Sweet Poison - going sugar (fructose) free, anyone?

[Epacris]

OK, so I heard David Gillespie on the conversation hour (ABC local radio) and have read The Sweet Poison Quit Plan (Google Sweet Poison). He presents a compelling case and we (well, just me really, but I’m in charge of these things in our family so it’s the royal “we”) have decided that we’re going to give it a go.

So... limiting fructose to less than 10g per day. Today was day 1 and we all survived! I felt like crap all day but I did it!

Anyone else done it, doing it, thinking about it? Would love some sugar free buddies.

[onthefly]

Oh.

[Epacris]

Thanks MadB.

ETA: I can still eat cheese and drink champagne though....

[Arcadia]

I have had reoccuring breast and nipple thrush since having ds and am on the anticandida diet, which is no sugar wheat yeast or dairy. It has been 6 weeks and i find it pretty easy. The hardest thing has been fruit though...the apples look so good at the moment.

I have been using Stevia as a sugar substitute and have even made a cake or two for family birthdays.

Can you eat substitutes? Also what about certain berries since they have a relative low sugar level?

[Babyluv]

Epacris I want to do it!!! Help!!!
I bought some stevia at coles, it's an all natural sugar substitute I've been using that in my tea. I think I'm a little addicted to sugar & I'll struggle to eliminate it but I've done it before and lost the spare tyre & 5kgs.
Any hints? Good luck!!!

[onthefly]

ok. I'm looking at this.
I had no idea I was an addict. I feel so dirty. Oh sugar, you have led me far astray.

[Joeve]

I am interested too! My name is Jo and I am a dirty addict tooo, oh the shame
Ok off to google more about what I can and can't have!

[Epacris]

It’s kind of complicated, you really need to read the book/s to “get it” properly (I’ve read the book and I’m still trying to “get it” I keep having to re-read sections). Basically he breaks sugar into good sugars (mostly glucose and lactose) and bad sugars (mostly fructose). You can eat whatever you want, you just have to limit fructose to approximately less than 10g per day.

OUT:
Anything with sugar (sucrose, which is half fructose).
Juice and dried fruit (I still haven’t quite managed to comprehend me giving up fruitcake, that bit just can’t be true, totally in denial about that one).
Honey and Maple syrup

You can use some sweeteners, he explains which ones and why in the book.
You can have fruit but you need to limit it to no more than two pieces per day and try to stick to low fructose/high fibre fruit like pears and berries (grapes are bad).

That’s all I can think of for now.

[misty]

Basically he breaks sugar into good sugars (mostly glucose) and bad sugars (mostly fructose).

That doesn't sound quite right???
Fructose is the natural sugars you find in things like fruit. Glucose is the sugar which is derived from things - ie, your white sugar, etc - which are added to processed foods (along with surcrose).

To me it would make more sense to avoid the glucose and surcrose and try to make sure any sugar intake consists of those healthier sugars like fructose.

[Epacris]

Yeah Misty, his argument is almost completely the opposite of that (what you just said) and he does back it up with quite a bit of scientific research, as well as lots of compelling (although anecdotal, which he freely admits) case studies. Like I said, you really need to read the book, I can‘t possibly explain all the technicalities of it all here.

[misty]

hhhmmmm....

Well good luck with it, anyway.

[jackrose]

I did it! I gave up sugar in October last year and it was liberating! I finally shifted the excess weight from 2 pregnancies and got back into my pre-preg clothes, ditched the sugar induced mood swings and high/low sugar cravings and felt generally healthier and more energetic.

I highly recommend giving it a go. I had always tried to keep away from sugar with the idea that it was generally not very good for health but slipped into some pretty sad habits with babies and kids (pretty common story I imagine). I found it hard to find the motivation to stick at being 'good' with food but after reading the book I had a new understanding of the hidden sugars which would undo any efforts I might make in getting off sugar. My new enthusiasm made it easy to avoid temptation although I didn't go cold turkey as the book recommends, just gradually reduced my intake and changed brands where necessary to avoid products with too much added sugar. Pretty soon I was happily passing up cake with my coffee, mayo on my sandwich and ice cream with the family without even a hint of second thought. Liberating!

