Dr. Mercola’s Message of Health
So a while ago, I mentioned that I had heard Joe Mercola speak at a business conference I attended. Joe did an excellent presentation on the foundations of good health.
During the question and answer period, I asked Joe about the one remaining area of my diet that I still have trouble with – “How can I reduce or eliminate sugar cravings?”
Read more: 5 Dehydrator Recipes for Home Grown Fruits and Vegetables
Resetting Your Metabolism
Joe told me that switching my metabolism from primarily burning sugars to primarily burning fats was the key. Another participant, and the event organizer, also confirmed that sugar cravings were reduced or negligible once you are able to successfully make this switch.
I am in the process of researching how to best make this transition, and I’ve found a lot of good information at Joe’s site Mercola.com. I would definitely recommend his site if you’re interested in this too.
I’m planning to put together a personalized plan for myself after I get together all of my research. I sincerely want to stop eating sugar…
How Much Sugar is In Your Diet?
Have you had experience with this?
Have you successfully been able to reduce or eliminate sugar from your diet?
If so, what benefits have you noticed? How did you do it? I would really love to hear about your experience – please use the comments below to share your story with the rest of us! Got any tips?
If you have had a problem with eating too much sugar (or refined carbs) I would like to hear about that too, and I think it would be great for other people here to hear your story.
Marjory Wildcraft is an Expedition Leader and Bioneer Blogger with The [Grow] Network, which is an online community that recognizes the wisdom of “homegrown food on every table.” Marjory has been featured as an expert on sustainable living by National Geographic, she is a speaker at Mother Earth News fairs, and is a returning guest on Coast to Coast AM. She is an author of several books, but is best known for her “Grow Your Own Groceries” video series, which is used by more than 300,000 homesteaders, survivalists, universities, and missionary organizations around the world.
COMMENTS(0)
I gave up sugar and most carbs two years ago. My BMI improved from 28.1 to 24.8. I lost 30 lbs, have the energy that I remember from my twenties, triglycerides dropped to 15, HDL rose a little, and my HgA1C dropped from 6.6 to 5.1. I had had reflux for twenty years so bad that I could not even roll over onto my stomach long enough to shift to my other side at night without problems and now I sleep on my stomach like a teenager. My memory is vastly improved, both short term and long term. Read “Wheat Belly” or “Grain Brain”, as they are both very good at explaining why we should not have carbs in our diet and how to remove them nearly painlessly. It was a huge transition but like any other addiction (and it really is an addiction!) the longer you stay away the less you are attracted to it. I am on a high fat, low carb diet that allows any fats that would have been in our diet two hundred years ago, natural fats, the ones we evolved eating. The more cholesterol, the better. Eggs and bacon most every morning. Roasts and steaks for dinner. I might have a small amount of potato with the meat but would prefer summer squash. Check out the Paleo diet for recipes. I enjoy my own raw milk and consider it and pastured eggs two of the most perfect foods available. I should warn anyone that tries a low carb diet that there is some withdrawal symptoms that come with the change, including irritability and bowel changes. But most adjust within a couple weeks and you generally feel better early, even with the withdrawal symptoms. Give it a try.
don
Thanks Don, especailly about the reminder of adjustment time.
cromium percolinate, and cinnamin both help with sugar cravings. Sorry about the spelling. Lynn
Thanks Lynn
I’ve been HFLC paleo(High-fat and low-carb) for a few months now. I eat under 50grams of carbohydrate a day, and I have to say that my desire for sugar is far lower than it was; normal desserts sound and taste gross. I still enjoy occasional fruit as a treat (like strawberries with heavy whipping cream), but cutting grains, legumes, and refined sugars did most of the heavy lifting in reducing my carbs.
I’ve only lost seventeen pounds in that time frame (only!) but I am literally doing nothing different outside of mere dietary adjustment; I guess I sometime take two fifteen minute walks on my breaks at work instead of one. My wife hasn’t been nearly as disciplined, but she’s still shed a few pounds.
Once I am at my ideal weight (still have 6 lbs to go) then I plan to play it a little more loosely with fruit and give myself a carb budget of 100g/day while still eating paleo. Good luck! 🙂
Robert,
Thanks for your inspiring testimonial. Have you been reading Mark Sisson? It may be in other places, but I notice he talks about the ‘sweet spot’ for losing weight to be carb intake between 50 – 100 g per day.
I have not eaten sugar for years…
I do eat lots of fresh fruit and dried fruit, as well.
I found the key to be getting Away from it.
Once away, taste sensitivity changes.
the sweetness in everything emerges.
I do now have honey sometimes as it is metabolically different from sugar, but, for a long, long time I quite happily have used no sugar at all and stayed away from all products that might contain it.
Frances
I cut out ALL sugar (even catsup that had sugar)for 7 weeks in college back in the early 80’s. My mom sabatoged me when I came home from school. She made strawberry creme cake. She did not like all my weird diets in college (ha,ha).
I’m not a big sugar eater anyway. I never eat anything with High fruc corn syrup or items labeled “sugar” because it’s all GMO. I take my own packets of Raw Sugar to restaurants to put in my ice tea.
The secret to not eating as much sugar is to cut the sugar by a third to a half (depends on the reipe) in all items that you bake at home. You will be amazed to notice that you will actually be able to taste all the other ingredients in the recipe. When you eat sweet items outside of your home (processed or restaurant made)you will taste all the sugar and you wont like it. All the other flavors will be masked by all the sugar. Yuck! Your kids will react the same way. Mine do!
I do the same thing with salt. Works great and tastes great!
I would also like to get the sugar cravings out of my life completely. I went Paleo in July and watched as I dropped 8 lbs in four weeks. BUT, even then I still was using salad dressings with sugar in (a paleo no no)
and eating probably more than I should have of dried cranberries and dates for my “sugar fix”. I don’t seem capable of totally eliminating it. I cave every time! Please, if you find the answer, let me know!
Try short circuiting your sugar craving by eating a dill pickle instead. Sounds crazy but it really does work.
Ah Paul! Yes, a while back, I also found that Icould help switch my teastes a big by intentionally eating something sour or bitter.
Hi Marjorie:
The bottom line is that you have to eliminate the bad grains (wheat primarily) from your diet. The poisons in wheat are the triggering mechanism that makes you crave sugar.
My health had become bad enough that I said “I want to live healthy and free”. I think that is what is needed at each individual level. I knew that I could go for two weeks without gluten, sugar, dairy; that I had the self-discipline to last two weeks and I did. After two weeks I knew I could go two more, then two more and before long I had gone for two months with only a couple of “slip ups”.
The result is NO CRAVINGS FOR SUGAR.
Hi Darlene, I rarely eat gluten. So I think it is a bit more complex than that, but yes, getting free of frains is an important step.
We have sugar receptors on our tongue for a reason. Sugar supplies lots of energy … so the subject should move to what types of sugars are good &/or bad, and how much. When is a banana/fuctose not good for you?
Yes I would like to get off sugar from any form…….
I use “Just Like Sugar” When I want sweet in Tea or anything else—-(Baking, etc.)——Also good for Diabetics—Check it Out
I am addicted to sugar also. I am also overweight and feel like I could lose weight if I could kick the sugar habit.
Leave ObamaCare alone.
Take me off your list.
After finding out I have food allergies and resulting inflammation, a few months ago I had to strictly eliminate wheat, dairy and eggs, and go on an anti-inflammation diet. I am finding as I eat more whole foods; tons more veggies; good fats like olive oil, avacado, flaxseed, fish oil supplements; more salmon and fish; etc….I am slowly losing my sugar cravings. A piece of dark chocolate in the evenings will usually do the trick. I tasted some cookie dough last night and it was TOO SWEET…I bought a new fruity/herbal tea and it was TOO SWEET….interesting and nice development!
Cindy, that is a nice development.
I had the most success when I had a plan for my food cravings. Having red bell peppers sliced and cashews handy, plus a mental note “eat bell peppers or cashews”.
Good tip Leana
I tried the switchover to fat burning for 3 months. It did not work for me. I do eat more fat now than I used to, but going to 50%+ fat did not resolve the need for carbohydrates. I did feel good for about a week or so, then I had a harder and harder time sleeping until I started adding carbs back into my diet.
I think that fat burning works for about 1/4 to maybe 1/3rd of the population. This is just an observation I’ve made watching other people, family and friends try this diet. Some people do quite well on a high fat diet; Mercola makes a big mistake recommending for everyone however. One size does not fit all.
Eating more fat – I’m about 1/3 protein, 1/3 fat, 1/3 carbs now – works well for me. I sleep better and have more energy during the day. However, I am still carrying about 10 lbs more than I would like to weight-wise. After two weeks on the high fat diet, I was craving carbs and my energy during the day was poor. This is exactly the opposite of what was described by the high fat diet proponents.
You might want to check out the Bulletproof Diet people. They are were Mercola gets some of his information on this topic from. Bulletproofexec.com.
Good luck!
Hi Michael, I’ll check that link out.
I think a little is not going to hurt you. Moderation in all things! The problem is that some people get addicted to sugar, like alcohol!
Yes, my problem is I have difficulty stopping at a little… LOL.
I too want to reduce my sugar levels. I have switched to primarily using coconut sap sugar, 26 on the glycimic index. I used white sugar, organic, primarily for kombucha as coconut sap isn’t strong enough not to turn the kombucha into alcohol. I still eat some fruit, but my plan is to switch to eating more berries as my primary fruit. I do grow paw paws, and am having my first harvest of them.
Also by baking roots in a slow oven at 325 for 1.5 hours and cutting them using the roll cut so many angle are exposed, then I use only coconut oil and Himalayan salt, and they taste so sweet. It is the cut, the slow oven and the extra 1/2 hour of baking that brings out the natural sweetness.
I still make cookies though using nut flours (I have celiac disease.) and coconut sap sugar, but I am thinking of reducing these, so am looking for how to cut that sweet tooth. Our bodies need sweet though to be satisfied, our first taste in mother’s milk being sweet. We just need to learn how to taste the sweetness in our foods.
So you can see I am struggling with this concern as well.
About a year ago I wanted to get off all my prescription medications for cholesterol, high blood pressure, depression, low-t, and pre-type-2 diabetes. My doctor, who has been treating me for some 25 years, told me I would have to change my diet and exercise more. My wife and I started researching healthy eating habits and in Jan 2013 we started consuming green smoothies at least once a day. We also eliminated all processed foods from our daily diet, but consumed some processed foods socially. By May my cholesterol and blood pressure were down within the “acceptable” range but my doctor insisted that I stay on my meds. In June I went off all meds and found a new doctor who prescribed the Paleo diet. We now try to only consume food from our garden or purchase only organic foods from the farmers market (95% of processed foods have been eliminated). I’ve lost over 30 lbs in 10 months and feel great.
Sugar cravings are all almost gone, but sometimes I will enjoy a date or a prune to satisfy the sweet craving. The most important part of all this is researching and reading how to eat and live a healthy life. The mind is the fist thing to change.
