giving up sugar

[kunoichi2003]

Ok, so I have decided to give up processed sugar and sugar alternatives. So my question is what in the world can I eat? I went to the grocery store and almost everything has some amount of sugar in it. Right now I am sticking to fruits, veggies and meat. Also, is it bad to just stop eating sugar cold turky?

kunoichi

[doc]

It's not bad. It's just difficult.

You'll find sugars of various types in most foods. Problem is, with the American diet, there are far too many sugars available in our processed foods. When you live in Asia, and then come back here, you really notice the difference, not only in the food, but in how you feel after a while.

Remember, there are important organs, such as the brain, the rely upon glucose for energy production. Becoming a pure vegan is probably not the best thing for one to do healthwise.

You might want to read this post for more information:

http://www.russbo.org/vb/showpost.php?p=16851&postcount=3

[master splinter]

they say you can eat whatever you want as long as you exercise.

i wouldnt worry too much about real sugar, but that fake splenda sucralose shit has got to be a carcinogen, i heard that there is no known organismthat can digest it.

[kunoichi2003]

Thanks doc, I will have to find some time to read through the whole thing. I'm not giving up processed sugar for any health reasons, and I'm definatly not planing on becoming a vegan. (I like steak to much) I just don't like the fact that I'm addicted to the stuff, and I like to challange myself. I haven't any processed sugar in 2 days and so far I feel pretty good.

k.

[doc]

Everything in moderation. It's a good rule to follow.

Except, when it comes to Hostess Ding Dongs, chocolate chip cookies..

[skittalion]

You can eat honey, agave nectar, dates, date sugar, brown sugar (in moderation) and possibly pure cane juice. Stay away from table sugar and read labels and cook your own food if you are serious.

If you really want to be healthy give up white bread products with sugar in them.

I've done this before and felt great (I was also exercising about 6 hours a day 4 days a week at the time)

Shopping will be harder at first because of all the label reading, but then get easier because of limited options.

You can't eat ketchup but can substitute salsa
You can't eat white bread and check your peanut butter
Watch out for tv dinners
Stuff you never thought had sugar in it does

Once you give it up you won't crave it, although you'll probably cave to chocolate once in awhile

There's a nutritionist/herbalist in NY City who can probably tell you everything you need to know if you call her. She runs Angelica's Herbal Hygene (I think that's the name, you can look her up on google maps.) She's seriously amazing and can answer almost any questions you have.

You can't eat chinese food at buffets if you want to give up sugar.

Also, most indian food and real asian food is good. Most things from a steakhouse are good too.

[doc]

Just be aware that honey generally contains Clostridium Botulinum spores and toxins, something which generally doesn't bother adults, but can be deadly if given to infants (under the age of 12 months). Botulism can be a fatal neuromuscular paralyzing disease if not treated early and appropriately.

I usually stick with "sugar in the raw".

Sounds sexy.

[dogchow108]

Doc, your post and the one before it were interesting.

what are your thoughts on un-processed honey?

Example:

http://www.reallyrawhoney.com/

I've been using honey as an alternative for direct sugar consumption for a number of years now and so far so good as far as I can tell.

[onesp1ng]

from my experience many of the western chain style chinese buffet joints add sugar, butter, etc. they do this, admittedly - as i've been told - because american's like it better that way.

in asia such ingredients are rarely used, but msg can still be found in most dishes.

[doc]

Processed honey and raw honey contain Clostridium Botulinum spores and toxins. It's generally not a problem in adults; it tends to be an issue in infants under the age of 12 months (mostly under the age of 6 months) because their intestines are not yet fully inhabited by bacteria, and they tend to have anaerobic environments in their guts. However, the clostridial toxins, which cause the neuromuscular paralysis, are still present in honey. Temperatures of 80 C for five minutes will destroy the toxins (the spores can tolerate heat over 100 C: 120 C is necessary to kill spores). Assuming that processed honey is heated above 80 C, most of the toxins are destroyed, making it relatively safer. Raw honey is not heated.

With that said, I'm not aware of any case reports where adults came down with botulism from raw honey, but that does not mean that it hasn't happened, or is not possible. It is thought that the type B Botulism spores and toxins are more prevalent in raw honey. It would depend on the batch of raw honey and where it came from (California being the most prevalent botulism state). Then again, you can get botulism from many other foods. Remember, the cap on the top of canning jars with the little dimple was put there for a reason: if it pops up, then there is an anaerobic bacteria within forming gas.

Adults tend to be more protected against these spores because their guts have more gas, more oxygen (from swallowed air) and other bacterial flora which prevent overgrowth of the botulinum spores. Immunocompromised people, and people on some antibiotics, can have alterations in their gut which can make the conditions more ripe for botulinum spores to prosper, and subsequently cause issues.

Basically, if you're healthy, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

[doc]

from my experience many of the western chain style chinese buffet joints add sugar, butter, etc. they do this, admittedly - as i've been told - because american's like it better that way.

in asia such ingredients are rarely used, but msg can still be found in most dishes.

They also tend to use a hell of a lot more MSG than you find in mainland China.