Here’s the story. When you taste sweet your body prepares for a fast influx of calories. When it doesn’t happen there is a deficit in expected calories. The body’s chemistry got to producing the necessary hormones to deal with something sweet. When it doesn’t come a deficit occurs.

Thousands of years ago our ancestors survival depended on the craving for sweets. They had to eat plenty of calories in the form of fruit at the end of the growing season to survive the winter. If they didn’t crave sweets they didn’t survive. We all crave sweets.

Furthermore, once you start eating sweet things your body’s chemistry changes radically. This has been shown to happen to all animals that produce insulin, which is most of them. It takes many months of not eating sugar for this to slowly start to reverse.

To continue, your body thinks it’s going to get a lot of calories really fast. When that doesn’t happen, the various chemicals that were released to deal with the sugar are still waiting for the sugar. Consequently, you will feel hungry later and consume about the same amount of calories that the sugar substitute promised.

The best thing to do in this modern world is to quit sugar all together. The cravings do go away after awhile, usually within a month to six weeks. In this modern world with plenty of food we no longer need to fatten up.

Stopping sugar isn’t very easy as most people know. It takes iron discipline and perhaps a little biochemical help.

Plenty of animal protein helps. This can be eggs, animal flesh or dairy (I don’t recommend dairy for most people, but a high quality whey protein works fine). B vitamins particularly inosotol, and the herb gymnea also help with the cravings.

I also avoid all grains, but that isn’t necessary for most people. Simply limiting grains is fine for most people thought our ancient ancestors (100,000 thousand plus years ago) didn’t eat them at all.

The best diet is obviously the one we were eating while evolving, the Paleolithic diet. The modern world makes the things we crave available at a rate that is way beyond need. In fact, we don’t need any of the modern packaged foods, we just enjoy them. Enjoyment is fine, but with moderation for our health.

Natural sugars in whole fruits like our ancient ancestors ate are the best. Again balance is important, They didn’t sit around eating dried fruit all the time, otherwise obesity would have been the norm rather than becoming the norm.

I don’t eat sugar. I have had my problems quitting it. I don’t know how many times I quit for some period of time ranging from weeks to months. Once, when I was about 20, I quit for over two years! I still don’t know how I did that at that age. And, I will probably indulge in a piece of pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.

I am in Bali now. The first words I learned how to say in Indonesian were ‘without sugar.’ They put sugar in everything here. The locals are amazed that I don’t eat sugar. I usually don’t tell them that I don’t eat grains either, but of course they notice and sometimes ask about it.

Sugar is highly toxic to the body. It is oxidative, causing damage when it interacts with cells and important biochemicals in the body. And, it is one of the main causes of coronary hear disease.

Sugar and Coronary Heart Disease
Sugar in the blood is one of the main causes of the nicks and tears that happen in artery and blood vessel walls. As I mentioned, it is highly oxidative, and when blood concentration is high the sugar reacts with blood vessel walls causing nicks and tears. Basically perforating blood vessel and artery walls. The body patches these tears, as it should, with plaques. The problem is that these plaques build up and eventually start to restrict blood flow which is what coronary heart disease is really.

Insulin
The body responds to high blood sugar by releasing insulin which causes a whole series of biochemical responses. And, insulin itself is damaging to the lining of artery and blood vesicle walls in similar ways that sugar is. Which of course causes artery blockages. The story of insulin and the problems it causes is a long one. At one point in my continuing education on biochemistry I was learning one or two facts a week about what happens when insulin is high. I was literally shocked into giving up sugar…that time. I am sure I will be writing more about the problems caused by high insulin as time goes by.

Why I Don’t Eat Grains
For the most part, I’m not opposed to eating whole grains though I am starting to change my mind about this. For me though, I find that not eating grains makes a big difference in my health. First, when I don’t eat grains I don’t lose nearly as many hairs everyday. I have a full head of hair which is at least somewhat unusual for a man my age. I haven’t studied much about hair loss and health, but I tend to think that when I notice one sixth the number of hairs in my brush everyday as compared to when I do eat grains, well it makes an impression.

The most likely reason this happens is that grains contain proteins called lectins. Lectins cause inflammation that can lead to many problems.

Secondly, my grey hairs started turning brown again. Yes, really. A few months before I noticed this change, my adrenals were down. I had been treating them with herbs and supplements, and I had quit sugar, but they just weren’t coming up. After stopping grains, they came up rather quickly.

Six months later I noticed that many of my grey hairs were turning brown again! I had to calculate by how long the revived color had been growing to figure out that it had started changing when I quit eating grains. That really makes an impression.

