Life Is So Sweet

At the supermarket I took a look at the ingredients for a variety of foods. It seemed that nearly every single product has sugar in it. Cereal of course has sugar. Breads have sugar. Pickles have sugar. Mustard has sugar. Soup has sugar. Everything that comes in a cardboard box or plastic container seems to have added sugar in one form or another.

Is there anything sold at the store that’s not sweetened?

Good Luck While Shopping

The cravings are tuff late at night and in situations where I’d normally snack. These days, when I crave sweets I eat something else instead. Needless to say I’m eating more than necessary.

One thing I’ve also noticed is that I sometimes get really antsy, impulsive, or rambunctious because I want something sweet. At times like that a nice apple comes in handy. Two bags of 5 lb. apples were only $3 at the store. That’s a lot of healthy snacking!

What’s more, apples are portable. Take a few with you to the mall while you’re Christmas shopping and save yourself some money and some aggravation. When you get a craving for that milkshake, or those chocolate whatevers, eat your apple and walk away.

Just say no!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This past Halloween, while most people were running door-to-door soliciting sugary treats, a small group of sugar-free parents and children were celebrating the sweet-laden holiday sans sugar at a specially created Sugar Free Halloween Party. I interviewed the party’s organizer, Jeanne D., informally via email to get an idea of how and why the celebration came to be. I posted this information for two reasons:1. There is a sugar free subculture in America which creates its own interesting alternatives to the commercially influenced, sugar-infested holidays.2. Jeanne D. is a grandmother concerned with her grandson’s well being and therefore provides us with a unique voice in our discussion about sugar.

What is the Sugar Free Halloween Party?

The sugar free Halloween party is an alternative to trick or treating. It provides healthy food, activities and safety to diabetic children and others concerned with the excessive sugar consumption of the holidays.

How did it originate?

My grandson was diagnosed with diabetes when he was seven. When considering how tough it would be for him on Halloween, I searched around for an alternative activity and the only thing I found was a hoedown at the local hospital. But they charged 5 bucks a head… I thought that seemed unfair since other children don’t pay to trick or treat; not to mention the additional expenses required to maintain a diabetic child.I believed the good people of the community would provide an alternative for those wanting a healthier option on Halloween… and they did. Individuals and businesses donated funds and food.

Who attended?

A variety of people attended the party the last two years. Some people with diabetic children and some who just want their children to remain healthy.How many people attended?

Approximately a hundred people attended both years… that includes parents.

Was it just for kids?

Even though the party is designed for children, it seems to bring out the kid in everyone who attends. Some folks who show up without a costume, end up getting their faces painted and others get a balloon hat made. The volunteers have a lot of fun decorating and playing with the kids after they arrive. So… yes, it’s for kids, but getting dressed up in costume allows even the big kids a chance to have fun for a good cause.

What are the activities?

This year we had a Nightmare before Christmas village where the kids could knock on little doors and receive prizes. Also, there was apple bobbing, face painting, mini-pumpkin painting, a break dance performance and Balloon Man Joe’s balloon creations and juggling toys. He teaches the kids to juggle when he’s not busy creating fun things. He’s an all around performer.Last year we had a Mad Science demonstration in addition to the face painting, apple bobbing, pumpkin painting and mystery boxes. Those were boxes where the kids put their hand into a box… one with oiled spaghetti, (brains), one with peeled grapes, (eyeballs) and another with Jello, (squishy blood), and paper towels.

What do people eat at the party?

We had platters of fruits and cheeses, veggies and meats with dips - hummus, spinach dip, salsa, crackers, chips, meat and tofu hot dogs wrapped in squares and baked, and desserts - Pumpkin squares and peanut butter bars.

Are sugar substitutes like Stevia any better than sugar? Why not go natural?

Stevia is an herb that actually assists insulin function, rather than deterring it like sugar does. It is 300 times sweeter tasting than sugar. Studies suggest that stevia has a regulating effect on the pancreas and could help stabilize blood sugar levels in the body, therefore making it a safe dietary supplement for people with diabetes, hypoglycemia, and candidiasis. If it’s unknown to you, perhaps that’s because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has maneuvered to keep stevia products off the U.S. market despite efforts by the Lipton Tea Company and the American Herbal Products Association to have the FDA acknowledge Stevia to be GRAS (generally recognized as safe). Here’s a link to an informative stevia site.

http://www.stevia.net/

How do you feel about sugar companies that say there is no proven link between diabetes and sugar consumption?