Bill, thanks so much for writing in. Dr. Mercola and several others also reported losing sugar cravings after a time – once they got their systems switched over to be able to burn fat. I am inspired by your story. Thanks.
Earlier this year I chose to totally give up on artificial sweetners. I was told I had fibromyalgia and was experiencing a great deal of pain. After giving up on Diet Dr.Pepper and packaged lemonade, among other things, the pain has almost entirely disappeared. Of course, the downside is that if I want to eat anything that is sweet, it must be made with sugar. I would like to drastically cut back on sugar, but don’t know if I could eat a bowl of cereal without it. I will be watching with a great deal of interest. Thanks for your articles.
Hi Sandra,
Well in addition to the sugar, I would suggest you look at not eating cereal. Refined grains (which most cereals are) are just about like sugar int he body.
Ayahh, isn’t there so much to learn?
So you met our Dr Mercola! I appreciate him very much as well as you, Marjory. He is a wonderful watchdog, giving us the straight scoop on so many topics that he gleans from the true experts. I don’t always agree on every thing he says, but most. He does advise “NO OR VERY LITTLE” SWEETS (INCLUDING FRUITS) AND GRAINS. I believe in the adage of moderation in all things. And,if a little is good, more is not necessarily better. There is good nutrition in fruits and grains as well as our meats and vegetables even the starchy ones. But we do need to be prudent in the amounts consumed and not include foods with calories void of nutrition. Calorie restriction and Intermitant Fasting that he advises is very good for health and control of what and amounts we eat. I found if I eat foods high in nutrition (not necessarily calories) it does waylay my cravings for sweets, which is partly your body calling for energy food. If we “grow our own groceries”, and/or those that we don’t grow ourselves are as close as possible to what was created in nature, not tampered with by man, not highly refined with all the additives, our food will serve us well. LET YOUR FOOD BE YOUR MEDICINE AND YOUR MEDICINE BE YOUR FOOD. Even most of our fruits are now hybrids and are many times sweeter than back in time. So enjoy a bit of fruit, a bit of desert made with a natural form of sweetener that still contains all it nutrients, (bit of is the key and containing nutrition.)
Hi Marjory,
your email came at a most appropriate time as I have been wanting to seriously focus on cutting out carb/sugar. I too don’t eat a great deal of sugar but any time I eat carbs it has an addictive effect and my partner is definitely a carboholic so there is always temptation. I have had success in the past with protein and fat based diets and find the secret of reducing sugar cravings is to refrain from carbs completely except for green vegetables. The problem of course it to start the diet and learn to ignore how others are eating, no small task. A number of friends have had good success with the Dukan diet, which is similar to Atkins, but is somehow based on upping one’s metabolic response by juggling food types. I’d like to know more about such diets that seem to work by keeping the body “off balance” by eating certain foods on some days and others on alternative days. I’d be interested in whether there is a scientific basis for this approach (which seems to focus on metabolic response rather than food types per se). I would be interested in joining you in your quest for knowlege in this area and putting it into practice. good luck to us all.
Thank you Dale, and yes, I hope we can all support each other in this journey.
I would love to hear about how you CUT sugar out of your life. It sounds like a journey I could travel with you. Positive thoughts to you and Blessings.
B
Hi,
I too have a great craving for sugar. Years ago when I was diag with Hypoglycemia I did not knowingly eat any sugar for three year. Then one day I decided to have a snickers bar and boy was I sick!!!!!! I would love to hear lots more about getting off sugar. My moto right now is to have desert first and then if I am hungry have to main course! !! Thanks for everything.
Ray
Oh Ray, that is an insane motto!
Interesting – I would not have taken you to have a problem with sugar – cravings or otherwise. With cravings though – it seems like you are the type of personality that would just say no and tackle it down. But I’m glad you brought it up. Sugar addict for 30 plus years and it’s no different (maybe worse because of all the agreement and the rampant legal distribution of it) than drugs or alcohol in my book – here is what I did.
1. recognized the reality of when and why and the results of eating it. So for me I ate sugar (ice cream to chocolate bars et al) later in the day – I never needed or craved it in the morning but early afternoon on in to late evening it was epidemic. Why – I ate carbs for breakfast and no protein. I snacked on carbs and very little if any fresh veggies – especially greens. When I ate the sugar – I would feel an instant relief, a high and then crash, be cranky and need even more, so energy issues, physical and mental issues – with clarity and stamina not to mention a fat behind and thighs.
2. I declared myself the leader of what I ate and my body and mind and wrote up the declaration to look something like – I am healthy, with high energy and stamina throughout the day, I sleep well and…
so that I had the ideal and could keep my eye on the ball so to speak. And then took action towards that (I had already been reading books on the sugar as a poison and the true drug sugar is – since the 70s but could never fully get it together to get rid of it until I added some habit, personal development work with it)
3. I made a choice based on what I wanted as above and streamlined my kitchen, my shopping lists and my lifestyle so I would not keep finding myself in the “dangerous” situation.
Other things – Drink enough water for your body – staying hydrated is huge (with water of course)
Knowing and doing things that you love every single day.
Having reasonable expectations for yourself with the sugar. For me I had to go cold turkey and that included honey and stevia – I did it for 21 days – fist 3 days the hardest thing I ever went through – addict syndrome – DTs- but by day 21 of eating a very healthy completely sugar free and sweet free diet I had 0 cravings and felt better than I’d felt in my life. I might add I was drinking 2 quarts of green smoothie per day too. But now I choose to use honey (raw unfiltered for other health benefits) although sparingly. I also limit my fruit to lemons, pears and figs local and in season with an occasional fruit otherwise. It’s just a new level of health and it may seem radical but I imagine Dr. Price would be proud ;-))
I doubt there is any magic bullet on this topic – mercola or otherwise, it comes down to the individual recognizing a problem, then a decision and being relentless to get to the best health for them. For a person like my husband he has no clue or consideration that it’s bad or addicting – he eats it away but in his world there is no problem as a result or otherwise so he thinks why turn it into a problem. Interesting all the viewpoints out there – as many as we have people.
Anyhoo—YOU CAN DO IT!!
Hi Stephana,
Yes my diet is mostly excellent, but sugar is a true addiction. Thanks for the tip on hydration – I recognize I sometimes confuse thirst with a desire for sweets.
I’ve heard that sugar is the cause of inflammation in the body and that is the root of many of our worst diseases. Sugar is everywhere in processed foods, so it’s best to stick to unprocessed natural (real) food and reduce or eliminate carbs.
I’m working on changing my diet to get off carbs. I’m starting to get those sugar spikes where I need to nap. It usually follows a meal with carbs. So I’m going to change my diet.
Mike, yes, taking a nap versus stimulating myself with sugar is a key thing I am going to incorporate into the plan…
I gave up all sweets for a month. It was hard at first, but after about 2 weeks the cravings started to go away. At the end of the month my cravings were gone.
That is encouraging.
I received your videos through Wardee Harmon’s survival bundle. I really enjoyed your videos! I already got a book you recommended. I had to cut out sugar b/c of yeast problems. I just cut it out. Bam. I drink lots of yogurt “sweetened” with bananas. I eat fruit, but try really hard to avoid all sugar, syrups, honey, etc. I didn’t go the artificial sweetner route, I thought that would just drag out the misery. It is a bummer sometimes. I have to be careful what I eat, read all labels. I can’t eat at parties, receptions, or things like that because most of the food is sugary. It is worth it to me though. I am not sick ALL the time any more!
Howdy Marjory: Please check out and read Super Immunity and Eat to Live, by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. Your sugar problem will be gone, and you will never look back. He has several books out, you may be so inspired that you will read and adapt his entire system of eating.
Besides he recommends Greens as super foods, for their curative properties for mankinds ailments from a crappy diet.
Thanks, Tom Kelly
Thanks Tom, I’ll look both of those up.
On eliminating sugar: Yes, I have done it and rarely missed it. The trick is to wean yourself off of all refined sugars. I did this by going mostly vegan after breast cancer. Rarely I will indulge like recently when buying Halloween candy for the neighbors–then the cravings will return, but also what returns is the sluggishness and lethargy that went with my previous “normal” American diet. Going mostly raw helps too. The more you eat food only as it was made–the worse sugar and prepared foods taste and feel. If I really need a sweetener on e.g. fruit, I use a little Grade B natural maple syrup. Full of minerals and not empty refined sugar.
I used to ride when younger and the horses loved apples and carrots. But just like us would get a bit crazy and nippy when they got sugar cubes: you could see the change. Good luck!
I want to do this too! I did give it up for THREE DAYS!! ?That is all I could do. Isn’t that sad? I am about the same build as you and not overweight, but I know the sugar has adversely affected my thyroid, etc. I want to quit and need a support group!!
I will determinately keep you up to date on this one. I’ll see if my webmaster can come up with some online way to stay connected? Er, something?
I loved the timing of your last newsletter as that very day I had decided to reduce or eliminate sugar.
I heard for the first time ever that sugar is a poison to your body.
So since I picture sipping on a glass of Round up or nibbling a cube of Seven dust when I eat it, I have not had a hard time with this.
I am amazed at how much sugar is in so many of my daily food.
I lost a bunch of weight before on frozen dinners made for dieting. It was not until later when I could not keep it off that I actually read the label and found all of them included corn syrup!!
I am looking forward to this.
Hi Tracy,
Oh my yes, the commercial food supply is highly toxic.
I like your idea of visualization of what the sugar looks like and is doing to you.
You need more grams of protien in your diet, that will help. The longing for sugar is the direct result of protien deficient diet. Remind yourself every morning of the inflammation and damage it does and that will scare you into stopping. It’s ok to be afraid of something as sinister as sugar is, we should be. Eventually we get over it. It will pass and you will succeed.
Prayer and surrendering it to God, offer it to Him every morning and let go of it
Meditation, Buddhist, Jewish, even moral atheist meditation will help. One doesn’t have to be a theist to meditate.
I am a meditation teacher and i have been very fortunate, because I was taught by the most advance teachers of India and Tibet, and there isn’t anything you can’t clear out and let go of once you know how to open, trust, and surrender. Read: Remember, Be Here Now by Ram Dass. And just love everyone, including yourself and God.
I am happy to help also.
Bba,
Thank you for your spiritual insight. Yes, and prayer or meditation, but quiet time in general with surrender is a big component.
When you figure out how to eliminate sugar cravings please let me know, as I have not been successful, and even though sugar bothers me, I am still addicted. If I leave off conventional sugar, I just end up eating lots of fruit and other natural sugars, which is not good either!
Yes Kat, you are correct that fruit and otther things are really just sugars… I will keep you up to date!
Very interested in the topic. Dr. Mercola’s Sprint 8 seems to be what you are referring to. Very interested in that too. Vision Fitness has an elliptical machine that is pre-programmed for Sprint 8 that I would like to get but it is very pricey imo. So I am interested in hearing what your plan will be 😉
Yes, Mercola’s recommended sprint 8 system is what I am looking at. I’ll write about it soon.