Getting Rid of Candida
One of the main reasons I gave up grains and sugar in the first place is that I wanted to clear out candida. Candida is a fungus that is supposed to live only in the gut. But, when fed sugar and processed grains it will overwhelm the good bacteria and fungus that help in digestion. It also causes a change in the Ph of the gut. The wrong Ph causes damage to the intestinal wall. Candida can then escape into the body. It travels around causing a condition known as systemic candida which causes a lot of problems.

I’ll give you an example of what systemic candida can cause: one of the most common forms of arthritis. How this happens is that candida migrates from the gut into certain joints. This stimulates the immune system to try and get rid of it. The problem is that the part of the immune system that handles candida is in the gut. The wrong mechanisms try to kill of the fungus in the joints with the wrong ‘bullets.’ The joint gets attacked instead causing the inflammation and pain characteristic of arthritis.

Conclusion
These are only a few of the problems caused by sugar. The main issue really is the way it causes insulin to release with the problems that causes. Knowledge is power, in this case the power to make a decision and stick to it. One of my life’s goals is a very, very long and healthy life. Not eating sugar is one of the most important things anyone could do to achieve that goal.

The Question
You talk of not eating refined sugar or grains, but what defines these? Raw honey is NOT refined, but has the same reactions as regular sugar but at the same time it has natural anti-viral/anti-bacterial properties and a multitude of trace minerals and vitamins. Are you saying any sugars period? What about the grains? I grind my own whole wheat. I generally try to make bulgur rather than straight ground whole wheat. I use no added white flour, so it’s truly 100%. A more defined explanation would be very helpful. Thanks!

Thanks for the great question, Susan.

According to Science (I don’t completely agree)
One of the main factors to consider is blood sugar. The faster a food brings up blood sugar, the more the negative impact on the body. This is called the glycemic index (GI). 55 and below is considered low while over 55 is high. Glycemic load (GL) is also important to considered. This is the glycemic index times the grams of the food being eaten divided by 100. The problem is that glycemic index charts very wildly, even those from various universities. One will list honey as low while another lists it as high, I didn’t find any showing it as medium.

Even with these numbers, the total daily glycemic load is what is most important. According to this idea, you can have your cake and eat it too, as long as the total load is kept within a certain threshold. The guideline is: if you weigh less than 150 pounds 55 GL points per day would be the maximum. 150-175 pounds a GL of 65 or less is recommended, more than 175 the GL can go up to 80. There are obvious problems here such diabetes and obesity who really should avoid sugars and processed foods in general. But, there may be other more subtle issues that make linear thinking like this flawed.

The total GL of a meal is averaged out based on the different foods you eat. Eat one high and several low and you end up with a total GL that is within the guidelines. Fats, which don’t have a GI, will actually bring down the GI of other foods. So, having your pie with whipped cream on top makes it less harmful. There are problems with this kind of thinking though. Saying that sugar is okay to eat seems irresponsible and shows a lack of thinking through other factors that I will bring up soon.

Grains
Carbohydrates, which include fruits, vegetables and grains, are long chains of sugar molecules coupled together. Carbohydrate digestion decouples the bonds that hold these sugars together. When this happens slowly, blood sugar comes up slowly and insulin levels don’t spike. The more chopped up or ground up a grain is, the faster it digests because of more surface area being exposed to digestive enzymes. The sugar is released faster causing sugar to release into the blood at a faster rate.

Whole oats that are not overcooked have a very low GI. Chopped up oats, the quick cooking kind, have a high GI. The same thing happens with bread. Whole wheat berries may have a low GI, but when they are ground up the GI is high. Some charts show whole wheat bread to be only a point lower than white bread. On the other hand, course ground breads and grains other than wheat do have a lower GI.

There are other problems with grains. They all have a protein in them that causes inflammation. Inflammation has been shown to be the start of most major health conditions.

The Main Factor to Consider
High levels of insulin are responsible for most major health conditions, and it is a major cause of aging in general. There are a whole series of events that occur when insulin releases. For example, insulin is pro-inflammatory.

In terms of survival, insulin mitigated the fluctuations in the availability of food our ancestors had to endure. This was necessary, fattening up to survive the winter lean times. However, in terms of longevity and major illness, and because of the steady availability of good quality food, there is good reason to keep daily insulin levels low.

The Healthy
There are people I have met who are what I would consider ‘super healthy.’ They never eat sugar of any kind at all including honey. They also avoid the sweet fruits like red apples. Some fruits are okay when not overly ripe like bananas and mangos. Most GI charts rate mangos and bananas low, while I know that eating a perfectly ripened mango or very ripe banana will set of a reaction. The same thing happens with honey. And, consider the fact that diabetics can’t safely eat honey because it require a release of insulin.

