Serious about going sugar free

[blinc]

Hi all, my head has been dreadful lately, also my neck, & pain in my back, legs, whole body at times, & even a new symptom where exactly half my face & scalp stung one day (a quick google suggested without doubt 'allodynia' - never heard of this before). I am otherwise a healthy & active 51 year old, but have been feeling like an old lady of late. Anyway, I am on day 3 of a really serious refined sugar & processed food detox (AGAIN), but I'm so fed up with feeling like this so frequently, that I feel very determined to give this a proper go. Very early days & I could well be in the start a 'good' run anyway, but so far so good, feel very sharp, clear headed, fighting fit. I'm eating a delicious plant based diet (just bought The Green Roasting Tin cookbook - brilliant), am learning to satisfy my v sweet tooth with dates, apples etc. I thought I had to crack this before a potentially miserable & out of control Christmas. I will keep you posted (anyone else had results with eliminating refined sugar?) - for me it will have to be 'cold turkey', as I can't do moderation with sweet stuff!

[bamboo89]

I did notice a difference when I switched to a whole food plant based diet - I am still somewhat 'flexitarian' because I eat meat (never chicken or beef) about once a month, and oily fish about once a fortnight. Changing my diet meant including beans, nuts and legumes, and tons of veg/fruit, as well as cutting out meat, eggs, dairy and fish initially, and I found out that it was dairy (especially cheese) that was causing my aura migraine, so I don't have any dairy still, even after 2 years, other than a little butter occasionally. I don't eat whole eggs either, though there may be egg in a cake or something.

I think the way to do it is not to think about what you're doing as a 'detox' or a temporary thing, but a change of lifestyle in terms of diet, permanently. If you initially cut out all refined and added sugars, its obvious you won't ever eat any of that for the rest of your life, no one can stick to that, so after the initial 'cold turkey' of none at all, allow yourself a very occasional treat, like maybe a cake or a chocolate bar. How often is up to you - once a week, once a fortnight, whatever. If you don't do that, you will inevitably have a weak moment or three and give in and eat sugary stuff all day... I know, I've been there! A whole box of donuts is never a good idea... but its what happens when we overdo the disciplined, determined and rigid approach. Accepting that you will allow yourself something sweet occasionally makes it easier to cope with the idea that you're not eating anything you like whenever you like, and have chosen to be in control of what you put in your mouth. Think of it this way - when we stuff ourselves with sugary things or unhealthy foods, we're letting our inner child take over; when we choose to moderate what we eat, that's the internal adult in charge. And an adult who's a parent in real life that's taking a rigid, authoritarian and disciplinarian approach with a child will find it doesn't lead to a good place...you either get one miserable child, or a rebellious uncontrollable one, so some understanding and kindness is essential too. Same applies to what's in your own head... there's an adult and a child in there too, so give the kid some wiggle room😊

If you mostly stick to whole foods you've prepared yourself, you won't be eating all the added sugars and rubbish added to pre prepared and processed foods, which is a massive step in the right direction in terms of reducing sugar intake. That means that the occasional sweet treat is more doable, so long as its occasional, which can be hard, because sugar is addictive for some of us (me included). I might buy a single cake occasionally, but never a packet of biscuits/cookies, or a box of cakes, or a large cake, or a whole pack of chocolate bars, I buy just one, because otherwise, if they're in the house, I'll just eat them all in one day... I do make my own apple cake though, and in that, I only use 1 oz of sugar instead of 4, and add 1 oz of ground almonds to the mix (which taste sweet) and about an ounce of date sugar instead, which makes it somewhat less unhealthy, even if I eat half of it in a day!

If you stick to a healthy diet, you may just find out that some of your symptoms improve or even disappear, as I did with the dairy connection... you may also be able to connect up the dots, so to speak, in terms of some foods causing more body pain than others (like tomatoes or potatoes causing a flare up of arthritis in some people - in my case, its citrus, so I limit that). Sugar's not the only suspect for body pain...