Remove anything that is white from your diet. Then use Stevia in place of sugar. Works for me, I lost 35 lbs in 6 weeks.
Hi, MW,
I think Dr. Mercola is great. I have been reading his newsletter for a while.
I discovered I was not eating enough animal protein.
I have been in and out of the “veggie” community for many years.
I was also a triathlete when younger and got into that “carb loading” mentality.
When I would get hungry, I would stuff in more carbs. Often not so good ones.
By eating more complete proteins, and more animal fat (uuummmm….BUTTER), and keeping my carbs to veggies (luv my broccoli),
I really am not craving sugar and the other carb baddies. I found high fructose corn syrup to be very addictive and deadly for me. And it is in almost every prepared food. Losing the fat and loving it.
Thank you. I love to read success stories – inspiring.
Yes, for decades I have not eaten any processed sugar or foods. I only use one tiny scoop of stevia per day and 1-2 teaspoons of local maple syrup max, plus the little sugar that is in my daily ration of 71% dark chocolate. No other sweeteners, and I never miss them. Recently I tried a muffin for a friends birthday, gluten free and organic, but it was much too sweet for me, so I only ate less than half. I also stopped drinking all fruit juices, too much sugar. I eat 1-2 pieces of whole fruit in season, or some homemade applesauce in winter or frozen whole fruit for the phytonutrients.
I’ve found it fairly easy to stay away from sweets by not having any around the house, never ordering desserts, eating only token portions of others’ special occasion cakes. Loved blonde and sweet coffee, so first eliminated sugar, then eliminated the milk, too. Black coffee is great! Hot or cold, it still has caffeine. One miniature dark chocolate candy satisfies the occasional chocolate craving as well as a full-sized candy bar. In between meals or on the road, substituting fresh fruits or vegetable sticks for sugary snacks works, too. But I do crave salt! Salted peanuts, potato chips, tortilla strips and salsa. Lucky I have low blood pressure.
I would love to learn more about this topic.
Hi Marjory, So surprised to be the first one to comment. I would love to stop eating sugar!!!! I seem to be able to control it for awhile then it only takes one time of eating it and I’m off again. Running full blast. I am going to do some research starting with Joe Mercola’s site. Anything you discover please pass on. I need all the help I can get! Thanks for all the information you send our way.
Janet I will definitely keep you in the loop. This may turn out to be a group thing – which would be awesome.
I am 76 yrs old and cannot break the sugar habit ! I can slow down some but seems like when i take that first bite the craving zooms out of control ! I kicked alcohol and tobacco….but my gosh, this sugar habit is prob worse addiction …bar none !!! It’s terrible ! Let me know if you come up with a protocol that we can follow with a substitute for the “white devil” ! lol I have been mixing in some Powdered Stevia with my turbinado sugar and plain white sugar…but still using wayyy to much ! I did it 30 yrs ago and lost lot of weight but in my old age dont seem to have the will power anymore !
All right Doris. I am working on a plan.
I’ve got the same issue of having tried for so many years… Well not 76, but it seems like it! LOL. but there must be a way to deal with this.
I go round and round with sugar. I’ve successfully quit sugar many times — one time up to two years. It is so hard to stay away for always. If I say okay just this once, it’s doomed. When everyone else is enjoying my MIL’s boysenberry pie and I know it’s wonderful, all willpower is sunk. When the spouse has a sweet tooth and stays lean, it just feels so unfair!
So just the fact that I cook from scratch means I can control the amounts and types of sugar. Mercola wants us all the way off. I’ve settled for letting it be for special occasions only with small servings and savoring it slowly. If I deprive myself there, it doesn’t feel good emotionally. Once it’s indulged, it’s over.
I do know I feel better without sugar. Also, after a herpes infection years ago, if I eat too many sweets it rears it’s ugly head again. So that helps me keep it in check as well. But then, bread can be just as bad…. Unless all sugar ceases to be so easily available everywhere …
Any and all “tricks” are certainly welcome. But I don’t know how to let go off boysenberry pie. :-/
Hi Beddie,
OMG, I can so relate to your story. Off and on again. An my hubby too is lean, eats whatever, and rarely gets sick. He does generally eat well, but definitely has a sweet tooth, and totally gets away with it.
Sigh.
So I’ll be writing more – I am going to make up a plan. I would love you to join in if you want.
I never had a weight problem so I grew up eating homemade sugary baked goods often. Due to educating myself on good health practices, I have gradually eliminated most added sugar from my diet in the past few years. I now look forward to a fruit and nut snack mid-afternoon instead of dessert at lunchtime. Sometimes this snack is a tablespoon or two of dried fruit with a quarter cup of raw almonds, walnuts, or pecans. Whenever I am offered a dessert at someone’s home, I quickly calculate and then visualize the approximate number of teaspoons or tablespoons of sugar that are hidden in a serving. Doing this has deterred me from eating many desserts because visualizing teaspoons or tablespoons of sugar is not very appealing. Now, if only my homemade brownies did not taste so very good…..:)
Visualizing the sugar is a good tip.
On the times when I have been off sugar, I also remember my taste buds being so much more sensitive.
Congrats on being able to let go.
Greetings…keep up the great work..
My mistakes and all..
Sugar graving means a poor diet..one need chromium..it is hard to get..try raw oniens cutting them fine…put it in everything ..I even use it in my porage… best to keep raw since cooking kills food..the emzomes also vitamins..after cooked food cools down ..put fine cut upcut oniens in..so get organic chromium..is in oniens..chromium is hard to get..since not normally in food..try also dried figs dates organic honey..fruit.etc..experiment…as a sweetner..for graving so no real bad side effects..since low in chemicals..so put on less weight less health issues…etc experiment…all ca’ne su’gar is a toxin..
For salt graving or fat gravings..lick little pink hymalaien rock salt… do not use it in cooking…salt is not good 4 body..best to use spicers/lemon limes etc to flavour yr food not salt ..most salt has aluminium in it..also many things we buy have been treated with mecury..
Best not to eat deep fried foods..or any fried food is best..try boiling in milk..or water..yr body will thank u for it..even if not taste as good as fried foods..less faterning…Meat foods stay long time very long time..in the body..is not good.
Meat also takes much energy to digest and uses body emzymes..also if not cooked well one can pick up a flat worm parasite called a intestinal fluke which is main causes for cancer..the barasite is called ”FASCI’OLOPSIS BUS’KII”…it and solvents in the body..cause cancer..in main..if u not have both u cannot get cancer u need the fluke also al solvent called isopropyl..alcohol..is in most things like..see hulda book..is in soap shampoo foods drinks..cold cerials etc..bottle water..not in milk..also other parasites pollution toxins metals dust fumes chemicals..wrong foods drinks not super for our body.
i use a lot of powerfull spices..in cooking put in after food cools down..also make much sage tea..is tops says BREUSS..boil water then sprinkle in some sage..boil for 3 mins..only..is a top drink..cleans out yr kidneys good for all glands in the body.. see.. The bruess cancer cure book…do experiment..test foods how u react to it with a empty tummy..wait one hr+ at least..test one food at a time then basic stablish a safe food list..then test add to it..learn to read yr waste..its consistency colour smell.. if it floats..waite one min’ hr..afer testing..see how yr brain body feels…best to cut food to basics then test by adding one item..once u are free from pains any problem..add to the list..i only eat food I cook myself..normally..best to go with out.. then put diry fuel in the car tank once in hard to get out fully..be inventive..with take away lunch..i use figs nuts..rye bread long life goats milk even oats raw oats in oil honey curry..
i only eat foods I have tested..or cook my self..normally..a person can go long time with out foods I once lived one month on cocconuts only also 9 months with out animal foods..just what I could find in the forest.. I do not really normally..eat anything in a packet tin or if mixed fine so do not know what really is in it..even small amounts over time of toxins will affect a person…after 55yrs age the body has much abuse history to reverse it can take time..or not possible..in some areas..anyway the body reaction is a good test..If u love yr self or like yr self care about yr self read Huldas book 4 times..also the other 2 books..Hulda Clark teachers about things not many know about she is the amazing amazing woman..on health..
I ate for 5-6 yrs a lot of soy in baby formular milk also on cold ceareals in main..used them much..after a while..i could hardly walk 15 meters.. was on medicen also pain killers..cod’ein mor’phine pain was 9 out of 10..was ready for a wheel chair..was graving to leave the earth..So gave up..eating anything man made anything in a tin bottle box..in less than a yr got my full health back..now pain level is 1..and do not use any medicen lost 15 kg..and got married..to a woman 33 yrs younger..lol..
I use no proceded foods or metal on skin or cooking..washing ..only borax..also white vinegar/soda for cleaning washing or home made soap..near all in shops is polluted..
i use all the most powerfull spicers sparingly..curry I use much..am 60 kg am 60 yrs ..wife is 27 yrs..a philippino..2 yrs married not one agument yet..even thought her English is good..lol..
I do not excecise..sit much.. eat much potatoes..alkaline cabs is good…eat near 20kg potatoes in 3 weeks..just for me.. also greens are good.. fruits some nuts..raw food is best..see genesis chapter 1 verse 29 in the bible..they use to be totally on raw plant foods only then lived near 1000 yrs,,no pollution toxins then ….green coconut & milk is super.. The only animal food I eat normally is little fish boiled in goats milk..is good…occatinally could be tempted with bible meats if home grown..
Do drink some boiled long-life goats milk..no other animal food normally..some home grown meat is okay..if animals are not fead on man made foods..only eat bible recommended animals/bird fish..normally..i do not eat wheat ..is genetically modified here since 1960..1970..like a lot of soy and corn canolla..often..choice of my oil is Australian extra virgin non blended..olive or coconut..use much olive oil..so my hair gets greesy fast..lol..
Do eat no bread except for soft rye bread if it has no wheat and no chemicals is okay..not easy to find..do not eat bread every day.. more like one a week of once a forth-night…best not to eat much grains/animal foods..they are acidic..create stones/crystals many problems..to body..like most animal foods do..one loses ones teeth..body takes calcium from teeth to offset acidity..in our body..so that kidneys do not burn.. so grains and but mainly animal foods especily are acidic..which causes sickness….
I do eat little barley large oats..any natural grain..stone ground is best so get no nickle..but grain can also also bread..have much mould with is a super toxin.. In emergcy may eat bad foods if I need them..
Tea coffee cocco a toxic drinks..also any shop drink..or shop water..see Dr Hulda Clark book..
Boiled milk is a must..to kill barteria..I only use Longlife goats milk..not much.. but some..
