posted
I have read a lot about how sugar is so bad for us. WHY? Some say it's the yeast thing. Others speculate that it feeds the lyme? I'm just curious which it is? Does sugar cause inflammation? How do you feel when you stop consuming it? Any different? I'm having a hard time avoiding it.
Posts: 144 | From Pennsylvania | Registered: Jan 2011
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posted
If you're having a hard time getting off of it.. then you could very well have a case of yeast. Having candida/yeast makes you crave sugar.
If you can have non-sugary snacks ready to go .. and remove sugary snacks from your home .. You have a fighting chance!!
Once you go off of it for a few weeks (at least 2) then you won't crave it as badly. Watch out for white foods also since they turn into sugar.
Some say sugar feeds keets.. not sure it's been proven. All I know is that it FOR SURE feeds yeast. And having yeast will keep you from getting well. It will also keep you from KNOWING WHEN YOU ARE WELL.
So many of the yeast symptoms are like the Lyme symptoms.
Yes, sugar causes inflammation.
Taking good probiotics should help protect you against yeast. But if you already have it... then you need to get something to TREAT it and get rid of it.
posted
Thanks for the reply. My doctor has me taking 1 pill of diflucan once a week. I will look into the supplements you suggested.
Posts: 144 | From Pennsylvania | Registered: Jan 2011
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Dekrator48
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 18239
posted
I can tell you that eating sugar or high fructose corn syrup makes my pain much, much worse.
-------------------- The fibromyalgia I've had for 32 years was an undiagnosed Lyme symptom.
"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future". -Jeremiah 29:11 Posts: 6076 | From Pennsylvania, USA | Registered: Nov 2008
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Dawn in VA
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9693
posted
In general, high spikes of sugar are known to compromise one's immune system. Slow-release forms of naturally-occurring sugars (like in onions, some fruits, etc.) are OK b/c they don't "spike" the levels. DEFINITELY avoid fructose in any form, while glucose isn't as bad (glucose is the direct molecular form our cells rely on; fructose is not).
Also agree with those above regarding yeasties and inflammatory proceses.
-------------------- (The ole disclaimer: I'm not a doctor.) Posts: 1349 | From VA | Registered: Jul 2006
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bcb1200
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 25745
posted
I don't now if it's the Nystatin that I'm on, the GSE, Oil of O, or the 200B probiotics I take a day..but I find that I can cheat and have flour / sugar once or twice a week and I haven't had problems thus far (feel pretty good most days, actually.)
knocking on wood.
-------------------- Bite date ? 2/10 symptoms began 5/10 dx'd, after 3 months numerous test and doctors
IgM Igenex +/CDC + + 23/25, 30, 31, 34, 41, 83/93
Currently on:
Currently at around 95% +/- most days. Posts: 3139 | From Massachusetts | Registered: May 2010
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quote:Originally posted by sandim: Thanks for the reply. My doctor has me taking 1 pill of diflucan once a week. I will look into the supplements you suggested.
- Consider asking him for one a day for a few weeks and see if you can get this under control. Continue the diet while on abx!
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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nefferdun
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 20157
posted
Sugar is not even a natural food. Read about how it is produced.
I avoid it completely as well as white four and anything else that is processed or refined. You can learn to bake comfort food with nutritious ingredients.
I use a very small amount of honey or maple syrup. I just had plain yogurt with blueberries and a teaspoon of maple syrup. Good and good for you.
I bake, substituting almond flour and/or ground flax for some wheat flour. This greatly lowers the carb content. I am ok with gluten so I use whole wheat pastry flour.
I add a lot of nuts to everything I make which adds good fats and protein, and slows down the digestion of the carbs. I also use a lot of seeds like sunflower and pumpkin.
I eat fresh fruit. These things can satisfy your cravings for something sweet. They are full of nutrients so you never have to feel guilty.
In the past when I went on a binge around Christmas time, I always got very sick. As my adult son was recently diagnosed with diabetes I have to consider him when I am planning something festive.
It was recently his birthday and he complained that he was craving chocolate. So I made the rare exception chocolate cake with whole wheat pastry flour, ground flax, coconut oil, cocoa and just enough honey to take the edge off the bitter chocolate.
I cut the sugar called for in the recipe to one quarter substituting honey. Even he can eat this on occasion, if he exercises afterward. It has less sugar than a cup of orange juice.
So there are ways. You just have to be inventive and adaptable.
