I am doing an experiment on not consuming sugar to hopefully not get diabetes in the future and to overcome some annoying issues. What happens when you stop consuming sugar? This post is about my no-sugar experiment.

That Sugar Film

To do a No-Sugar experiment has been in the back of my head since I have seen ‘That sugar film’. It shows what happens to your body when you eat too much sugar or products with hidden sugars and has inspired many many people to start to consume less sugar. Damon Gameau is the maker of the documentary.

Why do a no-sugar Experiment

Diabetes

When I met my new doctor he suggested to do a blood test as I had turned 50. I thought that was a good idea, as I was feeling healthy, and having something to compare to in case I do not feel healthy another time. The results told me it was all fine, however the number on what tells you that you might have to be careful for not getting diabetes (HBAlc) was on the high side. Not high enough for the doctor to talk about it to me. But it made me think of my re had relatives with diabetes. Also that I need to eat in time otherwise I might get dizzy, lose all energy, and get grumpy, which are signs of a blood sugar level that goes up and down too fast, and makes me crave for sugary foods and drinks.

Annoying issues

I started reading about low sugar diets and watching some videos about vloggers who did a set time with no-sugar. There I heard about candida. This is a fungal that grows in everyones body I understand. If you get an candida overgrowth it can cause issues of all kind. You can measure it but I didn’t do any tests as I believe it is good to consume less sugar anyway. I don’t know whether I have overgrowth or not.

Some issues that I have and could be caused by candida are; dandruff, eczema, anxiety, bloating, itchy ears, itchy skin.

As a result of being inspired by the movie, my genes, my issues and the candida theory I designed my No-Sugar Experiment.

My no-sugar experiment regime

In short my diet is now as following; Low GI, processed sugar free, avoiding all processed foods, mostly green leaf vegetables or broccoli for vegetables, meat/fish/eggs/nuts for protein.

What I am consuming very little/not

• Products with sugar in it, such as bought tomato sauce, dressings. Check all the different names it is hiding under here.
• Sugary or alcoholic drinks
• Mushrooms
• Processed meat

What I am eating in limited amounts

• I eat about 2 pieces of fruit a day. Preferably the ones that are lower in sugar, and no citrus fruits. (As orange juice gives me cramp and it can cause eczema I had already figured out during a diet that I followed when hoping to stop my eczema)
• Products with yeast; only 2 slices of home baked sour dough wholemeal bread
• Low GI grains: oats for breakfast, brown rice, whole meal bread.
• Cheese, yoghurt and milk
• Starchy vegetables
• Night shade vegetables ( tomatoes, egg plant, capsicum)
• Nuts ( no peanuts or pistachio as they are high in mold = fungus)

What I can consume unlimited

• Meat
• Green leave vegetables
• Herbal tea, water

Candida diet stages and supplements

Stages

There is a lot of useful information about candida on this ( click here) website. You can read information that explain the choices I made such a:

• Taking it slowly to minimise Candida Die-Off effects
• Use probiotics to regenerating good gut bacteria
• Introducing low GI foods slowly

Supplements

I try to eat supplements in the real food form. E.g. banana for potassium. Other fruits for vitamin C. Yoghurt for probiotics. Go into the sun for vitamin D. Iron intake from meat, green leaf vegetables and fruit.

• Coconut oil
• Cinnamon
• Fresh garlic
• Fresh ginger
• Apple cider vinegar

I take fish oil for my skin and joint health, zinc because it is not in the New Zealand soil. Probiotics while adjusting to less candida fungus and hopefully overtake them with healthy fungus. If the fruits I consume are not high in vitamin C I take a vitamin tablet.

Rest and Relax

I read everywhere that you need to take enough rest and keep stress low if possible. I usually sleep very well for 8 hours a night and I have little stress in my life. As I have those factors covered it should help me to adjust to the new diet soon.

What happened when I did the no-sugar experiment?

First week

I did not have much cravings from day 3 on. Bloating went away. One night of very light sleep and a few hours of dizziness following. A bout of anxiety that lasted only a few hours.

If you stop eating all sugars and carbohydrates you can get bad candida die of. I will be careful not to overdo as I am worried about eczema coming up especially. Now and then I have for example a little piece of cake (gave me a stomach cramp) and of course the carbohydrates.

It looks like I lost weight, but that could just be having a not bloated stomach. Anyway, a good reason to make sure I take in enough healthy calories to make up for the sugar. A good reason to keep myself reminding to eat enough carbohydrates ( bread, rice, oats), meat/ eggs/ nuts and coconut oil.

Second week

No craving for sugar, biscuits or chocolate. Sometimes coconut oil or vinegar water makes me feel nauseous. This happened only one time badly, since then I reduced the amount of vinegar and oil.

Third week

A day of craving now and then, but not very strong. A little of eczema came up. But possibly from the tea tree/coconut scalp mask ( with my hands where the eczema is) . I had this mask in the hope to stop fungus overgrowth on my head. My scalp is not itchy after the mask. The eczema could be candida die-off I conclude. The rest of the candida fighting hard to stay in the race. Thankfully my silver creme helps to stop it itch.

Support during the no-sugar experiment

With a diet like this it takes a long time before you figure out what it is what you are sensitive for. Because the diet has a smaller variety of food items it is possible to figure out what you should not eat or drink. But it is still hard I find because the reaction on a food does not always happen immediately. In my case, when I drink wine I usually feel an itch/cramp in my inner ears immediately, but eczema takes a while before it flares up.

Sometimes I get unsure whether something is good or bad. I then look for support on a facebook group for people who are doing the candida diet. By reading through the comments you get ideas, reminders of what to do and what not, and you know that you are not the only one trying hard. You can ask questions in a supportive environment, which is really nice as the chance is high that your friends are not interested in those issues.

Conclusion

Conclusion

The result of eating less sugar:

• a more stable, positive,calm mood, less anxiety
• less sugar cravings
• no need to eat snacks in between meals
• no itchy skin, dandruft, and no eczema

That is alot of gain. I started having hot flushes that wake me up during the night. I believe no sugar and cafeineafter 3pm help me sleep better. haveI settled on eating less sugar;

• less fruits and other foods with natural sugars in them
• very little alcohol max 1 drink a day, max 2 a week
• Because I started waking up with hot flushes I only have (refined) sugar before 3pm. I believe this helps to get a better sleep
• I only eat dark chocolate ( less sugar), and drink cafeinated drinks also before 3pm