See..’The cure for all diseases’..www.drclack.net…also ‘Gods way to ultimate health’ http://www.hacres.com..by George Malkmus..a super book..it saved my life..read also a small.book called…The breuss cancer cure..www.asohm.com.au..Australian School of Herbal Medicen..Breuss..cured 50,000 cases many cancers etc that doctors could not cure..he was a pioneer of cancer cureing also many sicknesses..a small book well worth reading 4 times one reading does not normally change a person.. ”repertion is the mother of skill”..doing my 4th reading of these books.. huldas book is best I have seen..plan to read it 6-10 times..she has written many books also invented a machine to cure cancer/most sicknesses..within minutes..only $350 to buy..also testing machines…
..best to cut all near all nickle aluminium..lead cadmium etc..cupper bad/most metals out of ones life..in cooking.. on the skin hair cloths or washing..the skin should never be piered with any thing..va’ceens have mercury and aluminium also many bad things in them..am a reshearcher..advisor..etc can teach on 150 areas..best not to have any animals inside…they give off parasites is hard to stay parasite free even if they are outside..
I use glass for cooking French vision curningware…is very efficient on gas.. cast iron or iron..is okay..to cook with..enemal too…also I use nylon spoons non staniless-steel knifes..stainless steel has nickel….parasites need nickel to live in us to digest food…they find in our bodies…parasites were meant to stay in the soil not on our bodies..
i do not cook in oil..do put in oil after cooking is done..normally..Do use raw best olive oil in Australia ”Red Island”..normally put on raw/uncooked olive oil on food ..put it in after cooking is done…cooking oil spoils it..gives body etra work..
i can eat as much as I like/desire and not put on weight..or not much.. find it hard to put on weight eating the way I do..its the chemicals in the food.. the man made chemicals..man modified protein.. that put on weight..rob health too….I sit around a lot ..but still slim..Our bodies like/try to keep the same weight..
Chemicals in the food cause our bodies to puts on fat/weight.. if the food we have has chemicals.. the body stores the chemicals in our fat so can keep them from entering the bodys important body cells..areas..
Wheat soy corn carnola etc are often gmo foods so kill the body slowly..am doing a 4th reading of these 3 top health books in the world..Huldas is the best..but all are good written in different times from different angles..of cause their are other good books but we cannot read them all..these 3 books read 4 times each give a person a good level of knowlege in health.. may be make them best in health in their town…or even in there state..
Blessing John Australia..English is my 3d lanvage no time to correct it.. typing spelling my weaknesses..take care.
Love yr words thought goals..work u are tops..u have a nice personality mix as well do read..’Why I act the way u do’ by Tim La Hay
It is about Temprements..temprements is the 3d most important area..Most important is were we go after death then health then people skills knowlege called temprements..what skills weaknesses we inherit throught our geans from our parents relations…on birth how to develop recognice use them..to see this in others how to read people..know how to get along with people..make the best of things..
Be kind to yr self..John.
Hi John,
Thanks for all that. Lots of good points in your post. And whew, I am still struggling to learn a 2nd language.
Yes, there are many known cures for cancer, aren’t there? I laugh when someone asks me to donate to find the ‘cure’.
Congrats on your marriage!
I’ve loved sugary stuff – sticky buns, brownies, cake, chocolate chip cookies, etc. plus those carbs that convert to sugars so easily – bagels, English muffins, waffles, pancakes, sugary cereals, and more.
First I declared “I DON’T do sugar!” rather than the whiney “I CAN’T do sugar!. Then I gave away or threw away the offending items in my pantry
and refrigerator. Next, and this was the hardest, I waited after church until all the sweets had been devoured from our after church snack table and satisfied my sweet tooth with cherry tomatoes, celery sticks, carrots, and grapes. When I went shopping I avoided the central aisles of the store where all the sweet goodies and prepared mixes were attractively displayed. I continues my three times a week Curves exercises and the 15 step climb to my apartment.
Highlighting good vegetables and fruit plus small amounts of good fish and poultry and good oils helped shift my metabolism to fat burning. Though not overweight before, I found that in two weeks I had eliminated two and a half pounds of mostly belly fat, and I wasn’t even trying for that.
Now I can walk by a bakery or candy store and experience nary a twinge as I repeat “I don’t do sugar”!
I tried to diet and curb sugar cravings for years, before finally reading a book by Suzanne Somers. She hits the nail on the head for eating healthy and losing weight without going hungry, enjoying treats with natural sweeteners, and eliminating sugar from your diet. I have lost 30 pounds in 3 months (almost effortlessly), always eat when I am hungry, and never have sugar cravings. S.S. has 4 books that were written in the late 90’s/early 2000’s that are full of recipes, and give some rules about how and what to eat. She uses food combining along with eliminating sugar, starchy foods, and caffeine (messes with your metabolism). Unlike Atkins, you eat fruit and whole grains right from the beginning, and there is no counting of calories, carbs, or anything else. It’s the easiest “diet” out there. And S.S. is a big proponent of organic/all-natural food and lifestyle.
One additional thought – as far as the initial elimination of sugar and caffeine, I learned the hard way (painful headache) that it’s easier to gradually cut back on those things, rather than go cold turkey.
Before you try to stop eating sugar eliminate HFCS, High Fructose Corn syrup from your diet. The weight loss will be almost automatic because HFCS is a MAJOR cause of weight gain. Then eliminate breads as most of the commercial versions, if not all, have HFCS in them. White flour really is not food and the combination of HFCS, Flour, yeast and sugar will also make one fat. You will be amazed at how many products you will have to stop using to do this.
Thank you for bringing tha up Harry. I have already eliminated HFCS from my diet as well as the other ‘whites’ flour, rice, etc. And you do bring forward an impor6tant point for those who haven’t realized this yet.
I’ve not eliminated it, but dramatically reduced it, and now make some very low concentrated ‘sweet’ treats at home now, mainly with stevia and perhaps a little honey. It was the low carb Atkins diet of old that got me over being hypoglycemic, after being so for many years and tied to having to eat every few hours, being irritable, unable to skip meals, etc. Am no longer doing Atkins, but still low carb. Dr. Mercola seems really right on the mark to me!
Hi Marjory,
Yes, I want to stop the cravings for sugar! I am at my highest weight now at the age of 48 and feel like sugar is controlling me and causing me to overeat other foods as well. I manage to make wise choices for proteins, carbs and healthy fats, but continue to crave sweet treats and eventually giving in, then eating way too much. I have lost my desire for exercise because I do not have the energy or motivation. Yes, whatever you learn about reversing this problem, I would be grateful to know! Meanwhile, I will take a look at Dr. Mercola’s website…
Aweome Jennifer. We will make this ag roup project.
I have been on a journey away from sugar for 12 years. It started with a nutritionist and a low carb diet. I have been reading Dr. Mercola’s work since the beginning of his newsletter. After reading books and studying other systems, I am confident that he has the best program, because his advice is constantly updated as new information comes available. And, like you Marjory, Joe is open and honest, as he shares his experience. His own diet has changed many times during his journey towards optimum health. I have great admiration for this man and his great body of work.
One of the principle reasons I recommend his system to so many people, is that he is critically aware that NOT ALL OF US ARE THE SAME! He starts you out by helping you determine your basic physical nature. Next, he sets you on a gradual program. This makes it manageable and “manageable” helps your odds for success!
I helped many people, by giving information and emotional support on a Paleo group. Most folks need some kind of support – especially if they have a family to feed. My heart goes out to all of you in your journey. Believe me: It is a journey. You will never forget what a yummy desert tastes like, but there is a way to do it and get the major benefits. Good luck, folks!
I found that it takes two weeks on my “protein and vegetable” diet, the name I call my simple plan, before I do not crave carbohydrates. After that, it is a breeze.
If I wish to “cheat” here and there with carbohydrates, it usually has no affect on my diet. I also, upon occasion, eat a few rectangles of Green and Blacks 85% chocolate bars. The second ingredient is cocoa butter. Too much cheating, and I succumb to the carbs! Getting back on the diet however, doesn’t seem to be as difficult as the first time.
Although I have eaten my “(un)fair share” of sugar over the years, it has always been carbohydrates that have been a problem for me.
I try to make substitutes. For example, I made mini quiches using sliced ham-yes, cold cuts 🙁 instead of a pastry. (I know. Sometimes we make OK choices and not great choices.) I did not make this recipe up. There are several online. I did, however, use a more traditional quiche filling. I use cabbage as a soup filler instead of barley, the family favorite. There are no complaints.
Hi Marjory!
I used to eat wayyyy to much sugar. A few years ago I went on “The Body Ecology Diet” (book by Donna Gates), which is basically a program to eliminate candida and also beef up the immune system.
The first time that I went on this program I did it in the winter, for 5 months. Winter was good because you don’t eat ANY sugar, and I wasn’t tempted with fresh fruit.
It is a very easy program to do, so now I do it often. I don’t have sugar cravings any more… and I am around family members who bake and still eat sugar.
Am looking forward to learning what Dr. Mercola has to say about this, and also to seeing where your research takes you!
All the best,
Kate
That sounds like a good book Kate. I’ll check it out.
And congrats on your progress!
I want to stop the sugar cravings! I’ve had success a few times but after several weeks or months the bad foods slowly creep back in 🙁
I would love to be involved in a support group. Thanks
Within a few weeks after starting the Wheat-Belly Diet, my husband and I are so satisfied eating all real calories that our sugar cravings have completely stopped. I even cooked sweets from the Wheat-Belly Cookbook, and they are fine, but what we really enjoy is salsa and the wheat-belly bread and kim-chi, etc. It is amazing to us, and is also accompanied by completely effortless weight-loss. This has just been our experience…
I have found that eating carbs in the form of sugars or grain products feed the yeast in your gut. The yeast then create chemicals that cause you to crave the foods that feed the yeast. Your eating behavior is being controlled by alien yeast invaders in your gut! The answer is to take a natural product such as Lauricidin (from coconut oil reacted with natural glycerol) or other herbal preparations that kill the yeast. This has to be introduced to your diet gradually, otherwise you’ll experience too much die-off of the yeast, resulting in a Hertzheimer’s Reaction, which causes you to feel sick, like you’ve got the flu. Once the yeast is greatly reduced (this only takes a few days) then you’ll have much less cravings for the sweets and grains that feed the yeast. It does however take about 8 weeks of taking the anti-yeast nutrients to completely eliminate the yeast. Of course, eliminating sugars and grains means you’re going to have to find another healthy source of calories. This is best found in healthy fats and oils from grass-fed beef and bison, free-range organic chicken, pasture-fed chicken eggs, coconut oil, etc. The paleolithic diet was 60% healthy fats.
