This is the final installation of our 3-part series on the tragic deaths of celebrities in the last decade due to addiction:

(In case you missed our earlier posts, click here to read Part 1 & click here to read Part 2)

Brad Renfro (July 25, 1982 – January 15, 2008, age 25) Actor Brad Renfro, who starred in “The Client”, died from a heroin overdose. Ironically, the young actor’s participation in an anti-drug school skit eventually led to an audition for director Joel Schumacher. People named Brad one of its “Top 30 Under 30”. Brad showed great promise as an actor, but his bright future dimmed as he was arrested numerous times for drug and alcohol related charges.  Brad was 25 when his dead body was discovered at his home in Los Angeles.

Heath Ledger (April 4, 1979 – January 22, 2008, age 28) Actor Heath Ledger died from an accidental overdose of prescription medication including painkillers, sleeping pills, antihistamines and anti-anxiety medications. His housekeeper and a massage therapist found his body in a Soho apartment he was renting in New York. Emergency officials arrived on the scene and tried to revive him without success. Among many other accolades, Heath was awarded a posthumous Academy Award for his portrayal of The Joker in the hit film “Dark Knight”. Heath did not live to see his critically acclaimed performance in what many dubbed “the role of a lifetime”. Prior to his role in “Dark Knight”, Heath was best known for his Academy Award nominated role as a closeted homosexual cowboy in director Ang Lee’s “Brokeback Mountain”. While he left a tremendous legacy, Heath had much more to give to world and many more roles to play. His daughter Matilda will most definitely miss his active role as her daddy the most. Heath was 28 when he died.

In Part 1 of our 3-part series, we started to list and examine the celebrities who died due to addiction over the past decade. In Part 2, we continue to chronicle the celebrities who perished due to addiction (if you missed last week's blog entry, click here to read Part 1):

Luisel Ramos (c. 1984 - August 2, 2006, age 22) Luisel Ramos, a 22-year-old model from Uruguay, died during a fashion show from heart failure due to anorexia in August 2006. She stepped off the catwalk during Fashion Week in Montevideo and fainted on her way back to the dressing room. The gaunt model had adopted a diet consisting only of lettuce and diet sodas in the months prior to her death. Luisel’s father told authorities his daughter often went days without eating. The 5 feet 9-inches model weighed only 98 pounds when she died.

Ana Carolina Reston (June 4, 1984 - November 15, 2006, age 22) Ana Carolina Reston was a Brazilian model who starved herself to death. The skeletal model reportedly survived on a diet where she only ate apples and tomatoes. When she ate anything else, she threw it up. Ana was admitted to a hospital for kidney failure due to anorexia and bulimia in October 2006. Ana was 21 when she died in an ICU of multiple system organ failure in November 2006. At 5 feet 8 inches, she weighed a mere 88 pounds at her death.

Eliana Ramos (c. 1988 - February 13, 2007, age 18) Model Eliana Ramos, the 18-year-old sister of the late Luisel Ramos, was found dead inside her grandparents’ home in Montevideo, Uruguay. Her grandmother discovered her lifeless body. Eliana’s death was due to heart failure related to anorexia. Eliana’s and Luisel’s father, famous soccer player Luis Ramos, was vacationing with his wife when his younger daughter passed away in February 2007. The Ramos sisters died from anorexia within six months of each other.

This 3-part series examines celebrity deaths due to addiction over the past decade. This is Part 1:

Celebrities are just like us. They might have bigger houses, better wardrobes and nicer toys; but, ultimately, they are human beings. They have feelings. They have pain. They have bad days. They have inner demons. They have addictions. They die. When a celebrity’s tragic death due to addiction makes the news, the only positive element is the awareness brought to the grave dangers and fatal consequences of addiction.

Even the brightest flames can be snuffed out prematurely. Over the past decade, there have been far too many celebrity lives claimed by addiction. Here is a chronological look back over some of the luminaries we have needlessly lost to substance abuse, alcoholism, prescription drug overdose and eating disorders:

Dana Plato (November 7, 1964 - May 8, 1999, age 34) Actress Dana Plato, star of the hit 80’s sitcom “Diff’rent Strokes”, died of a prescription pain medication overdose in May 1999. While it was initially thought to be accidental, the coroner eventually ruled her death a suicide. Dana had multiple problems with addiction in her life - she abused alcohol and drugs during her years on her hit TV show. Dana went on to pose for Playboy and acted in a few B-movies including soft porn when she was not offered other roles. Finding herself out of work, Dana got a job at a dry cleaner in Las Vegas. She was arrested in 1992 for armed robbery of a Nevada video store. Legendary entertainer Wayne Newton bailed Dana out of jail. Later that month, she was arrested for forging Valium prescriptions and returned to jail for violating her 5 year probation. Dana eventually tried to make a comeback in Hollywood. Unfortunately, she died at 34 from her addictions before she made it back on any type of screen.

Clinton B. McCracken is a 33-year-old biomedical specialist who built a career exploring the neuroscience of addiction. The drug-related death of his 27-year-old fiancée Carrie John changed everything in his life. His fiancée died after injecting herself with narcotic buprenorphine. The drug had been obtained via an online foreign pharmacy. An autopsy revealed no buprenorphine in the lifeless body of Carrie John. Her cause of death was determined to be an allergic reaction to a tainted drug. The couple was at home at the time of the fatal injection trying to get high with each other. Dr. McCracken told police he was unable to inject himself with his prepared syringe, as he was busy trying to revive his fiancée and calling paramedics.

