Sugar Intolerance

[dangervolvo]

I am about a month into eliminating my problem foods, and in my follow up appointment yesterday I had to admit that I have been really good about eliminating everything on my intolerance list (obtained from a blood test) but I "forgot" to eliminate sugar. I have an intolerance to sugar cane.

For some reason I was able to open-mindedly jump into eliminating gluten, garlic, turkey, mushrooms, coffee, almonds, pecans, most seafood, and safflower oil, but I want to throw a fit like a little kid when it comes to sugar.

I would love the advice of anyone who has done this, how do you deal with the loss of yummy things? I have such a sweet tooth, and worry that honey and fruit won't cut it.

Thanks so much,

-Sarah

(oh, I should mention that I am avoiding dairy too, while all this stuff is new)

[horsegirl]

I enjoy using Agave nectar in my hot cereals & smoothies, as well as Stevia powder in place of sugar. I don't know if I'm cane sugar intolerant or not (I do still eat it, but try to limit it) & have been looking for replacements. The Agave nectar is quite a bit like honey, with a mild flavor, but it's thinner so it's easier to pour & use. It also mixes into drinks almost instantaneously, without the "glob" that honey or molasses can leave behind. Just start experimenting, & see what happens!

Good luck,

Horsegirl

P.S. Last weekend I made baked apples & they really helped with the sweet cravings. I took apples, cored them, & stuffed them with a mixture of raisins, agave nectar, cinnamon, & nutmeg.

They baked for about 45 minutes at about 350 degrees I think. The only thing I forgot to do was to baste them periodically, so some of the raisins burned. But they were really yummy, either for a dessert, or for breakfast (and my 3 year old loved them!)

[Nancym]

Lots of sugar substitutes out there, Splenda, Erytritol, stevia, etc.

[tom]

I would love the advice of anyone who has done this, how do you deal with the loss of yummy things? I have such a sweet tooth, and worry that honey and fruit won't cut it.

Hi Sarah,

I haven't had any sugars or artificial sweeteners in 2.5 yrs, except a very recent foray into whatever amount of brown rice syrup is in the hazelmilk I'm now using since quitting soy. (Which was the unsweetened, unflavored 2 ingred -beans 'n water - kind)

No sugar, no evap cane, no splenda etc, no molasses, zero fruit for 18mos . . ..

Stevia gave me a reaction the 2x I tried it.

I had to do all that to stop feeding the candida. Seem that few ppl really cut sugars & sweeteners out 100%. I just wasn't gonna let the buggers tell me what to eat.

Honey still makes me dizzy (tried a mini-cookie w/ honey a few days ago) as does most fruit. I've only had fruit maybe twice since early June.

Oh there was a stretch w/ a fruit-sweetened ice-cream substitute. Very good but it's soy & I'm off that.

Not sure what to say except I certainly had quite a sweet tooth for decades, but I don't miss sweets now and almost never think of them.

It takes a few days to not CRAVE but you can quit sweets if you really want to. I swear.

Real tough for a few days but I'm sure you've done harder things. Pretty tough for another week or two, then it got easy.

I'd have almond butter as a lame-ass "dessert" sometimes, but also because I was often still hungry after dinner.

Freshly roasted/baked nuts are good a while after dinner too.

P.S. I feel better than EVER!!!!

[dangervolvo]

Thank you all for the advice, I was in the middle of a sugar fit when I wrote that, and I really appreciate the perspective. I DO have tons of choices and I have known for awhile that I really need to get the sugar monkey off my back.

Thanks again,

-Sarah

[Green12]

My body does not do well with sugar at all, but I love it so and it's hard to eliminate it, so I understand what you are going through.

A book I was reading on adrenal stress addressed this very issue and it was suggested you take baby steps and go in stages, first by getting off the candy and the cookies, cakes, refined sugar sweets and eat fruit in it's place. So anytime your sweet tooth is kicking into high gear reach for a banana, apple, grapes, etc. There are a lot of things you can do with fruit, make a smoothie, sautee or bake pears and apples (very good and super sweet), and there are snack bars made with dried fruit and nuts that taste like candy (i.e. Lara Bars).

After a couple months your body adjusts to the change and it's a lot easier to go without processed sugary snacks and high sugar foods. Your tastes and cravings might change as well, leaning towards natural sugars.

I don't eat a lot of sugar and when I do it's too much and I get really sick. Now I taste the natural sugars in foods, my vegetables even taste sweet

Good luck with it

[sixtytwo]

Noticed that at least a couple of you have fibromyalgia and I think mine gets worse when I get into the sugar. I try to not eat it at all, but buckled last week, got into the sugar (and gluten a little which I thought I would NEVER do) and my hands and knees are killing me. It is all connected..........gluten, fibro, thyroid.....wish my doctor "got it" on his own. He will sooner or later as I really like him and he has been really good with everything else other than this. Barbara

[Glutenfreefamily]

I cant have sugar either, my menieres disease acts up. I have loads of other intolerances too but Im getting use to eating plain. It does take awhile to be ok with it and it also helps to have plenty of desserts under your belt. I also use lara bars and fruitabu's as a standby for a quick sweet taste.