I have found that eating carbs in the form of sugars or grain products feed the yeast in your gut. The yeast then create chemicals that cause you to crave the foods that feed the yeast. Your eating behavior is being controlled by alien yeast invaders in your gut! The answer is to take a natural product such as Lauricidin (from coconut oil reacted with natural glycerol) or other herbal preparations that kill the yeast. This has to be introduced to your diet gradually, otherwise you’ll experience too much die-off of the yeast, resulting in a Hertzheimer’s Reaction, which causes you to feel sick, like you’ve got the flu. Once the yeast is greatly reduced (this only takes a few days) then you’ll have much less cravings for the sweets and grains that feed the yeast. It does however take about 8 weeks of taking the anti-yeast nutrients to completely eliminate the yeast. Of course, eliminating sugars and grains means you’re going to have to find another healthy source of calories. This is best found in healthy fats and oils from grass-fed beef and bison, free-range organic chicken, pasture-fed chicken eggs, coconut oil, etc. The paleolithic diet was 60% healthy fats.
Thank you Mark. I will add this part to my protocol. Thanks so much.
Just finished Dr Sara Gottfried’s Detox and the sugar cravings as well as other cravings are gone physically. I just know from past history that the bigger problem will be the psychological cravings when smelling the baked goods in the grocery store or when offered dessert by well meaning family and friends.
When it comes to sugar, HFCS is the greatest threat. It is difficult to find food products (in the U.S.A.) that do not contain it. We started by eliminating all “liquid candy” in our home (soft drinks). We then started to strip out all products that contain HFCS. It takes 5 days to stop sugar cravings – once you eliminate all sugar from your diet. The book “Sugar Blues” covers this topic well. Mercola has it right – eat natural (unprocessed foods) and eat as much as you can from your own garden.
I was a sugar addict but have eliminated much of it after discovering Stevia. Still enjoy my chocolates however (dark preferred).
I just finished a strict 28 day detox diet. No sugar, honey, caffeine,
gluten (wheat, barley, most grains), eggs, tomatoes, dairy, soy, corn, alcohol, red meat,white potatoes,fried foods, bananas, dried fruit and probably a few others I am leaving out. The idea was these things may cause inflammation or allergies that make the digestive system ineffective. Fish, chicken, turkey, sweet potatoes, brown rice, gluten free oats, olive oil and most vegetables especially green vegetables were what was OK to eat. Stevia was allowed and I would squeeze lime or lemon juice in water and add a little stevia and that satisfied me. There were supplements to take as well. I found I lost the craving to eat all the time, especially sweets and high carb foods like potatoes. Protein foods fill you up without causing cravings which I guess the sweets and high carb foods were doing. I did lose seven pounds and now that the diet is over I intend to continue the basic foods that were allowed along with bananas (occasionally because of high sugar), eggs and tomatoes that I was not allergic to.
Congratulations. Nice job. Hope you keep it up.
I am working on the no sugar/bread issue myself. Bread will be the hardest to give up. That is partly because I eat in the car, and one cannot very well eat a salad in the car. Also, I crave sugar when I am tired, cold or wet, as from the cold rain now falling. Actually, I think in those cases, being able to simply quit and curl up in a warm bed might fix that problem. Then, there is the emotional craving for sugar, if I am discouraged or frustrated. I have succeeded in cutting out a lot of sugar, but not all of it. Not much luck with the bread yet. I refuse to use artificial sweeteners, but find stevia will do when I really want some sweet in my coffee.
It’s hard to do this alone. It’s harder to do this in the context of a family who does not want to make the switch at family meals. Kudos to those who succeed in those cases.
I eat in the car when I must. I easily eat carrots, cucumber, celery, cauliflower, etc. No need for forks. Nuts make an easy protein also for driving
Like so many others I’ve been on and off sugar many times. What I’ve learned from my personal experience is that when I eat lots of green vegetables I don’t have a desire for sugar, and after the first few days I don’t even think about it. Conversely, when I am eating sugar and junk food I don’t want vegetables. So I can go years without sugar, eating right, etc., then if I give in to a little bit and then a little bit more it turns on that switch to not wanting a lot of vegetables and the vicious cycle begins.
Since, for me at least, the key seems to always be lots of green vegetables like kale and broccoli, parsley and beet greens, etc., I have always wondered if CHLOROPHYLL has something to do with it. Everyone’s body is different, so maybe that’s just my own “key.” But hey, whatever works, right?
Barbara
Hi, again, MW,
Thanks for posting all the great replies.
After reading John’s great post, I decided to comment about utensils.
Several years ago, I invested in some sterling silver spoons, etc.
Rather than leaving the utensils in a box, I decided to start using them, daily. My ancestors used all silver utensils and serving dishes. I also think thickly plated silver utensils would work.
I have always used colloidal silver for health, so why not enhance things?
I also cook in cast iron.
I forgot about the sugar/yeast connection, very valid idea.
MW,
Sorry, another comment.
I recommend people look into the idea of chewing one’s food a lot longer.
I used to eat too fast and gulp down chunks and was always hungry soon after. I think if one eats whole foods and chews well, satisfaction and available nutrition are both enhanced.
I have recently eliminated all sugar (fruit included) and also sugar substitutes (stevia) cold turkey.
The one habit that I have recently adopted that has helped me the most with stabilizing my blood sugar and getting free from sugar is to ingest 30 grams of protein within 15 minutes of getting up in the morning. I will mix a couple scoops of whey powder (protein concentrate, not isolate) in a little water and drink it before I even have my coffee. I will also have another shot of whey powder before bed depending on my dietary choices that day. This is a huge change for me as I used to never eat before 1pm! I would experience fluctuating blood sugar and would grab fruit or something carb-like to eat…
Needless to say I feel tons better than I used to..
Good luck Marjorie!
Hi Darcel,
So many have commented on whey drinks. I’ll have to look into that. Whey is the watery liquid left after making cheese from raw milk… Interesting
Not off sugar yet; it continues to seduce me. I do love both sweet flavors and all carbs. Looking forward to what’s coming here.
We lived next door to a Stanford hospital Dr. And dept chair. One thing he taught us is that “we really only know about 30% about how the human body acts/reacts.” The other thing that has impressed me is how we all react different,y to medications. My sister gets violently ill on Vicoden. I think it’s fairly good for a back ache (but Percocet is faaabulous). When she was delivering her firstborn, they could not get her numbed enough. They said, “we’ve given you enough to put a horse down!” ( she is average size and healthy). They had to research the archives at the university to figure out the right “cocktail” for her.
The doctors said, ” medicine is not a science as much as it is an art.” Meaning, one program/ drug/approach does NOT work for everyone equally. Therefore, when people say “the answer for everyone is Paleo/wheat belly/whatever” it makes me frustrated. Our biochemistry and ancestry is all different.
As for me, lifelong, hard core sugar addiction. I’ve gone cold turkey and gritted my teeth for months (and HATED it when I’d hear others say “I lost the cravings in 2 weeks.”) mzany times. its always been insanely tough. I got off it without a lot of angst in my early 30s. I should have stayed off it! I’m now in early 50s and still battling it. I workout, lift weights and love salads, meat, just about anything. I really think that for some of us, it’s like crack cocaine–seriously addicting.
Allowing myself 2-3 prunes instead of dessert will sometimes help me. But let’s not kid ourselves, dried fruit has a TON of sugar.
One thing to consider is a whole different approach. The MENTAL games/ associations we attach to it. “I want to be bad, ill have this naughty doughnut.” Why do we say food is “bad?” Or, ” my spouse/kids aren’t around to see, I’m going to get an ice cream cone!” Like I’m ‘getting away’ with something. I don’t have the perfect answer but I do think there’s a whole lotta baggage around sugary treats!
Whoever invents a pill to stop a desire for sweet will be a bazillionaire.
We lived next door to a Stanford hospital Dr. And dept chair. One thing he taught us is that “we really only know about 30% about how the human body acts/reacts.” The other thing that has impressed me is how we all react different,y to medications. My sister gets violently ill on Vicoden. I think it’s fairly good for a back ache (but Percocet is faaabulous). When she was delivering her firstborn, they could not get her numbed enough. They said, “we’ve given you enough to put a horse down!” ( she is average size and healthy). They had to research the archives at the university to figure out the right “cocktail” for her.
The doctors said, ” medicine is not a science as much as it is an art.” Meaning, one program/ drug/approach does NOT work for everyone equally. Therefore, when people say “the answer for everyone is Paleo/wheat belly/whatever” it makes me frustrated. Our biochemistry and ancestry is all different.
As for me, lifelong, hard core sugar addiction. I’ve gone cold turkey and gritted my teeth for months (and HATED it when I’d hear others say “I lost the cravings in 2 weeks.”) mzany times. its always been insanely tough. I got off it without a lot of angst in my early 30s. I should have stayed off it! I’m now in early 50s and still battling it. I workout, lift weights and love salads, meat, just about anything. I really think that for some of us, it’s like crack cocaine–seriously addicting.
Allowing myself 2-3 prunes instead of dessert will sometimes help me. But let’s not kid ourselves, dried fruit has a TON of sugar.
One thing to consider is a whole different approach. The MENTAL games/ associations we attach to it. “I want to be bad, ill have this naughty doughnut.” Why do we say food is “bad?” Or, ” my spouse/kids aren’t around to see, I’m going to get an ice cream cone!” Like I’m ‘getting away’ with something. I don’t have the perfect answer but I do think there’s a whole lotta baggage around sugary treats!
Whoever invents a pill to stop a desire for sweet will be a bazillionaire.
Hiya. I stumbled upon your current site employing ask. It really is a very well prepared content. I’m going to always take a note of it in addition to revisit examine added within your strategies. Thanks for a post. Let me surely gain.
Hi Marjory,
Years ago, I found a book for depression…but it was also about sugar addiction. It was more believable to me to cure my depression than my sugar addiction, but this program did both, and more! I’ve been doing this program since 2001, and am amazed daily. When I began this journey, my children were 7 and 13. They both have benefited from this program too.
The books are by Kathleen DesMaisons…Potatoes Not Prozac is my favorite, and The Sugar Addicts Recovery Program would be second. She has also written a book for children. And there is a website, that you could browse and get most of the information that is provided in the book.
http://www.radiantrecovery.com
Look under the tab that mentions the 7 steps.
Everyone is different, but it takes about 6 months to get to step 7, and then probably another 6 months to stabilize. The beauty of this program is that giving up sugar is the last step. Going cold turkey just puts the brain into shock…and with addiction, it doesn’t *change* anything. As you go through the steps, your body / mind has a chance to really change…not only with food, but with behavior. Like…what do I do for Christmas…parties…etc.
The process helps to balance blood sugar, beta-endorphins, and serotonin. I don’t want to go into detail, but thought you would like to know that there are brain chemicals involved in the addiction, and this is one way to help *balance* them.
I had tried lots of different way of eating before this…and this has been the one that made a difference. Most programs I would only last about a year…this has been about 12 years!
Good luck with whatever you choose! I know that sugar monster is very powerful!
Colette
I am a sugar and food addict. I cannot quit sugar and overeating entirely based on will power. While quitting all sugars and refined carbs can reduce cravings, my addict mind will keep experimenting with eating some of these foods again and the cravings come back and I return to my former habits. I’ve found that as a true addict I needed a 12 step program for food addiction just as the alcoholic uses AA to stay sober. Using this resource, I have been completely free of sugar and overeating now since 1996.