I have relaxed my stance since but I still don't have any sugar in my tea (a weak point previously) I can't stand products with sugar added and can still turn down dessert without a problem. I guess I just enjoy the food I want to eat now without being attracted to the stuff over sweetened so my palate has changed for the better. I don't think about it much anymore and am so glad I gave the theory a go.

I say go for it Epacris, I will be cheering you on from the sidelines!

[Epacris]

Ahhh jackrose... that’s what I want to hear!

Actually in the book he says women do better cutting down the sugar and men to better going cold turkey. Interesting to hear your experience with that. And your “before” story sounds just like me too, hopefully (for me) our “after” stories will match as well.

And for anyone interested but not up to ploughing through a book or two just at the moment, the conversation hour interview is a great place to start. David Gillespie - ABC Conversations with Richard Fidler

[nothing2lose]

Fructose can be more harmful than glucose for a couple of reasons...
When glucose enters the bloodstream it is regulated by insulin but fructose is processed by the liver. The liver can't process too much so it turns it to fat and sends it into the bloodstream as a trigylceride. This in turn can result in liver disease, heart disease, insulin resistance and type two diabetes.
High fructose diets also contribute to weight gain because they bypass hormonal controls which tell your body you are satisfied when eating.

[jackrose]

Excellent! I think that approaching it with a strong motivation is helpful as sugar is a pretty hard habit to crack. It is also nice to know that being militant in the short term is worthwhile as you can relax a little later and still benefit. (Of course I am not talking eat a packet of tim tams relax )

I just remembered there was a thread about this earlier, you may find some more support here.

[onthefly]

can someone give me a quick idea of what is no good?

and OMG at no fruit cake! Epacris, big, big because your fruit cake is the best. Maybe you could save up your 10g a day for an annual blowout...?

[Epacris]

Oops Thanks for that thread jackrose, I should have done a search before posting this one. Lots of reading for me there.

MadB – just anything with sugar, but sooooooooo much stuff has sugar in it.

Yeah, fruitcake, I can't give that up, no way. I’m cooking my birthday fruitcake this week, the fruit is soaking in brandy right now. I wonder if I’ll actually want to eat it come my birthday (in September).

[Gigi]

i was raised in a high sugar household, and my grandparents were even worse (i think they were raised before refridgeration was common, so back when salt and sugar were commonly used (overused) to extend the life of fresh food). Even though i realised my mother used alot LESS sugar than my grandma, i still ended up with a huge sweet tooth. I use less sugar than my mother, so three generations on, RELATIVE to how i was raised, i'm using less, but still, for what is healthy, i'm sure i use way too much.

In the last year, my progress has been
- to give up Iced Coffee (used to drink a 600ml every time i left the house, used to have the 3L bottles in my fridge in newborn baby days, lived on the stuff). so going cold turkey, this is one thing i'm very pleased to have accomplished

- using yogurt instead of cream, in layered birthday cakes, in butterfly little cakes
- using yogurt instead of icecream
(but i'm not using Greek yogurt, this is still the fruit flavoured yogurt, so some progress, but more to go)

- using icing mainly as feature details, instead of covering whole cake (birthdays)

- using honey on weetbix, to replace sugar

- when making baked goods, reducing sugar component, subbing part of sugar for sultanas, dates (fruit).
There are many substitutes, like apple sauce, corn syrup, stevia etc. I either haven't understood how to sub them, or worried about the expense - so haven't used these.

- using raw sugar, as opposed to white sugar (less processed).

I'm trying to get more fruit and veg into our diets, so the thought of restricting fruit, not sure about that. Esp with bilby, she eats so little of anything already, if i have to cut out the tinned pears she DOES eat, i cannot contemplate her eating zero fruit.

i must go and listen to the link (is Richard Fidler, the guy who used to be in the Doug Anthony Allstars?)

Have never gone and seen a naturopath, as i'm scared i will get told to give up everything i enjoy (sugar, coffee, choc). i know the more i'm told i CAN"T have something, the more i will crave it. I try to limit what i eat, by telling myself, i can have whatever, so that takes away my desire for it.

Maybe reading a few "things to avoid", will help me make healthier choices in the supermarket.

thanks for posting this Ecapris, it's exactly what i need, ways to cut out sugar.

PS can you think of fruitcake as a birthday, xmas, celebration thing? or are you used to having it weekly? If you make it really well, it would be harsh to go without it forever Ecapris.