my first and only experience with motherhood was marred by stress and trauma.

I had a baby in 2021 and quickly learned how parenting and child care expenses add up.

My husband and I had saved up for months to afford my unpaid maternity leave — I kept working even after my water broke because we needed every penny. It was a dream come true to have a career that I was proud of and finally be welcoming a child into our lives.

But I had no idea how hard it would really be.

Bringing a bundles of joy like this cute little one into the world shouldn't be a financial burden.

Photo: Kaushal Mishra/Unsplash

While I was on unpaid maternity leave that cost us our health benefits, my husband was let go from his job. Already reliant on WIC — the federal food aid program for women, infants, and children — we were forced to go to food pantries, apply for Medicaid, and referred to a diaper bank. We were in survival mode: exhausted, stressed out, and worried.

Despite a litany of postpartum complications that continue to plague me more than two years later, I ended up only taking seven weeks of leave before I returned to work out of desperation.

I wondered: Why doesn’t the U.S. have a paid parental leave policy?

Instead, my first and only experience with motherhood was marred by stress and trauma. Again and again, I had to choose between my health and a paycheck, which can feel like a punishment. I’d proudly served my country on a one-year assignment overseas working on foreign aid, and it didn’t matter.

We found child care at a loving, quality child care center, but the tuition kept increasing. Now the monthly cost is almost twice our mortgage. In fact, child care costs exceed college tuition where we live in North Carolina, as well as in at least 27 other states. My stomach gets in a knot every six months when I know the tuition will increase again.

I wondered: Why don’t we invest more in early care and education?

Meanwhile, the crises causing outsized harm to families throughout the pandemic compounded: a diaper shortage, a formula shortage, inflation, and wages that wouldn’t keep up. So many people are struggling to get back on their feet and desperately need balance and some peace of mind. The stress took its toll, and my husband and I separated in spring 2023.

I wondered: If only we’d had more support, would we have made it?

I have an advanced degree and work as a communications director at a nonprofit while also freelancing. After paying for necessities, we have nothing left, so I get food and supplies from neighbors and friends. I work so hard as a single mom to try to achieve the dreams I have for myself and my baby boy — the dreams that all mothers have. I don’t want my child to deal with the stress and constant refrain of “we don’t have the money for that,” like I did growing up.

Families desperately need, want, and deserve better. Welcoming a child should never be the reason a family plunges into poverty, especially in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. We shouldn’t be sacrificing health, quality early learning, or stability in exchange for a roof over our heads and food. Instead, we should be building strong foundations and generational wealth for our kids.

We need federally mandated paid parental and medical leave. We need additional dedicated funding for programs like WIC that support over 6 million families.

And we need to continue expanding the Child Tax Credit. In North Carolina alone, the monthly Child Tax Credits received in 2021 helped the families of 140,000 children lift themselves out of poverty. Nationally, the credit cut child poverty by over 40 percent before Congress let the pandemic expansion expire at the end of 2021.

Congress must put our tax dollars and policies toward strong support for families. Let’s ensure no parent experiences welcoming a child a child as a financial catastrophe and make this country a place where families prosper.

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About the author:
Lindsay K. Saunders is a North Carolina mother and dedicated advocate for RESULTS Educational Fund, a national anti-poverty organization. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.

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Commentary |Hey Taylor; love the music, but please park that private jet

Photo:Omid Armin/Unsplash

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I spent a decade, like many parents, chauffeuring pre-teen and teenage girls around to a Taylor Swift soundtrack. I learned every Swift song as it was released and sang along to the chorus in the car. I even went to one of her first stadium concerts with my young Swifties.

Congrats, Taylor, for your talent and decades of consistently great songwriting. You deserve all the accolades and rewards. Here’s my one request: Give up your private jet.

Those young fans of yours that I used to shuttle around are now campaigning against climate change. They understand this is the critical decade to shift our trajectory away from fossil fuels and towards clean energy.

And they need you, once again, to sing a new song.

Chuck Collins

I know you’re dealing with a lot of crazy conspiracy theories in right-wing media. In their zeal to denounce you, you even succeeded in getting Fox News to admit that private jet travel contributes to climate change, which is no small feat!

They’ve said a lot of nonsense about you, but that part is true. Private jets emit 10 to 20 times more pollutants per passenger than commercial jets. You know it’s wrong — that’s why you cover your face with an umbrella when you’re disembarking.

Maybe it’s even why you’ve decided to sell one of your jets. Why not the other?