Wow Ruthetta, for so long? That is amazing. Where did you find or setup a group for that?
Hi Marjory, like Ruthetta I have found myself in the same boat. There are 2 12 step programs that I know if http://www.ceahog.org compulsive eaters anonymous and Overeaters Anonymous.
I have struggled with this process slipping a bit along the way, but every struggle is proof to me that I am indeed an Addict. I found myself eating a chocolate bar or 2 everyday before I got my eating under control this year. I have been abstinent since 3/18/13 and have lost and kept off 51 pounds so far.
There is relief if you are willing to go to any length to get it.
Warm Regards,
-Stefanie
Stephanie, Congrats on your progress!
Here’s a bit you may like on the glycemic content of whole grains.
Having trouble viewing this email? Click here to view in your browser.
Essentials of Healthy Living
Radio Show
Dana Laake and her special guest Bill Shaddle will be discussing omegas and bone nutrients for supporting core nutrition.
Bill Shaddle has been involved in helping doctors understand and apply nutrition as a therapeutic tool for more than 35 years. Bill has managed sales teams, product lines, divisions and companies in the nutritional sciences field. He has developed workshops and training programs on different health and nutritional topics and is co-author of the acclaimed Nutrition Masters Course series. Bill is currently the Senior Director of Training for Metagenics, where he uses his background and knowledge to help train representatives to support practitioners.
Sponsored by:
Last week’s show was on nutritional support for managing inflammation. Click to Listen.
Tune in this Sunday from 10-11am on 1500 AM (WFED) or listen live on the web.
Sinus Survival SinuThyme
Stuffed up? Maybe it’s time for some thyme! The ingredients in Sinus Survival SinuThyme target relief for the common sinus sufferer. The all-natural herbal supplement contains thyme, used traditionally to help inflamed sinuses, whooping cough and help loosen phlegm. Plus, there are other important ingredients in SinuThyme that help support sinuses. Read more…
Healthy Whole Grains? They Don’t Exist…
Studies have shown and what we’re learning now is that while a “healthier” variety of grain is marginally better, the problem that exists with grains applies to the white, nutrient void versions as well as the “healthy whole grain” versions we’ve come to know and love. Why? Read more…
Village Green Apothecary
5415 W. Cedar Lane | Bethesda, MD 20814
301-530-0800 | 800-869-9159 | info@myvillagegreen.com
Monday – Friday: 8:30am to 6pm ~ Saturday: 8:30am to 5pm
http://www.myvillagegreen.com
Village Green Apothecary has been providing individualized nutrition, pharmacy, and healthy living products for over 40 years. We are committed to providing you with expert guidance, knowledge, and a custom-tailored mix of nutritional and pharmaceutical products needed to achieve and maintain optimal health. Our staff of 45 professionals (including a team of pharmacists, nutritionists, naturopathic doctors, and clinical herbalists) offer private wellness consultations, personalized health plans using The Essentials of Healthy Living (EHL), and individualized custom compounding. Our pharmacists are available to review and address drug/nutrient interactions and depletions to ensure your health and well being. Please contact us with any questions. We are here as a resource for you.
Share this message with others:
This message was sent from Village Green to ELIZABETH-GRACE@JUNO.COM. It was sent from: Village Green Apothecary,
5415 W Cedar Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814.
I’m fat adapted now, and my cravings for sugar are completely gone! I started off with a schedule that allowed me to have one sugary food a day, for two weeks. Then I went down to every other day, for two weeks. I continued the “every two week” cycle until I was down to just one sweet treat a week. That was doable. I cut out all sugary foods, but if I really wanted cake or ice cream, I knew I could have whatever I wanted if I just saved it for my once a week cheat meal. And I didn’t let myself feel guilty about that at all! I indulged! If I was craving sweets any other time during the week, I would allow myself some fresh fruit or a tiny bit of honey. Soon, I discovered that my cravings completely disappeared! Most of the time I don’t even need or want the weekly cheat meal. Once I went a whole month without a sweet treat. Lost weight, too! But it’s nice to know that I can indulge in a special occasion or satisfy a craving if I need to in a way that isn’t damaging to my health. The best side effect? Mental clarity! The brain fog completely disappears! Good luck. =)
Whoops. Sorry! Didn’t realize this was an old post. =)
I had no choice but to give up sugar and carbs. I was hospitalized several years ago for my seasonal pnuemonia crud (before I knew about herbal meds!) and was diagnosed as diabetic. I was also morbidly obese at 525 pounds. “Lose weight, control your sugars…or you’ll be dead in six months” said my doc. So once I got home, I threw out literally EVERYTHING in my pantry and most of everything in my fridge and freezer. Then I taught myself how to control diabetes. ZERO sugars, ZERO carbs, lots more organic veggies and proteins and good fats, plus I added turmeric and cinnamon capsules.. A couple years after my death sentence, I’ve lost 200 pounds (yes, two hundred! Still have that again to go, but I’m workin’ on it. My A1C is normal. Point is……..don’t wait to be diagnosed on your deathbed in a hospital, like I did. Just start, NOW. Do your research, and then just do what needs to be done. Sure, you’ll make mistakes. But mistakes teach you what you need to do differently. LEARN then ADJUST. Bottom line: Never give up, never surrender.
I’ve been high protein, low carb, vegan, no sugar (including natural sugars like maple syrup, most fruits and high sugar veggies) since January. It’s tricky doing this as vegan as nuts have a high glycemic index. My energy is ridiculous now and I dropped 10 pounds in the first 2 months. My typical meal is refried beans with lots of garlic and fun spices, sautéed greens, sauerkraut and avocado. For ‘treats’ I have a couple strawberries or blueberries from time to time as they are still fairly tart. A couple cherry tomatoes are a huge treat! Everything pops with flavor.
For those trying to go no sugar. You have to break the cycle of addiction before you feel good again. You will feel like crap for 3 days. You might experience head aches. You WILL experience your brain sending you all sorts of faulty messages like ‘You’re crazy! Why are you doing this? Sugar’s not that big of a deal…just have a little.’ Don’t do it! After 2 weeks, you’ll be so strong, you’ll never want to go back. And if you do have a moment where you try a little sugar… know that it’s going to take at least 3 days to purge it out of your system again. Awareness is key. Every body is different…for me, I have to lay off the fruits and sweeter veggies at the start, but then I can have a couple berries a day once I’m settled into the routine.
You can do it when you think it’s possible!
For hearing more about ‘The Brain Behaving Badly on Sugar’, check out Bright Line Eating.
I’m an experimenter and don’t trust anything I’m told till it works for me.
These scare tactics on sugar are uncalled for. Sucrose and most sugars are coveted to glucose in the body are not harmful. Glucose is the main fuel source for our cells, its the gas for our bodies. What has changed over 10,000 years is the use of grains and in the last 100 years the use of vegetable oil other than olive. These 2 products is what is toxic to our health, they both interfere with the processing of sugars. Read the research of Prof. Ray Peat on sugar.
I have followed his suggestion and eat absolutely NO grains or vegetable oil. But do consume as much sugar as I want which is about 12-18 tbs per day and it could be pure white. As a 65 yo male who watches my health before I ate this way, my morning glucose testing has gone from 105 to 85 eating this way. My skin texture and general health has improved. And no increase dental problems as long as I rinse my mouth with water after I eat. I’ve been doing this for a yr now.
I’ll have 16oz OJ mixed with 3 raw organic eggs for breakfast, 16oz black coffee mixed with 2tbs of coconut, 2tsb of butter, 7 tbs of raw sugar and 16 oz raw mil for lunch, snack on dried chocolate covered mangoes and raw milk, some fresh fruit and a piece of grilled chicken at night. I know I should have more fresh fresh vegetables but I never get around to preparing any. Crazy way of eating but real easy to make and I’m just lazy
The sugar and coffee as Prof. Ray Peat suggest boosts my metabolic rate and body temperature, meaning my individual cells are operating at a higher peak efficiency thus they are transporting into them more nutrients and ridding themselves of more waste products which enhances their ability to repair and operate better. I’m feeding them the energy they need.
I don’t exercise except for walking but I do want to, again just lazy.
Hey Marjory doesn’t Dr. Mercola have some great ideas. I had some really great results with cravings and sugar crashes by implementing his intermittent fasting. I dont eat now until 10:00 now and I dont feel ready to kill someone for food, unheard of in my other life. If I get sugar cravings later in the day I will have a piece of WHOLE fresh fruit the more skin and fiber the better!Everybody is different see if it works for you.
New You in 22 is a 22 day program that will switch you from a sugar burner to a fat burner. It was developed by a nutritionist, so nothing crazy in it, just sound science.
Great comments on sugar elimination. I agree with Dr. Bowcut, after adding more fats into my diet, eliminating refined carbs and grains I felt a change within; slept more soundly, a calmness during the day, no jitters, lost of weight. I too eat bacon and eggs regularly, real butter, cream in coffee, meats and poultry, and veggies. In a week I lost weight and felt distanced and a detachment from sugar. Ice cream and pastries are my downfall, I cannot have them in my home. I used to work in a bakery and a candy store, yeah! Just being around this stuff made my nose itch and run, not even eating it, that’s how sensitive I am to it. I decided if I really wanted it, one bite, then immediately throw the rest in the garbage where it belongs. I felt improved sense of power and control. I made that decision! Not the sugar. It a daily continuous discipline. But just say no, you are worth it! I also begin replacing thinking about sugary foods with salty foods. Many friends I’ve know have no sugar addictions but love salt, so replacing it deter the craving. I also drink club soda or mineral water with a slice of lemon or lime for a change from water. If your a soda drinker or diet soda drinker try the bubbly water, it helps. This is a mental decision first, then the its easier to take action.
HI Marjory, My husband and I who are in our 60’s went on the Paleo diet quite a few years ago; however we did not cut out all starch carbs until recently. About two months ago we started eat HFLC and added a ton of veggies (organic of course). This morning breakfast is grass fed lamb heart with sautéed leeks and chopped brussel sprouts. My husband has lost 15 lbs, But gained 4 lbs in muscle mass. I have lost about 10 lbs and gained one lb of muscle. Each person is individual, so therefore each food supply must be individual to some extent. I did not have much weight to lose therefore, I had to add more carbs backs in. I do that now with a piece of fresh fruit or extra veggies. I also had carbohydrate malabsorption so treated myself for SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth). I used herbs and prescription strength allicin to do that. My blood sugar now stays really stable between 84 and 90. I have not done an A1c yet, but imagine it will be great. As so many people have already pointed out, listen to your body, and be mindfully present.
Let me also say a word about intermittent fasting. My hubby and I don’t eat until we have given our bodies the chance to say “I need fuel”, and God intended for us to enjoy the food on our plate! Humans having been “breaking bread” forever, however the franken foods are not the foods God has designed! I had to “listen” to my body VERY carefully, as I have had many health issues since being dx’d with Chronic Fatigue in my 20’s. That said, this way of eating has been very beneficial to both of us.