Good luck

Miriam

[blinc in reply to bamboo89]

Hi Miriam, thank you for your thorough, kind & thoughtful reply which I really appreciated. You are so right, if I am too rigid, I could end up feeling very resentful & fed up & it could all fail. Interestingly at the moment, I am feeling very satisfied & am enjoying delicious food. Fortunately I love all the wholesome stuff too. I will feed back in a month or so

[bamboo89 in reply to blinc]

Well, thanks to you too - never heard of the Green Roasting Tin, just checked it out and ordered a copy off Amazon for £7... I've been given three or four Vegan cookbooks, but I'm not really vegan as such - whole food plant based is not quite the same as vegan (cos they eat less healthy food too, like sugar, white bread, white pasta, white rice...) and I also find a lot of the recipes are right fiddly, with several steps to the finished meal, and honestly, I like quick or easy cooking, so this book looks to be good for me!

[blinc in reply to bamboo89]

Oh great - the book's brill! Yes agree, 'whole food plant based' is the way to go, I reckon! Hope you get on well with it

[Kathybishop]

Yes same here on and off a plant based diet. ! A very healthy all nutrient and mineral inclusive plant based diet helps - I think!! I love sugar too but try only to eat fruits dates etc. Still get regular migraines but it’s the pain levels I’m more interested in. Last month I managed with coffee and ice 🛀! 😬 This month I needed analgesia ! It’s a never ending battle!!

[blinc in reply to Kathybishop]

Thanks Kathy - yes, I think it's also important to remember pain levels; it's a break-through if just ibuprofen or 1 triptan can shift a corker! I'll try the coffee & ice one - like the sound of that

[designer111]

Hi, I went full on sugar free this summer for a month following the book 'The Migraine Miracle' by Josh Turknett. You go cold turkey for the month and then gradually bring it back in. My first month I was ok for a week or two (I get migraines weekly) and then got a lot after my body struggled with the change of diet. I took every bit of sugar out of my diet which was extremely difficult during the heatwave, no ice creams, lollies of soft drinks. Was so hard! I was constantly hungry and looked for things to eat ... fruit and dates like you say but lots of people will say they contain a lot sugars, I had berries (more nutritionally dense than other sweet sugary fruits) with greek yoghurt, chunks of cheese, nuts as snacks. I could not have ketchup with my dinner or mayo with my salads. I drank only water and had tea without sugar (tasted disgusting). It was really rough.

I went medication free too so spent a lot of my summer in bed ill. Was so awful.

I have definitely cut out a lot of sugar since gradually bringing it back.

I went 15 days without one after that month, may sound OK-ish, but it is just not sustainable for me.

I did not notice my skin got better, no more energy, no weight loss. Nothing!

But I do hope it works for others!

[ACritical in reply to designer111]

It’s not that sugar gives you headaches it’s more that the craving for sugary things will be a warning a migraine is coming. Too much sugar is not good for anyone as we know, but replace it by Honeycomb, and unrefined sugar also in smaller amounts and you will find a difference in the frequency of your headaches, it did with me. My triggers are natural lemon , orange, anything citric like gooseberry for instance and then citric acid as well as ascorbic acid used in all ready made food. Also MSG and Mono- and diglycerides. Since I watch what I buy, the headaches have reduced enormously in frequency as in severity and duration.

[blinc in reply to ACritical]

Your comment has prompted me to do a little google on soy products - I drink soya milk all the time & eat tonnes of food with commercial soy sauce bought from the supermarket - I'll send out a general post

[designer111 in reply to ACritical]

I don't have sugar cravings before an attack and as I said reducing sugar intake did not make a difference

[blinc in reply to designer111]

Thanks for your feedback - it's soul -destroying when we hope for a 'miracle cure' & try so hard. As others have said, it may be a combination of factors, & also a question of trying to at least lessen the frequency & intensity when we get one....as Kathybishop says, it's a never ending battle

[Yolzyyy]

Does that mean no honey either?

[blinc]

I must admit I like a little reliably sourced honey in moderation