This is my staple dessert when I get hungry for a sweet.

Crust:

2 cups raw nuts, any kind

3/4 cup pitted dates

Filling:

5 cups sliced ripe strawberries

5 pitted dates, soaked 10 minutes in warm water and drained

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the nuts in a food processor and grind until they

[holdthegluten]

I am about a month into eliminating my problem foods, and in my follow up appointment yesterday I had to admit that I have been really good about eliminating everything on my intolerance list (obtained from a blood test) but I "forgot" to eliminate sugar. I have an intolerance to sugar cane.

For some reason I was able to open-mindedly jump into eliminating gluten, garlic, turkey, mushrooms, coffee, almonds, pecans, most seafood, and safflower oil, but I want to throw a fit like a little kid when it comes to sugar.

I would love the advice of anyone who has done this, how do you deal with the loss of yummy things? I have such a sweet tooth, and worry that honey and fruit won't cut it.

Thanks so much,

-Sarah

(oh, I should mention that I am avoiding dairy too, while all this stuff is new)

I am Casein Fress/Soy free/ Gluten Free?and Sugar Free...............Hang in there. DOnt use Splenda. It is the same as sugar cane,just chemically altered.

[Nyxie63]

What kind of reactions do you get when having sugar?

I'm still in the process of challenging and today was "sugar day". I was actually looking forward to it because its been about 2 months since I've had any kind of sugary goodness.

Had a tablespoon of turbinado sugar about an hour ago and am now having pain in my hips and both wrists. My thigh muscles are also feeling weak and shaky, and there's a feeling of pressure in my neck where my thyroid is. Pulse is still normal and no palps, so at least that's one good thing.

I looked up sugar allergies and there's nothing really out there. In fact, just about every reference site says its impossible. What's up with that? If people are actually having a reaction to sugar, what is their explanation?

Any info or a point in the right direction would be really appreciated. Thanks!

[dangervolvo]

More than any specific reaction to sugar, I decided to eliminate all the foods that I had an even moderately high score for on my blood test. I have been gluten free for 2 months now and still have anxiety, bad bathroom experiences, and stomach pain, so I am getting rid of whatever I can.

Sugar has always given me a stomach ache, I stopped drinking any sort of sweetened fruit juice or soda and eating most candies a long time ago, but now I won't buy anything with any amount of sugar in it either.

I wish I had more information for you, I am so lost about food in general right now, myself.

Good luck!

-Sarah

[ChrissyInNH]

I just found out that I am intolerant to sugar cane (as well as many other things), so I feel your pain! I did have some suspicions, so I started using agave nectar for my tea and other things a couple of months ago. I am amazed at how many things have sugar in them now that I have to totally avoid it.

Does anyone know... if I'm intolerant to sugar cane, would I also have a problem with, say, beet sugar? Beets came up non-reactive for me. I am looking for a natural, granulated sweetener I can use for baking. (I react badly to Splenda, NutraSweet, etc.) Agave just isn't cutting it. It makes things heavy and rubbery. I found some stuff called "Just Like Sugar" that I might try. I also have some granulated fructose, and I could even try dextrose I suppose, since it's from corn.

Or do I need to avoid ALL sugars?

[ThimbleBerry]

I've always (looked) like I was in great shape so I never thought I would have the willpower to deny myself of anything especially sweets. I used to use lots of maple syrup and eat dates and stuff like that.

But the improvements I have seen since going cane free have been TREMENDOUS! I was still getting D after I stopped eating wheat, etc, so I decided I was going to need to do more. The first two weeks after I quit sugar I got some bad acid reflux- which I had never really experienced, plus a sore throat and stuffed up. It wasn't bad enough to miss work and I am a wimp about being sick- plus I felt more clearheaded and calm, less moody, and right away I could tell that I had made an empowering decision.

I had tried a Candida diet about ten years ago because one of my best friends talked me into it, but I didn't realise that I was sensitive to gluten at the time so the stakes were based on vanity really, I couldn't stick to that diet and I ended up eating WAY worse for over a year after- it messed my cravings up badly.

I think you have to entirely kill your sweet tooth for a while. I don't even drink sweet tasting teas like licorice now, except maybe once a month. I eat some fruit but never more that one piece at a time and usually in the morning. When I see a nice fresh pumpkin pie at the farmer's market or some cute chocolates I might comment about it or think about it for just a moment but I never allow myself to start thinking about how it will be so nice later...I might never have these things again. It's kind of fun to appreciate that other people can. I'll say "that looks good" if my coworker is having a treat so she won't feel self-conscious. Sometimes it's fun to say "why are they selling those pies over there?" like it's almost become a cute joke to me now.

There's more to life than food. Since I have stopped eating sugar I found that a patch of excema/psoriasis/DH/human mange on my right shin and one directly above my heart that was about two inches wide has vanished. I hope it works out for you!