The Beginning of My Sugar-Free Life
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Is it possible to stop eating sugar and to live a sugar-free lifestyle? You say you're addicted and you just can't stop eating sugar. Is there any hope?
I'm here to tell you that there is. Here's my story about how I got off of sugar. I hope it helps you to see that there is hope. If I can do it, you for sure can too.
If you've been around my blog for a while, you've noticed something.
- I typically don't post recipes that include dried fruits.
- I mostly use alternative sweeteners (like stevia and even–gasp–xylitol and erythritol.)
- My recipes are almost 100% gluten-free and are moving more and more grain-free
Why is that?
Well, I used to be a real sugaraholic and that led to some pretty bad health effects.
My SAD (Standard American Diet) Childhood
I grew up in a family eating the Standard American Diet (SAD). A typical daily menu would look like:
- White bread toast with margarine and cinnamon sugar on it (and it for sure wasn't my Keto Cinnamon Sugar.
- School lunch was maybe pizza, milk, and dessert. When I got into high school, it was likely a sandwich. I actually don't recall what I ate then.
- Dinner was often pasta or eating out at a fast food restaurant.
- After school snacks were dry cereal, ice cream (and it wasn't this dairy-free sugar-free mint chocolate chip ice cream recipe).
What a mess.
As I grew older, my “health consciousness” grew, and I started eating more and more vegetables and fruits, and even whole grains, but I still was a real sugar addict.
I even worked at an ice cream parlor for years, which was a completely no good very bad idea.
All employees would snack on the ice cream and candy bar toppings (when we had time), and there were numerous days when I came home not wanting dinner at all.
The Beginning of Health Problems
Years went by. I ended up with health issues that no one could connect the dots with.
- itching in my ears, which the doctor said was likely just dry ears “It's a vicious cycle. Just stop scratching them. It'll go away.” But it didn't.
- vaginal itching (diagnosed as vaginitis)
- tinea versicolor (a fungus that discolors the back and abdomen with white, itchy spots. Typically it shows up in summer months.
And as more years went by, more conditions showed up:
- bloating
- on and off fatigue
- mood fluctuations including anxiety
- insomnia
I clearly remember the day (about 3 years ago) when I was standing after church, talking with two friends of mine. They were talking about candida and sugar and changing their diets.
I was listening, but basically might as well have had my fingers in my ears, because I didn't want to hear what they were saying.
They were talking about:
- bloating
- severe mood fluctuations
- rashes
- vaginal “issues”
(Hmmm…sounds familiar, eh?)
And they mentioned candida.
I'd heard about candida, but no doctor had said that I had it.
Hmmmm…
One of those women mentioned said she had had manic-depressive episodes and thought she'd have to give up homeschooling, but going sugar-free had helped her greatly.
I. didn't. want. to. hear. that.
Me? Give up sugar.
No way.
Why I HAD to start a Sugar-free Lifestyle
Well, fast forward six months or a year.
My symptoms progressed to the point that I had:
– severe fatigue
– mood swings and depression (it's pretty easy to be depressed when you are severely fatigued.)
– itching scalp (sometimes this got really really bad.)
– insomnia (I had always had a hard time sleeping, but it was getting worse.)
I felt like I'd hit rock bottom.
I didn't know what to do, but a friend who participates in our family's whole foods co-op shared her struggles with sugar and candida with me.
She pointed me to a site called Whole Approach (a site that sadly is no longer around). I took their Candida Symptom Assessment Questionnaire and my score was super high.
My allopathic background (I had been pre-med in college) led me to be suspicious of any “self-diagnosing questionnaire”, but I needed help.
I pored over their site, and ordered their cleansing and candida-killing supplements, and started the candida diet.
Well, there is a lot more to tell.
I had horrible candida die-off symptoms the first two weeks or so of the diet. And I do mean HORRIBLE.
My diet had changed and now I was basically living a sugar-free lifestyle including:
- no sweeteners that feed candida (sugar, evaporated cane juice, sucanat, agave, maple syrup, honey, etc.)
- no fruit
- no dried fruit
- limited starches
Later, after following their protocol pretty carefully, I found myself in a pit of bad health again.
Let's just suffice it to say that I now think there is much more to know about how to get rid of candida than just cutting back on sugars and starches.
But I think you'll be intrigued to hear more about candida and its ties to other health issues in the future.
We've had a lot of health struggles in our family. It can be hard to deal with them all, but I do hope that what I share can bring help and healing to others. We have had a lot of miracles happened, which you can read some about here.
For more of the story, read:
Candida, My Childhood, and 5 Causes of Gut Imbalance and
Busting a Popular Gut Health Myth.
Other Health-Related Posts
- Could You Have Heavy Metal Toxicity and Not Know It?
