I challenge you to give up refined su... - Nutrition and Yog...

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I challenge you to give up refined sugars for a week!

WhollyAligned profile image
WhollyAlignedAdministrator
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Here is the challenge to you - ditch the refined sugar starting today for one week. Often we procrastinate and make excuses so the best way to beat the mind chatter and fear is to JUST DO IT!! Sugar is a huge contributor to disease - notice how our global consumption of this has massively increased in correlation with the obesity epidemic we now have. Obesity comes with serious co-morbidities and it now a huge cost to our health systems and our personal overall health. It triggers inflammation in the body tissues and contributes to acidity in the body and blood.

Sugar also is a party food for the bad bacteria in your gut. You need to feed the good guys in your gut which means variety, fibres and little sugar. Fruit is fine.

PLUS - it's a mood disturber - it gives you a dopamine hit at first (like any addictive substance) and then....the crash comes....urgh! Think how you feel after a night on the wine!

So in order to explore cutting these sugars out, the following have to go - you are resetting your taste buds and yes it will probably be really hard but just make your mind up. It's only a week and it doesn't have to be perfect. Just try it and see:

*pastries

*white bread - any packet bread with added sugar. in the U.S bread tastes more like cake - very bad.

*condiments such as brown sauce, tomato ketchup, mayo - any packet condiment - check the ingredients.

*Sweets, popsicles, chewing gum, ice cream, choccie bars

*Breakfast cereals - check ingredients. Most are loaded with glucose syrup or partially inverted syrups - all sugar!

*Sodas and absolutely including 'diet' sodas - there is nothing diet about them. They impact blood sugar the same way.

*Fruit juices - these often contain same amount of sugar as a can of soda. Ditch them. Vegetable juices are fine. For fruit - eat the whole fruit so you ge the fibre with it to slow the effect on blood sugar.

*white rice (cold rice like with sushi is ok as it is a resistant starch and feeds the good bacteria) Opt for small portions of brown basmati rice instead and make sure you soak it overnight first, prior to cooking, to make it more digestible. It also cooks much quicker after being soaked.

*white pasta - trial King Soba buckwheat or brown rice noodles

*squashes and fruit concentrates - in hot weather I love lime and soda but I don't have the super sweet cordial - I just have a heap of fresh lime. Delicious!

*wine and beer - oh yes (please remember I am just suggesting a week here so notice your fears and accept them and then change your habits). It does take commitment and practise but we all start somewhere. If you must have a drink, opt for spirits with soda and fresh lime.

Let me know how you get on - it's ok to find this hard. Bit by bit we change our habits.

Make your mind up! At least begin with picking just a few things from the list and notice how much sugar you might be already having day to day.

Life is sweet enough without the intensity of all those sugar hits. Recalibrate your taste buds and then see if you can have much smaller amounts of sugar after this one week.

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Zazzel profile image
Zazzel

Thanks for the post. A few questions.

1.You say white rice but ok cold in sushi. Is any type of cold rice ok?

2. What about corn? I know it's heavy carb. Since I'm also have CKD I try to limit my protein intake and veggies and fruit just don't cut it for me. I need some sort of carb to keep me going or I drop weight really quickly and don't feel good. Any suggestions?

3. What is a squash concentrate? Are you saying squash is bad? or is it some sort of juice?

4.I have tried giving up sugar and for part of the month I am fine, but when my hormones kick in, I can't think of anything, but getting my hands on some chocolate or gluten free cookies. Any suggestions for getting through that? I usually cave and go crazy for a few days. The rest of the month I really make sure I keep the sugar consumption well under the allotted 25 g a day for woman.

WhollyAligned profile image
WhollyAlignedAdministrator in reply to Zazzel

Thanks for your input.

Yes any cold rice - same with cold potatoes - both turn into a resistant starch when cooled.

I totally understand about carbs for satiety. I am not saying no carbs - I'm talking about refined sugars, the simple sugars rather than the complex sugars that are more slow releasing. So you have as options the brown basmati rice, I love proper sourdough bread which fortunately is widely available here in London, root vegetables such as roasted pumpkin and suedes/turnips in the winter months. Rye bread if you get on with rye. Oats are also great. Variety is useful so we don't start to over rely on one type of carb. Buckwheat noodles too and buckwheat crepes are really tasty. Gut bacteria enjoys variety. Roasted cauliflower is also delicious and makes a good mash too. Personally I don't eat much corn as it is used to fatten animals in farming and as such I think it adds weight more quickly. That said, a little if you enjoy it so long as it is organic.

Squash is sugared fruit juice - you might know it as cordial? You dilute it with water. Squash the vegetable is fine!

With the cravings around your cycle - tune in more to what might be the root cause of that. Our emotional health can also impact how we feel so incorporating regular deep breathing can be very helpful. It sounds like you have a good measure of consistency so don't worry too much about some sugar - just see if you can choose dark chocolate and look at recipes that are perhaps date based so still give you that hit of sweetness but also some nutrient load as well. It's normal to have a blow out every now and then! Enjoy it and don't feel guilty about it. Do note though why this pattern has developed. Important to have regular bowel movements for healthy hormone balancing.

See if you can do a week and just note what felt hard and where you can take action to embrace change. It's always an ongoing process for us all so important to be be kind to yourself as well!

Best,

Ciara

Ciara Jean Roberts

Naturopathic Nutritional Therapist, Yoga Teacher & Writer

whollyaligned.com

Twitter and IG @WhollyAligned

New book now available on the journey with my kidneys and the tools I use to keep well. Check it out here! book2look.com/book/rl3hLFjiiM

Zazzel profile image
Zazzel in reply to WhollyAligned

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply :)