Sugar Addiction

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Permalink Reply by Raw Action on March 15, 2010 at 2:16pm

I always take reports with such sensationalist lead-ins with a pinch of (pink himlayan) salt; comparing fructose with cocaine, in any context sounds a bit ridiculous to me!

My view is that whole foods were put on the earth is already edible form, for human and animal consumption. As such it is down to the individual to decide what is best for them. Excuse me if I'm sounding like a 'nutritional relativist' :-)

All the best, and I hope all is well with you.

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Permalink Reply by dana on March 19, 2010 at 6:26pm

hi there .. i too have always has a sweet tooth and through the process of streamlining and cleaning my diet -- i am a vegan who eats high raw -- ie. about 85 percent --- I had eliminated all sweets and sugar, including agave syrup, apart from fruit ... and i was consuming about 6 to 10 servings of fruit a day .. well it turns out i have a candida overgrowth problem ( I have celiac disease and candida overgrowth is a common problem as a result of the auto immune disease) and I tell you stopping the fruit has been horrible .. total withdrawl symptoms... i assumed becuase fruit is natural, raw and in its whole state it is okay to enjoy as much as i wanted .... plus i am super active 2 hours of hard training a day plus one or two yoga classes a day .. i thought for sure i good handle the fructose .... well i am going through major withdrawl .. no sugar allowed on the candida diet ...I am shocked at how my body is craving the sweets....and how i am feeling so out of sorts ...one week down with no sugar and i tell you .. after having gone through this week i am going to follow this docotrs guidelines on fructose consumption because i never watn to go through this again!!

cheers
dana

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Permalink Reply by Jacqueline Park on March 24, 2010 at 11:47am

I am also worried a bit about my habit to snack on fruit so often - and I am definitely drawn to sweeter things.

I am also concerned about candida b/c I have many of the symptoms - Dana - how did you get diagnosed specifically and not just thinking that you may have it - when you say doctor do you mean naturopathic doctor?
And are you avoiding any type of naturally occurring sugars now - in everything? What does that leave ?!? :)
Doesn't Vega WF Optimizer contain a fruit complex also?
I am just wondering what a happy medium is - or is there one?

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Permalink Reply by dana on March 24, 2010 at 4:22pm

hi there .. dana here .. i actually diagnosed myself ... i am the poster child for the candida ... and it has been two weeks of no sugar apart from that found in the fibrous veggies i eat --no fruit at all and as a result i stopped the WFHO because i need at least a banana for that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! boo hooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have had a very hard time of it .. major detox symptoms.. i am taking a homepothic treatment program called the wildrose candida aid.. it includes the acidophilus and digestive enzymes .. -- i am aslo taking oil of oregano and grape seed oil ... all anti fungi ---despite my hardships .. i have an amazing difference.. less bloating .. less brain fog .. less cravings... so whether it is candida or jsut sugar cravings .. i know i am a lot better off limiting my sugar intake....for my diet i ahve been following on most anti candida web sites ... .. i have been eating a ton on greens, broccolii, onions, garlic and the seeds and pseudograins as prescribed by the thrive diet .. just no fruit , no gluten, no mushrooms or fungi, no yeast , no alchol, and no sugar ..... i miss carrots and butternut squash and bananasssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!! ...who knows if i will be able to eat more furit in the future .. one day at a time .. but the doctor i was referring to was the one on the link mentioned in the first note of the discussion .. He said 15 to 25 grams per day of fructose ... well that is only 3 bananas.... i was eating 6 or so when i count what i added to my smoothies and then apples and papya... anyway i well exceeded my frtuctose intake...

I am hanging in there and no that freedom for me from the cravings seems to definiley be keyed into the fruit .. i am still in shock as i thoguht i was foing so good!!! but apparently it si ot uncommon for people with celiac disease to have fructose intolerance problems ..
anyway that is my two cents

happy SPring to everyone!!!

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Permalink Reply by Tessa Fisher on March 26, 2010 at 11:18am

Very interesting. I have been craving sugar so badly lately and have always had a sweet tooth! When I eat something sweet I have been getting headaches soon after and only want more! Withdrawal. I have been working to cut agave out of my diet (because of my habit of over indulging in sweets, and the recent info about how agave is actually produced) but it is SO hard! When I say "sweets" and "sugars" I like the others that have posted don't mean processed food. I have been having some health things going on and I know I will feel better if I can cut back on sweet things a little more. I am also wondering about my serotonin levels and if that could cause my brain to be signaling me to want more sugar?