-------------------- old joke: idiopathic means the patient is pathological and the the doctor is an idiot Posts: 4676 | From western Montana | Registered: Apr 2009
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posted
I posted this before but the best thing I found to break my sugar cravings was a tip from the book "Sugar Busters" and that was to eat some nuts or nut butters when you start getting sugar cravings. I put low fat peanut butter or almond butter on a couple of rice crackers and it works for me is all I can say.
Sugar is very addictive with this disease.
Posts: 805 | From Utopia | Registered: Feb 2006
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lpkayak
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5230
posted
sugar gives me pain. when top tihave less pain. i only takes me 3 days to stop the ravings tho...maybe cuz mostly i don't do it...but after holidays an tuf i somimes i ar
i cook a lot like neff and jar
i also use agave...it just takes a little---is that bad??
and i usually cut any sugar in recipe to 1/3 -1/4 but i use the agave or sucranat...it is sugar with the stem chopped up too
i also buy frozen berries and stew them and add a little agave and use that for the jelly with my almond butter
-------------------- Lyme? Its complicated. Educate yourself. Posts: 13712 | From new england | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
I was seriously addicted but realized my body was not going to let me continue to eat sugar without problems of pain and yeast. I know diet soda isn't good for you but I had to. And I highly recommend Extra Dessert Delights gums- they are what has kept me from sugar- the taste is amazing!
Posts: 96 | From Missouri | Registered: Oct 2010
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chiquita incognita
Unregistered
posted
To cut sugar craves:
Fish oil capsules, about 2 gm daily. This helps to raise leptin in the brain, a brain chemical which says "I have eaten enough now!" Then sugar craves go down. I Read about this on a herbalist's website whose husband is an ND specializing in sports nutrition. It really works for me.
I have sugar craves and if I have my fish oils, the craves are about 1%, background. If I don't, then I die of craves and they get the better of me.
I agree with the info about snacking on proteins (not fats) because according to my NP, this raises serotonin in the brain. SOmetimes when we crave sugar it is actually the serotonin lift our body is asking us for. Sugar raises it temporarily only to crash later. Protein snacks really can help, I have had that help me too in the past.
Vegetable sticks with dips can help too. The fiber can cut the crave, because it absorbs excess blood sugar. I read about this in our Kaiser self-care book. "Skillful not willful" they say. Smart!
Nutritionist and therapist Julia Ross writes in her book The Diet Cure that sugar (and any addictive crave, including alchohol and drugs) is *not* emotional. It's physical. She says that when we have the right neurotransmitters in the brain, we feel as if we are buffered and blanketed from the hardships of life, and therefore craves go away. Amino acid therapy, with specific aminos for specific craves at specified dosages (see the book), get rid of the craves. I have talked to people with alchohol craves who said this really worked for them. I am assuming it helps with sugar craves too. ( I have never had a drug or alchohol problem myself, luckily for me. I feel sorry for people that do suffer with this disease). CAUTION: Don't mix amino acids with SSRI's or other mood altering drugs except under a doctor's supervision. Certain aminos can raise serotonin and excess is not a good thing to have, can at times even be hazardous.
No, agave is not a good thing though it sure tastes yummy. It is higher in fructose than high fructose corn syrup, writes Dr Joseph Mercola (and I don' t care what the critics may say. I disagree with them. Dr Mercola was sticking his neck out if anything, not having anything to gain in profits by writing about this. He created a controversial stir and continues to do so, if only to protect human health. I applaud him). Fructose is hard on the liver and does ultimately contribute to blood sugar imbalance, according to him.
Small amounts of agave should not be hurtful, says my acupuncturist. Caution is advised in liver disease or collitis, however, because fructose can be hard on the liver and agave is also hard on the digestive lining. It also strips the body of vitamin K and copper, writes Dr Page in her book above. Moderation is important. Agave will definitely feed yeast.
As for sugar, it inhibits immunity and according to Linda Rector PageND in her book Healthy Healing, leaves an acid ash residue in the body which contributes to inflammation.
Stevia may aid blood sugar balance and is the best way to go (but not the tastiest, I hate the stuff!) Stevia is actually anti-fungal.
Paul Pitchford writes in his book Healing with Whole Foods that molasses may be tolerated by hypoglycemics (not diabetics) and is easier on your blood sugar curve than other sweeteners, except stevia. HOwever molasses will contribute to yeast disorders.
Best wishes, CI
The above information has not been evaluated by the FDA and does not diagnose, cure or prevent any disease. This is not medical advice, talk to your doctor.
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posted
Well I made I through my 2nd day of no sugar. I must say I'm pretty hungry. Today I'm having some itching in my female area. Could this be a yeast infection? Or a sign of eliminating sugar? I took my diflucan today.
Posts: 144 | From Pennsylvania | Registered: Jan 2011
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posted
I only have 8 pills left and I'm no longer seeing my doctor. Waiting to see Dr. C. Hopefully that will be enough. Lymetoo I noticed we have a similar symptom, ic. I always thought some infection started my issues.
Posts: 144 | From Pennsylvania | Registered: Jan 2011
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chiquita incognita
Unregistered
posted
Thanks for the recommendation about the stevia, Lymetoo! Impressive that you are off all sweeteners, wow! You are inspiring me. That's where this forum is wonderful, we all inspire each other. Love it! Thanks for this! Best, CI
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I am not good with experimenting and substituting at all, I need recipes for everything. I just bought the "Recipes for Repair, A Lyme Disease Cookbook".
I haven't made anything yet, but the recipes sound delicious and I am looking fwd to making them. Also, I have to get a lot of ingredients (mostly a variety of flours). (She uses agave in some of the recipes.)
Btw, I found coconut oil helps me with my craving for sweets. Unfortunately, I still snack on junk food. Mostly because I don't know what else to eat and I am too tired to cook. I buy in carrots and other veggies to munch on, but don't.
I don't think I am addicted to sugar any longer, but it sure tastes good and I am mad that I have to avoid it.
posted
Sandy... My IC is mostly gone with Lyme treatment!
CI .. I began reacting to stevia also .. so had to stop for several months. It was easier than I thought! I added a bit to my tea the other day and I was OK.. BUT.. I preferred the taste of NO sweetener! Who would have thought!??
j_liz.. here's a shocker.. sugar alcohols also feed yeast. I found out the hard way!
Flours = yeast
sigh
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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posted
Even almond, oat, brown rice, tapioca, millet, potato, spelt, semolina, coconut flour? If so, I feel I don't have any hope at all. Why make the effort (and everything takes effort for me)?
Sugars in recipe book - agave,honey,maple syrup,sorbitol, xylitol. So, I guess same goes here. Posts: 472 | From NJ | Registered: May 2009
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chiquita incognita
Unregistered
posted
JLiz:
Nut flours will not feed yeast. Tapioca and potato are both starches, and probably will feed it.
HOwever I think there has to be a balance in this yeast act. A person can go crazy trying to be perfect. If the infection is not severe or disabling, I think it's important to give ourselves treats once in a while. Moderation shouldn't be a problem with moderate or low-grade infections, it's the ongoing habit that is the problem.
But of course, the proof is in the pudding, listen to the body's responses and honor its signals, no matter what is written on paper.
I like Nefferdun's idea of using ground nuts to substitute for part of the flour, that would cut down the Candida issue too.
I posted a thread to the General Support section: Please Post your Gluten-Free recipes! A lot of people posted a lot of great ideas. One lady, Daisy, posted something at the bottom of the thread that sounds like professional bakery quality, I told her she should write a cookbook. Check it out.
quote:Originally posted by j_liz: Even almond, oat, brown rice, tapioca, millet, potato, spelt, semolina, coconut flour? If so, I feel I don't have any hope at all. Why make the effort (and everything takes effort for me)?
Sugars in recipe book - agave,honey,maple syrup,sorbitol, xylitol. So, I guess same goes here.
- CI is right .. nut flours are OK .. but I do better off most carbs, period... at least for now.
All of the above sweeteners can grow yeast. Stevia is best.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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posted
Thanks again for the info. Not as hungry anymore, but extremely tired and foggy. Is this normal after giving up sugar and carbs?
Posts: 144 | From Pennsylvania | Registered: Jan 2011
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jackie51
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 14233
posted
No sugar/no gluten--I'm on day 7. Was very tired day 3 & 4. Had bad headache day 6.
Much better today. Even starting to feel normal again, whatever that is.
Posts: 1374 | From Crazy Town | Registered: Dec 2007
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posted
Right... you will feel a little tired when going off sugar. Part of it is that sugar gives us a high. And carbs in general give us a boost in energy.
Good job, apljack and sandi!! woo hoo!!
I feel so much better when I can get off that sugar! I'm also finding that going off grains is better for me. I'm gluten free, but I actually feel better being grain-free too. Hard to do for long periods of time though!
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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