Is sugar doing you more wrong than right?
In order to find out, I'd like to suggest eliminating all sugar from your diet for two weeks and noting any changes you experience while doing so. By sugar, I mean all refined and alternative sweeteners like agave, honey, Splenda, brown rice syrup, sushi rice, lactose, maltose, fructose, dates and other dried fruit as well as starchy foods that just turn to sugar as soon as we eat them, i.e., rice, corn and potatoes. This also includes alcohol. Make sure you scan all condiments, sauces, dressings, canned foods and packaged foods for sugars, as they are in most of them. If you want to be super strict, remove all grains, legumes/beans and fresh fruit high in sugar content like bananas and grapes. Low sugar fruits once a day are fine (green apples, berries, lemons and limes). Eliminating sugar is a common part of both Paleo and Candida diets.
Here is a list of symptoms you may experience:
1) The first thing you may notice are withdrawal symptoms. Yes, that's right - withdrawals. Sugar acts like a drug in our bodies, just like alcohol or nicotine.You may experience headaches, intense cravings and mood swings.
2) Next you may feel really tired. This is your body adjusting to normal without being hyped up on sugar. It's kind of like the come down after a caffeine rush, but please don't drink caffeinated beverages to get you through this period.
3) If you replace sugary foods and snacks with real food (not processed) of which you can pronounce all ingredients and make from scratch, you will then see your energy increase again. This energy increase should then stay stable throughout the day and not bounce up and down like it did before.
4) After a longer period of time on a sugar-free diet, you may also notice your taste and scent buds have become heightened. Things that normally didn't taste so sweet to you, may taste sweeter. You'll appreciate the flavors of other foods you might not have paid attention to before.
5) If you're still keeping this up, and try to resume your previous dining out life, you will notice how hard it is to find restaurants that don't add sugar into their dishes, with most Mediterranean dishes being the exception. There are also social repercussions of such a strict diet depending on your family/friend circle. However, there are options; check out my blog post on Dining Out Sugar Free.
I've found the above to be true for myself. I have gone off sugar completely except for one serving of low sugar fruit like green apples or berries once a day for the last year. In the last month, I've even cut out all grains and beans. I now have sustained energy throughout the day without the dips. No longer do I have the 3pm droopy eyelids that for most people prompt an instant caffeine rush. My immune system is stronger from eating all nutrient dense foods. I am not getting sick regularly like my co-workers. My mood is better and my head clearer. I find my friends or myself hosting more dinner parties at home, instead of eating out, meaning we are all eating healthier and saving money, too!
Oh, I almost forgot...shedding pounds is another major symptom which will either be a bonus or a motivator for you if you do decide to go sugar-free. Also, if you have had any allergies clear up (like itchiness or stuffy/runny noses), these may be the result of consuming offending foods. You may want to look further into this and pay attention as you add back in some foods you eliminated for this trial.
If at the end of reading this, you are still up for this challenge, please respond and share your own experiences here.
Update! How-to Guide now posted on my blog.
In order to find out, I'd like to suggest eliminating all sugar from your diet for two weeks and noting any changes you experience while doing so. By sugar, I mean all refined and alternative sweeteners like agave, honey, Splenda, brown rice syrup, sushi rice, lactose, maltose, fructose, dates and other dried fruit as well as starchy foods that just turn to sugar as soon as we eat them, i.e., rice, corn and potatoes. This also includes alcohol. Make sure you scan all condiments, sauces, dressings, canned foods and packaged foods for sugars, as they are in most of them. If you want to be super strict, remove all grains, legumes/beans and fresh fruit high in sugar content like bananas and grapes. Low sugar fruits once a day are fine (green apples, berries, lemons and limes). Eliminating sugar is a common part of both Paleo and Candida diets.
Here is a list of symptoms you may experience:
1) The first thing you may notice are withdrawal symptoms. Yes, that's right - withdrawals. Sugar acts like a drug in our bodies, just like alcohol or nicotine.You may experience headaches, intense cravings and mood swings.
2) Next you may feel really tired. This is your body adjusting to normal without being hyped up on sugar. It's kind of like the come down after a caffeine rush, but please don't drink caffeinated beverages to get you through this period.
3) If you replace sugary foods and snacks with real food (not processed) of which you can pronounce all ingredients and make from scratch, you will then see your energy increase again. This energy increase should then stay stable throughout the day and not bounce up and down like it did before.
4) After a longer period of time on a sugar-free diet, you may also notice your taste and scent buds have become heightened. Things that normally didn't taste so sweet to you, may taste sweeter. You'll appreciate the flavors of other foods you might not have paid attention to before.
5) If you're still keeping this up, and try to resume your previous dining out life, you will notice how hard it is to find restaurants that don't add sugar into their dishes, with most Mediterranean dishes being the exception. There are also social repercussions of such a strict diet depending on your family/friend circle. However, there are options; check out my blog post on Dining Out Sugar Free.
I've found the above to be true for myself. I have gone off sugar completely except for one serving of low sugar fruit like green apples or berries once a day for the last year. In the last month, I've even cut out all grains and beans. I now have sustained energy throughout the day without the dips. No longer do I have the 3pm droopy eyelids that for most people prompt an instant caffeine rush. My immune system is stronger from eating all nutrient dense foods. I am not getting sick regularly like my co-workers. My mood is better and my head clearer. I find my friends or myself hosting more dinner parties at home, instead of eating out, meaning we are all eating healthier and saving money, too!
Oh, I almost forgot...shedding pounds is another major symptom which will either be a bonus or a motivator for you if you do decide to go sugar-free. Also, if you have had any allergies clear up (like itchiness or stuffy/runny noses), these may be the result of consuming offending foods. You may want to look further into this and pay attention as you add back in some foods you eliminated for this trial.
If at the end of reading this, you are still up for this challenge, please respond and share your own experiences here.
Update! How-to Guide now posted on my blog.
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2 comments:
About the Mediterranean foods, at least when I look at any pasta sauce, I always see sugar in the ingredient list. Same with salad dressings...I even saw sugar listed on a package of bagels! It's everywhere!
Dear Anonymous,
Yes, there is sugar in almost everything. Regarding Mediterranean food (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_cuisine), this is mostly fresh fish, grilled meats and vegetables with some rice. Dolmas (grape leaves stuffed with rice and spices), olives, hummus and babaganoush are popular side dishes which are pretty safe, too. I normally think of spaghetti and pasta sauce as more of an American dish. When I've traveled in the Mediterranean, a whole fresh fish was the norm. On my blog post about dining out, you will see what types of dishes I recommend at the various places as well as the need to watch out for salad dressings. I normally carry some plain extra virgin olive oil with me and sea salt to dress my own salads. I also don't think everything in Mediterranean restaurants is sugar free, but rather you can always find some dishes which are sugar-free. If you are super strict, I recommend calling ahead of time to check with the chef or asking the restaurant which dishes are void of all sugars and anything else you want to watch out for. Thanks for your comment.
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