We all have that experience of wishing we could be two places at once. I’ve been on a work trip and wished I could zip home for my daughter’s soccer game. But your private flight from your tour in Tokyo to the Super Bowl burned more carbon than six entire average U.S. households will all year.

Like so many challenges in our country, private jet pollution is increasing alongside inequality. According to a report I co-authored for the Institute for Policy Studies, High Flyers 2023, the number of private jets has grown 133 percent over the last two decades. And just 1 percent of flyers now contribute half of all carbon emissions from aviation.

Should we set off a carbon bomb so the ultra-rich can fly to their vacation destinations? More and more Americans are answering no. In Massachusetts, a grassroots coalition called Stop Private Jet Expansion at Hanscom and Everywhere is calling on the governor to reject an airport expansion that would serve private jets. It could inspire similar fights nationally.

Banning or restricting private jet travel would be one of the easiest paths to reducing emissions if it weren’t a luxury consumed by the most wealthy and powerful people on the planet. But climate advocates are still working to find a way. In Congress, Senator Ed Markey and Rep. Nydia Velazquez have proposed hiking the tax on private jet fuel to make sure private jet users pay the real financial and ecological costs of their luxury travel.

There’s good news, Taylor: A generation of music stars toured without jets, taking the proverbial tour bus. And it sparked a lot of great songs about this amazing land.

Taylor, if you want to be green, stay on the ground. Your fans will love you and the future generations will thank you.

I believe there’s a song there.

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About the author

Chuck Collins directs the Program on Inequality and co-edits the Inequality.org website at the Institute for Policy Studies. This op-ed was adapted from an earlier version at CommonDreams.org and distributed for syndication by OtherWords.org.

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Editorial |Green light to attack NATO

Khalil Bendib / OtherWords.org

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Guest Commentary |Can you do anything about America’s problems? Not really

by Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator

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We are saturated with news in America. We know about the legal troubles of former President Donald Trump. Every day we are updated about the latest court proceedings and what is still to come. What can you do about it? Nothing. You didn’t loan Trump the money and he doesn’t owe you. Loan officers from lending institutions worked these deals with Trump. It’s between Trump and them it seems to me.

Every day you are bombarded with every detail of Trump’s legal issues from a woman he reportedly assaulted to a porn star who is dissatisfied with the hundred thousand dollars plus hush payment she reportedly received. What can you do about it? Nothing. Is all of this supposed to make you hate Trump and vote for someone else? It must be or we wouldn’t hear so much about what he has been accused of doing.

Almost every day we are reminded by some about the cognitive decline of President Joe Biden. Just like any President he is derided on a daily basis for his handling of our Southern border crisis, the economy, the decline of our military and much more. We care because it all impacts us, but what can you do about it? Nothing really. You can be mad and frustrated but that’s about all.

Minneapolis police officers were killed over the weekend. People were shot and one killed at at a Kansas City Chief’s citywide Superbowl party. Numerous people were shot. It makes us sick. We hurt for those whose lives were taken. We hurt for those families who lost loved ones.

We hurt every day and week in America as more and more mass shootings occur. So what? What can you do about it? Nothing really. We vote. Of course, that’s the one thing we can do, but that’s about all. We can protest, march and scream and holler but Congress doesn’t pay any attention to that. Marches in Washington, D.C. are common and seemingly ignored.

Every day we hear about the border crisis. It seems to be a commonsense fix but what are you going to do? Many of us would go to the Southern border and volunteer to complete the wall and fix the holes but our government would probably put us in jail for trying to protect America. Thousands are illegally pouring into our country and we hear about it every day, but what are you going to do about it? Nothing really.

Every day we hear about the crisis of the Middle East. Israel, Gaza, Russia, and Ukraine. We hear a lot about Ukraine needing more and more money. It doesn’t matter if you think they need more or less money, it’s out of your hands. What can you do about it? Call your Congressman? Call the President? Do you think they care about what you think? They care about one thing and that’s doing whatever it takes to be reelected.

All you can do is what you must do and that is vote and you already know almost for sure who your options are for this upcoming election. That’s the one thing we can do. Since you and I can’t really do anything about all of this mess we had better elect someone who will do something.

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He is the author of 13 books including Uncommon Sense, the Spiritual Chocolate series, Grandpa's Store, Minister's Guidebook insights from a fellow minister. His column is published weekly in over 600 publications in all 50 states. The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization. We welcome comments and views from our readers. Submit your letters to the editor or commentary on a current event 24/7 to editor@oursentinel.com.

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