- Just a Red Face? Or Something More?
- Food Allergies and Eczema – From Despair to Healing
Some of Our Favorite Sugar free Lifestyle Treats
In case you're ready to try to get off sugar, here are some sugar-free treats that can help you out while still satisfying your sweet tooth.
- Healthy Almond Joy Bars
- Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
- Homemade Jello
- Dairy-free Chocolate Chip Cheesecake-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes
Have you thought about going off of sugar?
I just read this article yesterday that I think may help you, at least in the long run. It’s very thought provoking. As I understand, most people that do the anti-candida diet fail in the long term. You need a rebalancing of the gut, which is best done with GAPS. But I’m no expert, it just seems to make sense. Otherwise you’ll always be miserable even with just a little sweets, it wouldn’t get to the root of the problem. Here it is: https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/dont-waste-your-time-why-the-candida-diet-doesnt-work/
I have read the posts on that blog. I personally think it makes sense but I am not sure that GAPS heals all the time. I think the complexity is even more than that. I will share more. Thanks for sharing!!!
One more thing to ad, I do really like this book, but some bloggers are really convinced that GAPS is a cure all and I am not sure it is. I wonder if there are some sort of studies on why the GAPS diet doesn’t work on some folks and/or if it is supposed to work on everyone. Those are things I have been mulling over for awhile now. Do you have any thoughts? For example, do you know of folks who have done GAPS and feel their candida is healed? Also, the other issue is that GAPS allows for honey and I can’t imagine how someone w/ candida could do that. I really would like others to chime in here if someone has answers to this.
I’m afraid I can’t answer those questions. I do agree that it is even more complex, especially because what is right for one person may not be right for another. We are all so different when it comes to the ideal diet. It’s hard to find what works for us personally, it takes a lot of experimenting! We’ve just recently started drinking raw milk, for example, I love drinking it and love the benefits. But when I do drink it, my face becomes red and dry just an hour or two later, every time. I don’t know if I just need to get used to it maybe. Anyhow, I hope you find what works for you!
Interesting about the milk. Are you sure you aren’t allergic? Or did you read my post on rosacea? Sounds like it isn’t good for your body for some reason, huh?
I eat most dairy just fine, cheese and yogurt are staples in our house. But I think I just can’t digest milk. I don’t think it is a coincidence that my firstborn had a milk protein intolerance and I quit eating all dairy for a year just so I could breastfeed her. I read your post and I do think I have mild rosacea. It never even crossed my mind! I think milk is my biggest trigger. Do you think taking raw apple cider vinegar (diluted) would help with the digestion?
I of course can’t diagnose but I will say that we take digestive enzymes and I take HCl now for digestion. And also a Chinese Herb that appears to help. I am looking at this enzyme right now to try. We took it a long time ago and liked it.
Hi Adrienne– looking forward to reading more! My understanding with GAPS was that if one suspects candida to leave out honey and severely limit fruit and winter squash…. Did you take theresa Vernon’s Chinese herbal formula for candida?
You are likely right about that. Yes, I am taking it but you can’t take it when you are ill and I’ve had funny symptoms recently so I haven’t taken it as much recently.
Love your blog, Colleen! Just popped over and checked it out! Your photos are so intriguing!
Thanks for checking it out! I’d like to post again… Taking a break… Trying to get out of the ‘four lows’ and then out of burn out. You are amazing! Whole New Mom is wonderful.
Oh you are so welcome! I’m likely still in burnout. I need so much more healing. Thanks. Theresa thought I was out but I didn’t even ask her w/ my last test. Strange, eh??? I am so not well versed in my tests, etc. Kind of on auto pilot.
The book Nourishing Hope is by a nutritionalist and she goes through the 8-10 diets for autism and explains why some diets need a little tweeking with what the other diets have. Off the top of my head I know she covers GFCF, Body Ecology, GAPS diets. I attended a webinar she ran and she was talking about what else you can do if the GAPS diet is not completely working for you.
Interesting – thanks!
I am a loyal follower if your site and learn so much! Thank you for the post- things finally clicked! Everything is 100% what I have been struggling for years . I am at wits end. Will diet changes alone help ? Do you ever get rid of it completely? Or do you suggest supplements ? If you do – what would you recommend? I am eagerly awaiting the follow up article.
Hi Rita. I will share what I know, and I am thinking readers can share as well. I have it under control w/ diet and used supplements originally but the diet helped a ton. Are you on a good probiotic? We can talk about anti-candida supplements as well. I am no expert but boy are things different now. Stay in touch. Thanks for the kind words, by the way!
What stevia are you using? The same one that you recommend in your chocolate chip recipe? (which has maltodextrin). I can came across this article https://www.thecandidadiet.com/blog/candida-supplements-4-ingredients-to-avoid/
I am puzzled. I never recommend using that stevia mixed with powder and I just checked. The links I checked go to stevia extract that is pure. Can you help me find where this apparent link is? This is what I use.
