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 have a very severe eczema problem on my hands. I am 21 years old and this eczema just randomly showed up on my right hand on only two fingers in May of this year. It has spread all fingers except my thumb on my right hand and now over to my left. It is so bad that it is at the point of cracking, pussing, bleeding, flaking, itching, leathering over, and starting the cycle over again.
I started a candida cleanse two weeks ago and I am not seeing any improvements. I am using essential oils on my hands to help clear them up, and I have tried SO many things!
I am eating dairy and wheat free right now. No sugar, and no fruits except for berries, green apples, lemons, limes, and grapefruit. What else can I do!? I am feeling so desperate right now.
I am not a medical practitioner, of course, but one thing I am thinking is it might be another allergy. If you search for eczema on my site there are 2 posts that talk about that. Additionally, a local friend of mine had horrible eczema on his hands. He bought Defense and pH Rescue from Native American Nutritionals and said his hands were the best they’ve ever been. The company is having free shipping today and tomorrow – you can see more about them here: https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/natural-remedies/announcing-the-best-essential-oils-company-and-a-great-sale/ Hope that helps!
I am still struggling on which sweetener I should be using to make a recipe candida-friendly. Is it best to use vegetable glycerine, xylitol or stevia? I am not even sure what the differences are betwen them.
I use all of them. Mostly xylitol, erythritol, and stevia. I wrote a post on stevia here. And here is a blend I make myself, though I might need to change it a big. I use whatever I like but typically I will cut the sugar amount in 1/2 and use xylitol for that portion and make up for the remaining sweetness w/ stevia. Hope this helps. I need to write a post on this soon :)!
Hi! In one of your recent posts you mentioned making a substitute for recipes requiring date paste. I can’t seem to find it but I do remember you mentioning using pumpkin and several other ingredients (and I can’t remember those!). Do you have a specific formula you use. I avoid most fruits, sugars, grains as I have thyroid issues and have had breast cancer (I also intensely dislike the taste of most dried sweet fruits ie: figs,, dates, raisins and bananas anyway!) I will use stevia if necessary or even a small amount of mesquite powder if a recipe calls for some sweetness. Love your posts! Keep up the good work and thank you!
I don’t have a specific recipe (yet :)!). I was thinking pumpkin or sweet potato and/or chia with sweetener mixed in. I would think even some gum or glucomannan would help w/ the texture. I’ll try to work on it as I can but I would just try making a concoction to see what you come up with for now :)! Sorry. I’ve got a bit too much going on.
I am researching the Candida diet for my son. I see you use Xylitol as a sweetener, but it is on the list of foods to avoid on the Whole Approach website. I’m confused. . .
Hi Laurie. The sweetener info is really confusing. Tarilee on WA is very picky and I appreciate that, but there are some things that I didn’t do according to plan and some things that in my own experience and research that I think might be incorrect. (By the way, I think she is amazing so this is not meant to discredit her at all). I think that xylitol is a good option and so is erythritol. We have heard that you can work yourself up to tolerance of xylitol if you have digestive upset from it. I still wonder some times, but for my family and our budget, we use it. There has been a lot published about xylitol that is negative that just is not true and I hope to write a post about it soon. In the meantime, you could also try yacon, vegetable glycerine, etc to round out your sweetener options.
One good example of where I differ from Tarilee is my thoughts about fermented foods. I thought for years that I couldn’t tolerate them, but if you read my post on Why I Don’t Have Fermented Foods on My Blog, you will find out that it turns out that I wasn’t.
Oh how familiar your story is! Mine is nearly identical except I never worked at an ice cream shop. LOL. I’ve tried GAPS – but still ate honey and fruit like a crazy person. So now I am on day 9 of a candida cleanse – I’m convinced I may have to eat this way forever! I cut out all that you mentioned above, and I’m doing some high powered herbs from my local enzyme specialist. Die off really does suck… It’s so hard, but I keep telling myself it will be worth it. Thanks for sharing!
Welcome, Carly. Yup – don’t try the ice cream store. What a disaster! You might be interested in the candida course that is mentioned in this post. Take care and hope to see you around again–maybe in the class :).
Thanks! 🙂 I looked up the info on the stevia and liked what I saw. Many reviewers said it didn’t have any bitterness or aftertaste and that is exactly why I haven’t liked the stevia I’ve tried before, so I think I will like this one. I will have to look up the info about the xylitol too. One word of caution to pet owners, xylitol is toxic to cats (I don’t know about dogs though.) Stevia I’m not sure about, but I would keep it away from pets to be safe.
Xylitol is toxic to dogs, but so are raisins and chocolate, so there are several things to think about regarding pets. Take care! I don’t think stevia is toxic to them – not that I have heard.
Hi Adrienne, can you tell me where you get your sweeteners from? I’ve tried Xylitol before and liked the taste, but the kind I bought turned out to be highly processed and had sucralose in it (which I can’t have, instant migraine). I’ve had Stevia before as well, but didn’t like the after taste it left. But that could have been the brand I was using. I am trying to get off the sugar because I am addicted to it. (at least it feels that way!) Though I highly suspect I have candida as well… Thanks for all the good info you have posted!
Thanks for writing! I get xylitol from several places. One is from a place that sells bulk (Global Sweet). As for stevia, the info on stevia is in a lot of my posts, one of them is this Bean Fudge post. That’s the only brand I use at present. Hope that helps!
I just read this article. I scored a 125. What 125?! In the above post you say there is more to your story as you were on the Candida Diet and still had health problems. I am looking forward to that article or if it is somewhere on the site already please post a link for us who are relatively new.
125?! OMG
I think I was in the 300’s. You are waaaay better. Did you read my fermented foods post from yesterday? Hang with me — it will all come together. I am not totally healed but things are so much better.
We are doing GAPS right now to try and help me with Candida. I was frustrated because I thought I had a gazillion unrelated things so searching Candida really was nice to know the ear infections, itching, joint pain (in past), food intolerances, anxiety, and /extreme/ fatigue, headaches, chronic cough ect. was all potentially connected. I think my daughter has it too and is THRIVING on GAPS. I took the test and got 465… but it has been a really bad day so I might have over estimated a few things.
I also took the spit test and “soared” I might be going lower carb after baby is born but I was recommended not to right now.
HI Debra. I am considering GAPS for myself and my son…..problem is the broth and other things. My son detests broth (kind of like a phobia) and he is deathly allergic to egg whites and dairy and most nuts. And w/ the candida I fear we cannot tolerate honey. I would need to use the sweeteners that they forbid. Can you tell me how it is going w/ you? I would love to check into this further, or maybe we need to look at SCD instead. Thanks!
We are in the midst of a candida diet, and what a ride. My wife and I have never had a serious weight problem, so we believed falsely that you could eat whatever you wanted…my wife would eat an ice cream sandwich and soda for lunch, and because she was skinny she didn’t think it was a problem…
We are seeing changes, very slowly, but changes, and it is mostly good, thanks for the info and the encouragement…can’t wait to look more at your blog.
Thanks for commenting and welcome. I know what you mean about being skinny. I used to be that way and I have friends who are as well. Cute, thin and eating loads of sugar…or not loads, but just sugar. It’s a big problem. Hope you continue to heal.