Anyone can pull up on the inner net more information than they can ever want about ketogenic eating, but use that information prudently, because once again we are all different. I recently graduated as a nutritional coach, and I love the re-newed awareness that we are spirit, soul and body, but regret that we have been hijacked into believing we must live these fast paced lives to “fit in”, when that is a lie.
Some of the things we have done to “help” with sugar cravings have been to make keto lemonade (lemon and himalayan salt) on hand. I also have taken a Klean electrolyte supplement as needed. However, my hubby has not had the need to do that. I have also tried many recipes for a fat bomb. The one I have like the best has sprouted then lightly roasted sunflower seeds, pecans, a pinch of fresh stivia (which will still raise your sugar a bit, bc our bodies/brains are so smart that they release insulin when sweet hits the tongue). It also contains coconut oil as well. We rotate our fat bombs and quite frankly don’t need them everyday.
Again, let me say “listen to your body”, as we are all genetically different, and have different levels of “stress” hormones that we release. My hubby and I encourage each other, and are best friends. We all must redefine our relationship with food to some level. Be very “choosy” about what sugars you do put in your body. We tend to go with honey, dates (which have iron and other minerals) and maple syrup. I do also use monk fruit, but once again use them all VERY sparingly. I use one date for example when I make fresh coconut milk. You can purchase a neo glucose meter and see in general how food is effecting your blood sugar personally. Do post-prandial testing (2 hours after you eat), and this will give you some clue of how you are absorbing your carbs etc. (they sell these at Walgreens for about 20.00).
Hope this is helpful to other’s who are choosing this style of “nourishing” our
bodies.
Many Blessings,
Yes I have been off sugars since 2002 and low carbs with help from a book called the pH Miracle by Dr Robert O. Young also his other book Sick and Tired of being Sick and Tired. His books are based on his research tied to cancer recovery and what is the basis for most diseases which is what we eat and I would add both in food and emotions. He presents a protocol to ween off sugars and most other related foods towards a more raw diet 80% & 20% cooked. It involves a serious detox to begin with which his company sold the kit at the time not sure now what he supports in products but one could find similar products today in health stores. It took 3 months to retrain the mind emotions and body to eat different and not revert to the socializing of sweets and all other aspects of food addictions. It involved cutting out dairy fungi fruits meat (fresh water fish ok) too as the idea being to purge or clean out and stabilize first. He also sold at the time a recipe book for healing soups etc to transition off regular diets as the flavors or palate has to change too. Now of course there is tons of on-line raw recipes then it was just beginning.
I started this path not because I was sick or tired but because I didn’t want to become this as I aged then I was in my early 40’s and very fit. What I was seeking was longevity with vibrancy and healthfulness not what I was witnessing as the typical aging process in society and I felt that what I ate was what I could easily control through healthy choices made in other words food is medicine first not living to eat but eating to live healthy.
I was very strict for the first many years as the desire for sweet diminished almost in first 6 months and I just felt great so there was no conflict to return to my old eating habits. Today I still don’t eat added sugars nor choose foods with it in unless traveling and can’t find alternatives easily and that means reading labels if buying anything packaged ie almond milks, yogurts, soups even if organic they all add sugar of some type (educate yourself on all the ways sugar gets disguised too) and asking does it have sugar added in restaurants. I have only added back some dairy in last 2 years and fungi as we now forage for those and my views have changed on a few areas however it has not on that of sugar and it’s contribution to many diseases. I feel too that the focus on just sugar is not enough as carbs are all sugars so if you really want to make a serious change the carb factor has to be considered along with the quotient of change hence more raw foods and veggie based diet.
Dr Young also taught live and dried blood analysis which I did at those first few years to see what was happening in the body real time. It’s a helpful diagnostic tool. Also the drinking of alot of water daily to flush and hydrate was key with added supergreens powder to the water. Today I use more fresh lemon juice but resort to supergreens when traveling when diets are challenged more and quality of food is average.
It becomes a lifestyle change really, people find it hard to believe one can eliminate sugar or the craving for it really as it is in all foods. It was a strategy of the sugar industry from the 50’s onwards just watched a documentary on Netflix re the history of how society got to where sugars in every food a strategy again of profits and power with people putting to much trust in government, corporations and misguided science/doctors of the times…oh what a tangled web we weave!
Life is just as sweet without sugar based foods. I think too that the reach for excess sweetness outside of us is possibly indicative of a lack of connecting with our inner sweetness or joy in life. Enjoy the simple joys of life give gratitude daily and look for the beauty in everyone it goes a long way to finding sweetness in life in another way!
Hope this helps in some small way…Callie
For starters, my father an MD, restricted our sugar intake in the 40’s & 50″s. No sugar in tea or coffee, little on cereal and a chocolate or candy was a special treat. It has stuck. I have had the same 1-lb. box of white sugar for over 30 years. The same for brown. I rarely eat any bread or crackers.
I believe I get most of my sugar from a Vodka & Soda! About 3 a week.
That being said, I have been trying to lose 20 lbs. for 20 years! I’ve tried almost every thing but starvation, which does not work well. Any suggestions, Doc?
I am doing that now. Started 9 days ago on Susan Pierce Thompson’s program….Bright Line Eating. So far I’ve lost 9 pounds and my blood pressure is now normal. I can’t wait to see what else will improve. It’s an 8 week program. Check out her youtube videos.
A couple of years ago I sat on my computer glasses. This turned out to be a good thing. My opthalmologist tested my eyes and said “You have diabetes, right?”
“Uh no, but my mom did,” I said.
He had spotted signs of diabetic retinopathy. I read up on going low-carb higher fat for pre-diabetes and then I did it. No sugars, almost no grains.
When I went back to him in 3 months I had no signs of the retinopathy and my health care provider had given me a green light that I’m not even pre-diabetic.
Quite a motivator!
Wow! Seems you’ve really hit a nerve. I’ve been very low sugar for about 15 years now. When I started, I was very sick with an “incurable” disease that caused my body to be in horrendous (and unrelenting) pain – reflex sympathetic dystrophy. It was 15 years of pure hell! I had a pharmacy bill of about $3,000 per month for pain patches and other drugs to just breathe but they really didn’t even do that very well.
I began learning about what I was putting into my body and changing that. During the detox I was drinking vegetable juice sweetened with apples – still not a big green drinker though I like to eat greens. Definitely would still call myself a “sweet tooth”. I have learned a lot about food and what happens as soon as I swallow it and that has helped me to get off sugar. I do use Now Better Stevia which is a stevia that has been de-bittered. Right away you can use that to cut half the sugar out of your diet as it will make less sugar sweeter. I use 1 tsp to replace 1 cup of sugar in a recipe. I cook for church and have learned over the years what works for a wide range of eaters and using half the sugar works for all of them. Some people are stevia sensitive and will pick it out (especially if I use too much) but 95% will just marvel when I tell them it’s healthy as “it doesn’t taste healthy”.
Reducing sugar can also happen by increasing good fats (olive, avocado, coconut, peanut and grapeseed) and adding fiber or protein (or both) as these things will slow the sugar from getting into the cells and surging in a damaging way. For example: you can have fruit juice but make it in the Vitamix using the WHOLE fruit (but do small batches to puree as the Vitamix heats things which damages enzymes) and add some water and stevia and it’s truly good for you (loaded with enzymes, vitamins and fiber) as opposed to the condensed sugar in one’s “healthy” frozen fruit juice. This method lowers the sugars by adding the water (needed as it’s too thick anyway due to the peels and flesh) but it tastes very sweet due to the stevia enhancing the fruit. If you really like thin juice you can strain it but you’ve still gotten a high amount of nutrients and enzymes and some of the fiber is still getting through. I don’t eat much fruit just because I’m satisfied with veggies and they don’t contain the sugar but if I want a fruit drink I want it more of a nectar so the sugars won’t get into the cells as fast. If you do want to eat something sweet (like a treat made with white flour and high sugar) you can add a few nuts to slow down the sugar overload – all that excess sugar is like a bad scrape inside your arteries and that produces inflammation and no one needs that :-). White flour turns into sugar as soon as you swallow it – that’s why whole grains are better but still not truly healthy – just better.
My rule of thumb when I eat is to “eat the future” – that means I eat a lot of things that could or would produce life if left alone – fresh produce with its seeds, eggs from my pastured chickens, nuts, all seeds, and even homemade yogurt as the bacteria in it has life. I also try to eat a fair amount of food raw so I’m eating lots of enzymes. I used dried dates as sugar in my seed bars and whole eggs to bind them together. I’m not big on animal meats primarily because I love animals and I’m a lot more likely to feed a chicken than eat it :-). I let all my egg layers live until they keel over from old age – chickens and ducks. I do eat venison and elk as I think they are probably better than confined cows fed on corn which is against their biology or, ugh, feed lot cows – the suffering of those animals! I have friends that are hunters that love to hunt but don’t need that much food so I’m grateful to help them out and they keep me fully stocked in deer and elk that have lived out good and natural lives here in the Pacific Northwest.
Maple syrup is a healthier sugar but it’s sugar – a lot of healthy blogs use maple syrup but I use stevia to sweeten and eggs to bind my granola bars (really seeds, nuts and quinoa).
Be careful when you talk about a broad range of foods as “good” or “bad” – like some people think all saturated fats are bad for you but coconut oil is a medium chain triglyceride (helps your body make energy rather than storing) and palm shortening (which can replace detestable Crisco) are both actually good for your body. Both of these are sat fats from plants which means they won’t produce unfavorable prostaglandins when you metabolize them which means less sticky platelets which means lower inflammation and healthier blood flow. Sugars are heavy in fruit but as a whole and raw food it’s got so much good that it offsets the natural sugars when eaten in reasonable quantities. Fructose from a whole fruit is a WHOLE lot different than fructose manufactured from corn using enzymes and turned into high fructose corn syrup or the fructose in agave nectar. Fructose is like nine times more damaging to the cells than glucose (sugar) and yet people eat agave nectar (80% fructose from a processed source) and think they are doing good for their body – it’s NOT the same as fructose from eating a piece of whole, raw fruit. Now, if you went and ate the agave flour from the plant it would not be the same and pouring a processed, heat produced, sweetener from a bottle.
Here is a suggested course of action to help lower your sugars and clean up your eating in general: First and foremost – get off HFCS and damaging fats like Crisco. HFCS actually impair your metabolic functions and they are in a lot of foods and Crisco is just plain horrid for your body. You can sub coconut oil or palm shortening for Crisco and be delighted at the results even in things like pie crust.