The circumstances of the death caused authorities to search the couple’s home. They were shocked to discover “huge gardens” of marijuana and mounds of assorted pills. Police said the couple turned their home into an indoor marijuana farm with grow lights and fans vented with aluminum dryer hoses. Police found at least 20 marijuana plants over 2 feet high, more than 20 assorted bongs, bags of pills and other drug paraphernalia.

Dr. McCracken confessed to a decade-long, daily habit of marijuana consumption and three years of abusing opioids injected intravenously. He grew marijuana in his home and ordered morphine, buprenorphine and OxyContin online. The scientist continued functioning at a high level in his personal life and at work. He convinced himself his own personal drug use was not a problem due to his intelligence, extensive knowledge of addiction and training. Unfortunately, the perception of control is an illusion. That illusion was tragically shattered once his fiancée died.

A recent newspaper headline announced: "Fatty Foods May Be Just as Addictive as Heroin and Cocaine.” This bold declaration was written due to evidence presented in a new study published in Nature Neuroscience. This three-year study provides compelling scientific evidence that junk food addiction may explain why you start drooling like Homer Simpson when you are around donuts or why you are hypnotically drawn to those golden arches.

The Experiment The study conducted by the prestigious Scripps Institute examined three groups of lab rats that were fed different diets for 40 days. The rats were divided into the following groups:

• Group 1 was given healthy food only
• Group 2 was offered the same healthy food with one major difference – for one hour a day, Group 2 was offered a buffet of bacon, sausage, chocolate and other high-fat goodies
• Group 3 was allowed “extended access” to the fatty buffet for up to 23 hours a day

The Results The rats with one-hour access to the fatty buffet (Group 2) developed a pattern of binge eating and consumed most of their daily calories during the single hour they were allowed the junk food. The group with extended access (Group 3) began consuming twice as many calories overall as compared to the other rat groups and became obese by the end of the study.

Shades of Hope was featured on two episodes of the Emmy-nominated “The Dr. Oz Show”. Both episodes featured Sandi, a single mother of two, who battled food addiction for 20 years. Sandi remained addicted to food despite seeing multiple doctors and therapists for her issues. Sandi used food as medication and routinely binged in private. Dr. Oz compared her food binges to drug fixes. He told her that an inpatient treatment center was her “absolute best shot for recovery”. Overcoming food addiction requires creating a new set of habits that satisfy your mental, physical and spiritual needs. During the initial episode, Brad Lamm conducted a successful intervention that ended with Sandi entering a three-month inpatient treatment program at Shades of Hope.

The second episode was a follow-up on Sandi’s progress after completing her treatment at Shades of Hope. When Sandi came out on stage, Dr. Oz commented that she was “glowing”. Sandi revealed she feels like a different person and cannot believe how much her life has changed for the better. She told Dr. Oz she learned new coping skills at Shades of Hope for her food addiction. The single mother of two adopted a new lifestyle and has not binged once since her treatment. Brad Lamm explained that Sandi did a lot of work at Shades of Hope and learned to work through difficult moments to stay in recovery. The interventionist said she had to take control over “the things that inhabit your life that inhibit your dreams” to have a better life.

This Friday (May 14th) Shades of Hope will be featured during a segment on food addiction on The Dr. Oz Show.  The show is entitled Ask Dr. Oz: Celebrity Edition. Dr. Oz will field questions from Jennifer Aniston, Patti LaBelle, Martha Stewart, Whoopi Goldberg, Carrie Ann Inaba, Trudie Styler, and Mary J. Blige. The famous Deen brothers, sons of celebrity chef Paula Deen, will also be featured in a segment on Friday’s show.

Check your local listings for time and channel so you

Tennie helps the women in Ruby’s group unleash their anger to get rid of the pain from their past.

Ruby Gettinger is the charming reality star of Ruby on the Style Network. Once weighing over 700 pounds, she has battled obesity throughout her life. The Savannah native is aware her food consumption and weight are symptoms of an underlying problem. "I wasn't eating because I was hungry," she said in an interview with People magazine, "Food controlled me." The reality star told Regis Philbin & Kelly Ripa, “I wanted to find out the truth behind it [obesity] because I knew it was bigger than just dieting.” In an interview with Joy Behar, Ruby revealed that she had to lose weight as she felt her body “shutting down” as she got older.

Ruby had the biggest debut in the Style Network’s history in November 2008. The popular reality show documenting her weight loss journey and quest for a healthy life is now in its third season. During this season, Tennie McCarty from Shades of Hope became a regular at Ruby’s female “Fat Night” support group meetings. Tennie helped Ruby understand she has a food addiction and must treat her behavior as any other addict does. Tennie helped the group go through several exercises to assess their personal food issues, conquer fears and identify hidden emotions.

As January comes to an end, will you give up on keeping your New Year’s resolutions? Many of us make resolutions or promises to ourselves to change for the better in the coming year. The most common resolutions usually involve health changes such as developing better eating habits, curbing spending, avoiding gambling, quitting smoking, abstaining from drugs or no longer drinking alcohol.

Here are some tips for keeping your New Year’s resolutions for the long term:

Set realistic goals. Lofty goals can be inspirational, but they can also be overwhelming and daunting. Break down large or long-term goals into more manageable and achievable steps. Accept that you won’t be able to change overnight. Changing behavior takes time, planning and effort.

Outline a plan. In addition to motivation, you need a strategy. Decide how you will deal with temptations. List reasons you want to change your behavior. Remind yourself how your destructive habits or addictions affect your life negatively. Focus on how achieving your goals will change your life for the better. Anticipate triggers and plan to cope with them in a healthy way versus resorting to old behaviors. Plan alternate activities to replace unhealthy habits. Keep yourself busy to avoid boredom or excessive downtime.