By the way, these people are the ones that teach and practice natural healing, the ones that are the most educated in what foods do to the biochemistry of the body. They also know about detoxification and nutrition. They detoxify regularly, and take a fair amount of supplements for the right reasons.

Reality Check
Another really big factor to consider is satiety. Or maybe even sanity! A little treat now and then can make the difference in whether or not someone will binge for example. I always encourage my clients to cheat with the diet plan I may give them. Conscious cheating is better than what may happen when someone radically changes their diet. And, combining treats with a well balanced meal that includes plenty of vegetables greatly mitigates any problems the treat may cause.

Conclusion
The real issue is insulin. Anything that can be done to keep insulin low should be considered.

It takes time to acclimate the body to eating well all the time. Abruptly quitting all the foods someone has been eating all their lives just doesn’t work for most. It is much better to start eliminating some of the worst things. Allow several weeks to acclimate to the change before eliminating something else. Education is the best weapon. It may take years, but knowing both scientifically and practically in your own body, makes making changes much easier.

Two reasons we have trouble giving up sugar
There are many reasons we have trouble giving up sugar. One is our biology. We are designed to desire sweets. It comes from our ancient ancestors needing to eat summer fruits to fatten up for winter lean times. Another reason can be emotional. We use sugar like a drug to avoid strong feelings. That is an article or two in itself. The one I want to tell you about today is a hidden cause that will surprise you.

Candida
One of the most common and insidious infections we have is a fungus called Candida Albacans. Candida and other yeasts are ubiquitous, they are everywhere even in the air we breathe. It is impossible to get away from them. Everyone has fungus in their bodies. For the most part, the immune system keeps them in check. There are many problems that result when that system fails and Candida takes over.

About two thirds of the immune system by volume is in the gut. It is there to handle Candida and other unfriendly bacteria. Part of this defense mechanism is friendly bacteria. They aid in digestion, and by their presence, keep Candida in check.

A lot of this takes place in the large intestines where the pH is supposed to be acidic but Candida makes it alkaline. Eventually it starts to affect the small intestines which are supposed to be alkaline but become acidic when Candida takes over.

How to know you have a Candida overgrowth
First thing in the morning before brushing your teeth look at your tongue. Your tongue should be nice and pink, but a Candida overgrowth will create a white fur looking coating on it. This is the Candida itself. Hurry up and brush it off now.

How Candida becomes a problem
One of the main reasons Candida becomes a problem is a diet consisting of sugar and processed grains. Candida only eats sugar which includes the sugars from the break down of starchy foods like grains and legumes. When Candida becomes overgrown many problems develop.

Candida produces toxins that gradually make us feel more and more sick. These toxins have a connection to many conditions such as chronic fatigue, arthritis, allergies, autoimmune disorders, chemical sensitivity, extreme intolerance to alcohol, irritable bowl syndrome, many other gut related problems and more. They cause a toxic overload to the system because of the hundreds of toxins they produce. Many of these symptoms occur because the liver gets overwhelmed and cannot eliminate all the toxins it normally deals with plus the ones that Candida produce.

I could go on and on about Candida and the various problems it causes. However, this article is about sugar. So, how is Candida responsible for our incredible cravings for sugar?

As I mentioned, Candida feeds off of sugar. Candida just loves it when we eat sugar and processed foods. They eat and eat and eventually overgrow our defenses against it.

The bottom line
When we quite feeding Candida the sugar and starch it loves so much it starts to starve. Starving to death stresses Candida which causes it to put out toxins that are different from the hundreds of toxins it normally produces. These new toxins make us feel really bad. We will start to feel a loss of energy and vitality. The head will feel heavy, and we just feel crappy. You can quickly find out what happens for yourself by quitting the foods that feed Candida. But, if we eat some sugar the crappy feeling goes away almost immediately and we feel good again. Candida is fed and happy, so it stops producing those other toxins.

Unfortunately, the only way out of this trap is to go through it. The first three to five days without sugar are the hardest, but after a month or so the cravings usually leave altogether.

Eliminating Candida
The way to kill off all the Candida in the body is to quite feeding it. The foods it loves are sugar, all grains, legumes, alcohol, oranges, other fungus like mushrooms and fermented foods like vinegar. In other words, all you can eat is animal protein, vegetables and fruits except for oranges. There are other options, but I’ll have to write about that in another post as this one is getting long. For now, try stopping sugar and refined grains. You’ll live longer for it.