Secondly, I’d start subbing half the sugar I’m eating for stevia. It doesn’t take much stevia and using too much tastes awful so there is a bit of a learning curve as you just can’t imagine that little would make a difference. I’ve never lost my pleasure for high sugar – I’ve never taken a bite of something and said, “too sweet” – not this girl! However, I have become ultra sensitive to the chemicals in food – like I used to love filled maple bar doughnuts and I bought one for my daughter and asked for a bite while we were driving down the road (hadn’t eaten anything like that for many years by then) and I took the bite and could not get it out of my mouth fast enough. Ugh! Chemicals that came through my sinuses and the mouth feel of the fat was utterly repulsive – it was so fake! I was surprised but it certainly cured me from ever wanting another of those.
If I eat sugar, it’s usually in candy – just sugar like a few Skittles but they are rare treats that I don’t ever crave anymore. I bake with coconut flour and almond flour and whole white wheat flour or quinoa flakes or rolled oats.
Okay, back to the plan…
The next thing I’d do is restrict the flours and pasta made with white flour – there are so many good pastas out there like the kind made with brown rice that won’t turn into sugar as soon as you swallow them. I have a friend that is diabetic and said the highest blood sugar he ever got was after an Italian dinner – spaghetti and garlic bread – all that white flour was sugar as soon as he swallowed according to his blood monitor :-).
Don’t push yourself to eliminate sugar – do it more naturally by simply thinking about what you are putting into your body. When your mind becomes aware, the desire will lower just because you are aware. Sodas are out (average of 10 tsp of sugar in one can which is just under 1/4 cup of sugar!) but you could buy a Soda Stream or other water carbonating machine and I make a delicious carbonated lemon lime using stevia, real lemon juice, real lime juice and carbonated water.
The biggest damage to our health are unhealthy fats (especially damaged fats like trans fats), HFCS, and refined sugars including white flour and pasta and the myriad of chemicals we add to our food so it will last on the shelf. If you can just lower these things – shop the outside edge of the store – produce, dairy, meat and be really aware of what you are buying from the middle of the store will help but even yogurt is laden with refined sugar so buy the “live” cultures unsweetened and take it home and add some stevia and some berries or other fruit to make it the flavor you want using real food. It’s detestable what they do to our food! I strain my yogurt into cheese and it’s plain amazing what you can do with yogurt cheese.
Congratulations on your decision to try to remove the unnecessary sugars from your body! It’s a long journey but once you see the truth you’ll be very surprised at how easy it is to stop yourself from old habits. Habits change after six weeks of actively pursuing them (so I’m told by the experts) so be diligent for six weeks and see how much differently you think and feel. Sugar produces inflammation and it’s the root of nearly all diseases and it feeds cancer cells like crazy so…
My illness was never suspected to be food related but changing my food to match my biology changed my body to be able to reverse an incurable illness. I’ve been pain free for about 15 years now – just as long as I suffered – and though I still carry some of the disabilities and limitations I’ve learned to go around them.
Blessings,
Meg
Hi there
When my daughters teeth started rapidly decaying when she was 3, I decided to put her on a sugar free diet, and the only way that was going to happen was if I did it with her. After 1 day of sugar free, I was getting severe withdrawal symptoms (like vomiting) and then I had a sudden realisation that I’m in more need of a sugar detox than she is!
So I continued in my journey of sugar free only to realise that almost everything is full of sugar, from pasta sauces to breads… So I started cooking everything from scratch… That is what led me to growing my own food.
Anyways, to answer your question… The body ecology diet encourages you to eat a lot of fermented foods with your meal and that kills the sugar cravings.
There was a video recently on truth about cancer about sugar addiction that might be beneficial for you. The lady was speaking of a study done on rats that proved that sugar is more addictive than cocaine… Scary stuff!
I respectfully disagree with people who say that we shouldn’t eat grains. I think they are an important aspect of our diet, but I do almost all my grain baking and cooking with starters. for my breads, muffins, pancakes, etc. I use natural yeast, the same thing as a sour dough starter, but treated differently, as it is stored in the fridge. You can check out the bread geek blog for more info if you want to. It’s the phytic acid of grains, nuts, and seeds that needs to be taken care of that wreaks havoc on our systems, not the plants themselves. For soaking my nuts and seeds, I soak them in water and sea salt then dehydrate them. And for rice and other grains I cook on the stove, I put a bit of starter liquid when soaking before cooking to break down the phytic acid. I use the same liquid for my beans as well.
That being said, I don’t think that grains should make up the largest portion of our diet, but fruits and veggies should. I am not entirely off of sugar, as I use real maple syrup and raw honey in my cooking and on top of plain yogurt, etc., and a bit of molasses when baking my bread. But as I have drastically reduced my sugar intake and increased my consumption of REAL food, as local and in season as possible, or preserved by myself in a healthful way, I find that when I eat the fake, sugary stuff, it tastes awful and then I feel awful, so I don’t really want it anymore. But I do LOVE a good, quality dark chocolate when I find one.
I live in the Portland, OR area right now and recently discovered Honey Mama’s. Can’t recommend them enough! For the treats that have almonds in them, they soak and sprout them so the phytic acid is completely broken down. It’s delicious stuff!
Hi,
Why not have a look at what Medical Medium Anthony William has to say
I would check this out if I was you
Kind regards,
I am 74, almost 75 next week. I have been trying to recover to a healthy person since ovarian cancer in 2007. My lungs filled with fluid last year and a heart cath revealed the problem. Cisplatin and carboplatin have blocked my arteries going to the left side of my heart and even damaged nerves in my ears. I am very susceptible to a stroke or heart attack, but learned from Dr. Joseph Mercola to take L Arginine in timed release form.
This supplement does not thin one’s blood, but relaxes the arteries and makes them very flexible. All of a sudden, I felt like I was alive again and wanted to lose weight. My friend went on the No Sugar No Starch diet and she looked wonderful, so I figured I would give it a try. I weighed 178 and I am 5’6″ tall. I stopped all grains, even my favorite granola! My breakfast consists of 2 eggs, bacon and sliced tomatoes….or if I have leftovers, I may eat sauteed okra and chopped green tomatoes with green onions and garlic from the day before!! I never ever eat bread and do not miss it! Carbs are a thing of the past and I really love all fresh vegetables and always organic. I began an organic garden that is raised on 4 legs and it is terrific. I had over 100 German Johnson tomatoes on one bush last summer. I now weigh 145 and thanks to this diet of No Sugar No Starch, I have energy and a desire to live again. My garden, thanks to Marjorie Wildcraft, is all organic and size 4×8 and one foot deep. I have no cartilege in my knees and I refuse to do knee replacement. I am taking chicken sternum collagen and hyaluronic acid to rebuild the cartilege and Joint Performance Plus by Best Health Nutrionals….natural meds! I have no pain in my knees anymore. No Sugar No Starch is so easy and you lose pounds fast and feel energized and you look so much better. I wore size 16 and now wear size 10. What could be better? Even my vision is much better! I began using Garden of Life Probiotics for Women and I just cannot tell you what a difference all of this has made in my life. Do it for yourself!
A few years ago I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis and the doctor told me I would be on NSAIDs the rest of my life. I was determined not to be, and decided sugar was the place to cut more. Now I have noticed the only time I have pain is when I have sugar. Mostly we use stevia, but drink our herb teas unsweetened. My husband has many diagnosed diseases and constant back pain. When he has more sugar he has noticed he has especially bad bouts of pain. So there is a connection there. We still have not completely got rid of sugar but drastically reduced, seldom have desserts. If a dessert calls for 1 cup of sugar, I cut the amount to 3/4ths and use half of that in stevia. One of the sugars we don’t think about is the starches which turn into sugar – we cut WAY DOWN on those. Love your emails and websites.
My cravings come around 2-3 pm at my job (office) and I eat dark chocolate covered nuts or dark chocolate covered fruit…..but I eat toooooooo much! I am looking for a way to curb this craving….sometimes on the weekend during a movie we’re watching, I want chocolate…..but I would like to curb this as well. I have heard that eating something sour like a dill pickle curbs it, but I don’t know. I will be interested in your findings Marjorie….you are such an inspiration to all us newbies.
I stopped eating processed foods, legumes, starches, and grains cold turkey, as well as alcohol. It took a month to heal from sugar withdrawal symptoms. Sugar addiction is real! During withdrawal I treated it like an extended fast: I warned my family about mood swings, stayed close to home as much as possible, removed all temptations from the house, got lots of rest to compensate for low energy, and sipped mint tea constantly to help with headaches as well as to trick me into keeping my palate “clean” (nobody wants to eat junk after brushing teeth, right?). At first, I really missed oats and granola, but now I can stick my pantry with whole grains for my kids without craving them. When I cook for my family, I still eat the same food, but if their plate has a grain, mine has an extra vegetable as a replacement. I didn’t eat fruit for the first month to reset my taste buds, so now even cashews taste sweet, and fresh fruits taste better than ever. I cook more often and have made the habit to either plan to pack a dinner if I’m out for hours, or to wait until I get home to eat. Reprogramming myself to not grab convenience foods when I was hungry away from home was the hardest, but after 7 months, it is just part of my lifestyle. I focus on simple, whole foods. I’ve swapped bananas for avocados and white potatoes for sweet potatoes. I eat the whole fruit rather than juicing it. I keep raw nuts on hand for snacks so I don’t get so hungry that I make unhealthy choices. My dairy products are either whole and grass-fed, or goat’s dairy–when I do eat out, I just ask for no cheese, and usually sub guacamole. I enjoy salads undressed or with fresh salsa when I’m out, or I make dressings at home simply with olive oil and either lemon juice or ACV. If I really want a goodie, I make it myself with either stevia, raw honey, or coconut sugar, and sub almond meal or coconut flour for the grains.
I don’t make a big deal of my food to other people–If I’m at a birthday party, I enjoy a piece of cake (the frosting tastes too sickeningly sweet now), or eat a slice of pizza. I do wake up with a sort of hangover the next morning, but it reminds me that I am clean and keeps me from slipping back into old habits.
Does stevia act like sugar? I have been drastically cutting back on sugar the last 2 weeks but still need sweetness in my coffee. Is it better than sugar or am I setting myself up for failure? Any advice would help.thanks.
@Greyghostfarmgirl:
I am not an expert on stevia, but I have grown it and I do use the drops available at health food stores. I don’t know how processed the drops are, but I figure a half dropperful in my large mug on occasion can’t be as harmful for my teeth as refined cane sugar. Stevia does not feed yeast (if you use the alcohol-free drops), nor does it cause digestive distress like xylitol. When I have fresh stevia growing in my herb garden, I smash a few leaves in the bottom of my glass before I pour unsweetened iced tea, but the flavor of fresh stevia can be too minty for a cup of coffee or raw cacao hot chocolate. During my one-month-detox, I did not use any sweetener in my coffee at all, but I did stir in cinnamon and organic heavy cream or grass fed butter. After the detox month, I started treating myself to the occasional square of Lily’s Dark Chocolate with Stevia along with my afternoon cup of unsweetened coffee. Good for you for cutting back! Best of luck breaking free of sugar.