Lies! Lies! Lies! Unfortunately, our medical system has taken that stand and those who speak up are threatened and called quacks. I remember when diabetes was called “sugar diabetes”. Sugar is big business and big business runs politics.The children diagnosed with diabetes are “cash cows” for the pharmaceutical industry. They have them for life, unless they are fortunate enough to have parents that care enough to go the extra mile. like one boy in Ashland Oregon: http://www.rawfamily.com/sergei.htm.

The endocrinological approach to diabetes only addresses the need for insulin, and overlooks so many other factors that contribute to the breakdown of the pancreas and immune system; for example. Parasites, environmental toxins, malnutrition, acidity, and mental/emotional stress, (they do give lip service to this).The day after my grandson’s diabetes diagnosis, a dietician came to his hospital room to begin the process of educating his parents about food. The first thing the dietician said was, “I don’t want you to change his diet, because its important that he eat what he’s used to and likes.” I was disheartened and astonished that it be recommended that he eat the foods that took him into disease. Most mainstream diabetes groups, American Diabetes Assoc. and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation tell parents to let diabetic kids go trick or treating, but control their candy intake. That reminds me of telling alcoholics to go to bars, but control their alcohol consumption.

Any other information you’d like to add?

Refined sugar is a drug that contributes to a myriad of diseases. Have you ever seen a child throw a tantrum for an apple? No. But they throw tantrums for candy, the behavior of an addict. The spirit of any enterprise is within the intention of its origin. When profit is the only intention, the health of children is the price to be paid.

Here’s some info from an article that was primarily about the author of “Sugar Blues”; http://www.dolfzine.com/page162.htm.

“In 1957, Dr William Coda Martin tried to answer the question: When is a food a food and when is it a poison? His working definition of “poison” was: “Medically: Any substance applied to the body, ingested or developed within the body, which causes or may cause disease. Physically: Any substance which inhibits the activity of a catalyst which is a minor substance, chemical or enzyme that activates a reaction.” The dictionary gives an even broader definition for “poison”: “to exert a harmful influence on, or to pervert”.

Dr Martin classified refined sugar as a poison because it has been depleted of its life forces, vitamins and minerals. “What is left consists of pure, refined carbohydrates. The body cannot utilize this refined starch and carbohydrate unless the depleted proteins, vitamins and minerals are present. Nature supplies these elements in each plant in quantities sufficient to metabolize the carbohydrate in that particular plant.

There is no excess for other added carbohydrates. Incomplete carbohydrate metabolism results in the formation of ‘toxic metabolite’ such as pyruvic acid and abnormal sugars containing five carbon atoms. Pyruvic acid accumulates in the brain and nervous system and the abnormal sugars in the red blood cells.

These toxic metabolites interfere with the respiration of the cells. They cannot get sufficient oxygen to survive and function normally. In time, some of the cells die. This interferes with the function of a part of the body and is the beginning of degenerative disease.”

Strange Dreams

I’ve been unsweet for 20 days now. The first week my body was completely tired and run down. My energy levels were low and I’d conk out quickly. Some days a heavy nap half way through the afternoon was necessary.

The second week has been a little easier. I have been having strange dreams and some restless nights. The dreams are odd, colorful, and mostly enjoyable. Strange dreams are one of the benefits of quitting it would seem, although I had a nightmare!

While sitting in a café with a few girls, I touched my front, top teeth with my tongue. They felt crooked and one of them fell out. That started a chain reaction and a handful of teeth fell into my palm. A moment later, in the bathroom mirror, I could see that my teeth on top had broken in half all the way across my jaw.

The pieces in my hand had grown long and purple like a toothbrush with roots at one end and white caps at the other. My thoughts centered on not having a dental plan, not enough money to cover such bills, and how I’d look after surgery.

The dream is much longer but I’ll spare you the details of the strange McDonalds drive through that became an inescapable indoor garage cafe.

Dessert Freak

The other day I went to a nice dinner with good friends. When it came time for dessert I searched the menu for a fruit cup but there was none so I ordered nothing. After the waiter took our orders people asked why I wasn’t having dessert. I said I didn’t want the sugar.

“But you don’t look overweight,” Martin commented. I explained that it’s the refined sugar that I’m avoiding. Ruth asked, “What’s the difference between a slice of cake and the slice of steak you just ate?”

“I rarely eat steak and never have, or never will, sit and binge down a whole cow in one sitting,” I replied. Everyone seemed to understand.

When dessert came, I was surprised to see that only three out of eight people ordered something.