I went to their website to check the ingrediants but looked at the wrong stevia product. Sorry for the confusion.
No worries!
This is a great post! I have been wondering a lot about candida and to see if I have it. I know some of the symptoms, and they seem to be what diabetics suffer from a lot/are more prone to. Since I am diabetic, I have been wondering about the connection, or if there really is any. Thanks so much for sharing your story.
I have heard there is a connection b/c of the body’s difficulty in managing sugar and carb metabolism. But of course, you know you shouldn’t be eating that stuff anyway, right? Pretty please tell me you are watching it :). It’s hard but you can do it!
Thanks for sharing this Adrienne, can’t wait to read the next chapter 🙂
Thanks, Alisa. Always a pleasure to hear from you. I hope to share more soon. Gotta get to my oils stuff again too. Too much to say. Maybe that’s why I blog now. 🙂
I can’t wait to hear more about this!! I am a subscriber so I will get an email when you have your next post, in case I miss it in my Facebook newsfeed. I love to hear the stories that people go through, the trials, etc. Good luck!
Thanks, Rebecca. For your comment and for subscribing. I am hoping this helps someone.
Did you ever develop oral thrush as part of the symptoms? When I was younger it was only caused by antibiotics but now anything can cause it, too much sugar or salt, taking a new vitamin or just about anything. I recently started eating using the keto method that avoids sugar and carbs pretty much but you increase your intake of cheese products. I have had the oral thrush to the point I lost my sense of taste for close to 3 weeks.
No, I never had that and neither did my kids but I am sure they have candida. From tests and experience. I don’t think having thrush is crucial at all for diagnosis. Do you still have the thrush?
The doctors always said it was a yeast infection, the main treatment is diflucan or nystatin. I haven’t had a bad instance of it since I started doing the keto eating plan but in the past it would clear up and pop back up over night. I have been referred to a doctor of infectious disease to see what they determine the cause to be. But pretty much any antibiotic sets it off almost immediately, which is what made them want me to see the infectious disease doctor because they thought I may have to go through a process to de-sensentize me on a few antibiotics.
Candida is developing resistance to those drugs and in my opinion, it is much better to treat w/ natural oils and supplements and diet b/c the yeast apparently doesn’t mutate to become resistant to those things–from what I have been reading. I avoid antibiotics at all cost as well. Is there a reason you are taking them? They destroy gut flora. You should read my post on probiotics. 🙂
I only take them when I absolutely have to, the last time was post surgery and they were giving me huge doses of them to ensure I didn’t develop an infection, that was when I lost my taste sense. I take probiotics a lot.
Gotcha. I wish they didn’t do that. I wish taking, say, oregano oil or something like that instead were an option. Maybe it is…..
Adrienne, Thanks for your reply. So you have virtually no fruits at all? For how long?
x
I had none for a looooong time. If you check out the Whole Approach site, I think they recommend no fruits at all until you are basically symptom free for 3 months. Maybe 6. I haven’t used their site for a long time. I eat lemon, lime, cranberry now.
Thank you for this. Very timley for me too! I’m 10 days free of choc and most sugar (except fruit), after finally working out that sugar has been causing some pretty horrendous health issues for me too! (50+ years in the making!)
I was just wondering about cutting fruit as well, as even that makes me look pale and feel tired, but it seems so counter-intuitive when it is so full of life! So I’ll stick to cutting all white sugar for now, just have a little honey/maple/molasses occ, keep some fruit, and see how I go.
Can’t wait to hear more from you!
xx
Most candida diets recommend no fruit but I have seem some that are OK with Granny Smith apples and berries. I never did well when I kept it in my diet. I have very small amounts very occasionally now. Vegetables seem to be more crucial to health and my practitioner says much fruit has been hybridized to be sweeter. Notice how sour fruits in nature are?
I’ve been curious about this lately. Very timely!
What sort of “die-off reactions”?
Hmmm… Increased itching. Gastrointestinal distress. Emotional difficulty. Turns out I cut too much out too fast and I don’t appear to detox well. I’ll be sharing more. Are you thinking about going sugar free? I think it’s crucial. Just there is more to the story.
Hi Adrienne, I think there is more to the story and finding the culprit too. I’m doing a allergy elimination diet and going off yeast and sugar. Have you cut out honey and carbs too? How are you doing now that you’ve been off sugar for awhile? Are you feeling better?
Hi Ali. Please tell what you are thinking about. Yes, I do feel a lot better, but I think my adrenals and thyroid and metals need work. All honey and candida-feeding sweeteners are out and most carbs. Thanks!