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 happened across this and I’m so glad that I did! I’ve recently just gotten my first Yeast Infection caused by antibiotics and no matter what I try, it just won’t seem to go away! I’ve been to the doctor and the medicine they gave me didn’t work. I’ve decided to really start taking what I eat seriously and that means no more sugar for me! Your blog has made me feel a lot more positive about this decision and excited to give it a shot! My biggest thing is that I have no idea where to start, I’ve been doing research, but I’m just not sure about what I can or even should be eating.
Hi Shay. Glad you are here too!
Sounds like a post I should write! You can do it. Pretty much you avoid all refined flours, sweeteners that feed candida, then all fruits except low glycemic ones. Limit beans to 3 cups max per day. And no moldy foods. Things like pecans and walnuts and cashews can be an issue as well.
rickiheller.com is a great resource as well. This book (affiliate link) is fabulous. https://amzn.to/1Ywt4Os
Hi, can I give you a little gold nugget of information concerning candida? 🙂
I’ve removed massive amounts of candida in my body accidentally within a week., because I tried a homemade calcium supplement. My skin cleared up and itching was gone, and energy levels were back. I was also having candida die-off symptoms too. Anyway, if you try, you will see for yourself.
My homemade (traditional) calcium supplement was like this:
1. Take a whole fresh egg, wash it with vinegar, to remove residues and the factory stamp. Rinse with water afterwards.
2. Squeeze 3-4 lemons and strain the juice into a medium mason jar.
3. Put the egg in it (the whole egg, don’t crack it).
4. Leave it in the fridge overnight. The next day, consume a tablespoon of the liquid. Swish the egg gently so that the juice mixes well with the dissolved shell.
5. Consume within 1 week, 1 tablespoon every day, and keep it in fridge.
It’s so powerful, I couldn’t believe it. After all, it’s just some lemon juice dissolving the egg shell calcium. But it’s easily absorbable.
So basically any good calcium supplement should work?
I can only stand by this traditional recipe, as this worked surprisingly well.
Did you have die-off? How did you know you lost masses of candida? Thank you.
Hello,
Good read! I’ve heard of the eggshell supplement before. Thanks!
I believe I have Candida overgrowth. It all makes sense to me even without taking the test!
Thanks and hope to see you around again and that you can deal with the candida.
Yes some fruit has been bred to be sweeter with a higher fruit content, but this is because they are fruits that live outside of the tropics and we have now adapted them to our sweet tastes (which is not a bad thing).
When humans lived in their original environments near the equator they had plenty of wild, naturally sweet fruit. Humans are natural frugivores so eating lots of fruit is perfect for us. Also NYSTATIN is as natural as they come, its from the soil originally, and is 100% recovered in fecal matter, you don’t absorb any of it (unless you have a leaky gut). The real problem is fat. When you eat fat it blocks the insulin receptors on the cells causing you to need more insulin, wearing out your pancreas leading to diabetes. It also increases your blood sugar as the sugar can’t get into the muscles to be used as quickly as it should.
There is plenty of people living off nothing but fruit (sugar!) and they are super healthy.
I haven’t met any healthy people living on a ketogenic diet. As you said yourself after cutting out all sugars your health was still crap. Try High Carb Low Fat Raw Vegan, or even easier High Carb Low Fat Cooked Vegan and you’ll be away laughing!
Hi there. I hear you, but I think that gut flora has changed so much that we are much more susceptible to the overgrowth of candida than in years past. I am also not sure about us being natural frugivores. Where do you have that information from?
I have done a lot of healing since then but still eating too many carbs doesn’t work well for me. I stick to a modified low carb diet with some healthy carbs put in mainly at lunch and dinner. You can read more here: https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/thyroid-disease-hashimotos-blood-test/ Thanks!
Great read! I, too, did not think I could give up sugar. But, it was so worth it. I was shocked to learn that my vaginal infections, stomach bloat, constipation, skin rashes, depression, anxiety, and mood swings could all be linked back yeast. It changed the entire course of my life!
I know – amazing, isn’t it how things change? I will never go back!!
you had conspitation and burning vagina, Change diet food habit kick sugar ?
Hi, I am new to this site, but wanted to express how true your statements were about how candida affects our hormones and body functions.
Minor perhaps. but you can’t itch an itch. You can only scratch an itch. If you’re publishing, you really must learn this distinction.
Thanks, Sandy. Minor oversight – the result of writing too quickly. I knew that. Sometimes my hands go faster than they should :).
I know this is going to sound rather silly but I am so glad that someone else has itchy ears! Drs thot I was crazy! I was beginning to think I was, too! Lol!
My question: Can you go sugar-free like you did while breastfeeding? I have a 7 month old girl. I have an insanely leaky gut. She gets severe exzema every time she feeds from me. I think my adrenals are shot. Probably lazy liver and kidneys. I can’t eat much of anything. Trying to work w/ wholistic dr but so expensive.
Hey there! Yes, misery loves company, eh :)? Or should I say :(. Yes you can of course lose the sugar while breastfeeding as it isn’t a necessary nutrient, however I can’t make medical claims so please check w your doc. I know, I have to say that. I so would love to help and have a lot to share …..but I am not a practitioner. There are typical things you could do. Perhaps we could arrange something via email but again, I can only share my own experiences – not prescribe.
Holy cow! My Candida questionnaire score was 220! Um, crap!!! I don’t even know where to go from here. 🙁
I should write a post on what to do. Basically reduce sugars (eliminate) and high glycemic foods and reduce starches and consider some supplements. I can’t give medical advice but I can tell you what I did if you would like help. Check out this post: https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/what-candida-is-how-to-know-if-you-have-it-and-how-to-ditch-it/
My whole family tested positive for candida using the spit test. Even my 7 year old. We don’t do antibiotics now but did in the past. Been sugar and grain free for 10 days and, honestly, it sucks. Especially for my husband and kid. Taking Thorne Formula 722, coconut oil, raw garlic, Bragg raw vinegar before every meal, a little raw honey with cinnamon (the good cinnamon), kefir, and Keybiotics. Praying we can add in some starches soon. Before we kill each other. 😉 So far my kid’s allergies seem a tiny bit better, my husband had a skin issue that seems to be improving, and my scalp itches a little less. Hoping it will help my bloating so I don’t literally look 6 months pregnant. Few headaches for me, but not seeing any other die off yet.
I just took the Candida Symptom assessment on Whole Approach, got a score of 290 🙁 I’ve been researching Candida for a while, and am sure that’s the main cause of ALL my problems, but I just don’t know where to start. Sp many different supplements and treatments, all saying they are the only way to do it. And it’s a lot of money we don’t have. If the Whole Approach wasn’t what worked for you, what did? Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Well, in a nutshell, I crashed after following their protocol. And it was bad. I am not sure why but I think it was heavy metals and adrenal issues. I did some work on ridding sugar out totally and working on the metals and adrenals and am doing better now. I am still not out of the woods but I had a friend locally who experienced the same thing. I think candida is something that expresses itself but there are other things going on as well. This is some more about the metals. https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/could-you-have-heavy-metal-poisoning-and-not-know-it-part-one/
I didn’t know fruits were bad for you with candida until my DR told me. This is the program he recommended, and it got rid of my y infection in 2 days.
Lady Soma Advance Candida Supplement
with Distilled watter (with added minerals)
organic beans
garlic
onions
ginger
avacado
olive oil
Now that I have my diet straight, I take the lady soma candida supplement, and going to the gym every day I am yeast free!