One of my biggest realizations since removing sugar from my diet (in all of its forms) is the difference in my mood and the clarity of my thoughts. I feel like a veil has been lifted. I'm more connected to my husband, less irritable. There's stuff going on in a more subtle way though. It's like a shift in my default. I have noticed an awareness that seemed hazed-over before. I don't want to make it seem like I'm radically different, it's more as if I am processing things more clearly.
I've always known that sugar changes me. And I really mean that it changes me. I become irritable and less affectionate. There's been so many studies and all of the harmful effects of sugar on our bodies, but I think the scariest is the possibility that sugar can alter who we are.
There was a study done a few years ago with prison inmates to determine the level to which crimes increase in correlation to the consumption of junk food. Now, some prison systems are looking to add supplements to inmates' diets to curb violent behaviour. We're just on the tip of the iceberg when it comes to understanding the way food affects our mood and behaviour. Depression is rampant, violent crime is up, and autoimmune diseases and cancers seem almost commonplace. I can't prove that all of this is related directly to sugar, but there's evidence connecting our illnesses, both mental and physical, with our poor diets. The further we move away from eating whole, organic foods like our ancestors did, the faster we fall out of balance with our innate nature.
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Hi Tara,
ReplyDeleteI love your blog. I am following your sugar threads. I, too, have been fighting sweeteners and candida. Stevia is my last battle. And it is HARD to let go of that last bit of sweet. Bread was not as difficult as sweet.
Two things:
1. In TCM even the TASTE of sweet (even stevia) affects the body. Even if it does nothing to blood sugars.
2. I have been following Dr Art Ayres blog "Cooling Inflammation" regarding candida and gut biofilms. His suggested protocol [found in the comments section(s)of the biofilm thread] made a huge difference for me. I woke up. I had no idea how out of it I was. None. It was great, but also scary to realize that my brain was so nonfunctional. Dr. Ayres is a fount of useful information, I highly recommend him, if you haven't already found his blog.
And, thirdly (I know!)I've added sauerkraut and other fermented foods to my diet and my digestion is finally beginning to respond. The Healthy Skeptic blog posts about GERD were a real wake up call in that they finally got me to consider my digestion as a true cause of my complaints.
It's slow, but it was a lifetime of poor eating habits (though not as bad as some), chronic candida, antibiotics and stress. Thanks so much for helping/nudging me in the right direction!
Hi Jean,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your input. You're so right about the last bits of sweet being the hardest. I truly believe that the yeasts and bacteria probably do quite nicely on even small bits of sugars. I never really started to heal until I removed every bit of sugars from my diet. Artificial sweeteners (even 'natural' ones like Stevia) seem to only keep the fire burning on a low simmer, never really letting one escape from the addiction.
Dr. Ayres is great, isn't he? I have found the GAPS diet to have been the most effective for my issues. It was the only protocol that brought true healing for me. I was pain-free for the first time in years, but talk about a herx reaction! I could barely slither off the couch for the first two weeks.
GAPS emphasizes fermented foods and, like you, it was instrumental in my digestive health. I have also found that kefir, made from raw, grass-fed whole milk, has been very beneficial for me.
Thank you for sharing, Jean. I'm sure a lot of people can relate to your story.