But worse than my life long "sweet cravings", over the last few months I have also been seriously craving fats! I am now a nut ADDICT! I constantly want to be eating nuts! Or avocados, or something with coconut oil in it. I'm very frustrated over this and want badly to stop! Any ideas???

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Permalink Reply by Jay Crawford on April 6, 2010 at 1:10am

Hello Ladies!

I noticed not one guy has chimed in about having a sweet tooth...so I will! I had a sweet tooth aswell and used to have a stash of dark chocolate in the pantry that usually got raided late in the evening. I have been following Thrive strictly starting Jan 4 (as a recalibration), I have lost the sweet cravings completely! I snitched a chocolate easter egg (little one) from my son after the big easter egg hunt I took him to, I found it repulsive! I suggest trying a serious 'recalibration' with strict adherence to Thrive, it will help rid your body of the desire or need for sweet things. Now I find things like carrots and bananas are my 'candy' they seem plenty sweet enough!

I also had noticed over the past few years what I thought were indications of Candida...in particular a white tongue in the mornings and an almost Thrush like feeling in my throat. I found an amazing cleansing program through Renew Life called Paragone. It is a two week program designed to rid the body of most parasites (including candida). There are more parasites than Candida that can cause sugar cravings...they love the sugar! The program is mild with exception of the strict no sugar (including most fruit) rule and meant to be done 3-4 times a year if needed. I tried it once and cleared up the symptoms for a year or so but they started to show again a few months before I went strict with Thrive. This too has cleared up with my recalibration.

Tessa, It sounds like your body is craving energy! Checked your Thyroid lately? If possible try doing Thrive strictly for a while to see if you 'recalibrate'... there's lots of high energy foods and it will help balance hormone levels...including serotonin. A suggestion: Get some melatonin (3mg dose) and take one about 30-60 minutes before bed. It is your sleep hormone and converts to sreotonin overnight. Try this for a couple weeks straight and if you notice a difference then you were probably right about the serotonin thing and your body is begging for the easy energy foods! Don't worry about the nuts and avocados...They are staples in the thrive diet!...Good quality calories with healthy fats will help your energy levels. stick to almonds, pecans and walnuts. Good fats increase energy while helping maintain or lose weight. Coconut oil is a very good fat that will help burn fat, increasing energy levels again! You could add a tablespoon to a morning smoothy to supercharge your day, the MCT's actually puts your liver in fat burning mode!

Have any of you tried Brendans' banana cocnut pie? Here is a desert that has nothing bad in it but you will swear you are eating a sinfully delectable treat from the bakery! It truly is a high energy metabolic boosting and anti-oxidant rich treat that freezes well if you don't want to eat it all in a couple days! Also the energy bars make a nice treat that can pass as a dessert without the guilt! Dates sugars are almost 100% glucose, a sugar that will go straight to muscle cells for burning...chew a couple when the urge hits you and don't worry about it!

Having a sweet tooth and sugar addiction are two different things...beat the addiction with Thrive! Then don't feel bad when you want a treat and eat a bowl of fruit for dinner:)

Health and Happiness!
Jay

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Permalink Reply by Nyla Cione on May 11, 2010 at 8:36am

Great topic. I am a recovering food addict and have had to shy away from most of the Thrive recipes because they tirgger my addictive physiological response being that I don't process sugar and flour products well at all.

Almost everything requires dates in the recipe among other items that are totally not an abstinent food choice for me.

However, I take what I need and leave the rest and what that means is that I stay away from the foods that are too high in sugars and definately don't do the date deal. Believe me I tried it and it does not work. It triggers the cravings, the obsession about the food, when my next meal will be, obsessed with making recipes all the time, sugar fluxes so mood swings and depressive days...if you are like me, you really have to check your motives on certain suggestive foods relative to being raw and vegan.

So I stick with the greens, healthy fats in moderation, sparingly on the agave nectar in some recipes if I even need it which I don't most of the time, and great raw protein sources such as SunFood etc. I am not totally raw so I do use a product line by the name of Quorn which is soy, wheat and dairy free on some of there items. It works great for recipes that I can make in large batches to eat from for the week.

Lastly, what has really helped is that when you buy food products that provide a label, if the sugar is 5th or lower on the list, it usually does not trigger the cravings. Agave nectar for me has been a good thing if I use it in low measurements but again, I mostly don't need it. If you don't know about agave, check it out. You may want to be sure to get the "raw" dark colored thick agave. The light colored agave that is thinner is not raw and sometimes contains corn syrup (that they sneak in there and don't show on the label).

Hope this can help.

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