I love sugar!

Did you know that *some* people have a sensitivity to sugar?

Did you know that if you have this sugar sensitivity it affects your body like an addiction?

Did you know that a sugar sensitivity can make you moody? It can even lead to depression.

Did you know that kids can be addicted to sugar too?

 

I am learning all of these things with GREAT interest in the book, Potatoes Not Prozac, by Kathleen DesMaisons. Dr. DesMaisons has a website called Radiant Recovery in which she describes alot of her ideas, too! (including the 7 steps she suggests towards eliminating the sugar AND the 7 steps for children!) Side note: I have found that we are already doing some of these steps in our recent journeys to eating healthier, so I’m not exactly doing things *exactly* as she has written, but at this point I am trying to increase protein intake AND make sure I’m eating protein at every meal!

Over on the Homeschool Share boards a mom has mentioned going sugar free and what that has looked like in their household. (By the way, she does have alot of great info on her blog, too! Check it out, recipes too!) When Kendra mentioned some of the attitudes and behaviors in her household that were caused by a sugar sensitivity, my ears (or eyes rather) perked up. Her grumpiness, moodiness not to mention whiny, crying children sounded an awful lot like our household!!

So, I began a bit of research on my own. Kendra suggests a book called Little Sugar Addicts by the same author, Kathleen DesMaisons. Unfortunately, our library did not have that book. But it DID have the book I mentioned above…which is more directed towards adults. I got the book from the library yesterday and today I have read half of it. The book describes me to a T. I have read this book with great enthusiasm thinking that maybe, just maybe this could really help and improve our own household.

So, of course, with all this excitement I wanted to share this book with my readers. I really, REALLY think that after reading the chapters in this book that there are MORE people that have these issues with sugar than realize it! Sugar is addicting just like alcohol! That should scare us and really make us take notice of what we are putting into our bodies!

Along with the book I am reading, I have been doing a lot of googling. 🙂 I’ve bought 2 natural sweeteners called Agave Nectar and Stevia. These are natural sweeteners that you can use to replace your sugar. I am in the process of trying them out right now. As I find recipes that taste good and are healthy, I will share them here too. Last night I made our first batch of banana bread/muffins and they turned out great! (recipe to come…)

I admit, I am pretty hopeful that this is going to help me. I am so tired of the negativity, bad moods, irritability and days of being down. I know that if I’m eating healthier, it will help me feel better overall. And, just reading the descriptions in the book of those with sugar sensitivities really leads me to believe this could be me.

A very recent example that comes to mind is from last week when we went to Gatlinburg. We had Krispy Kreme donuts the first night we went up there after supper for a treat. Well, that next day, I felt worse than I have felt in a long time. Really bad. I am thinking it was all that sugar!!

For now, I am not eliminating sugar in every single thing we eat – for instance, our peanut butter is natural and does NOT have high fructose corn syrup in it, but it DOES have sugar. For now, we are sticking with our peanut butter. I will be trying to bake a little bit more – with healthy whole wheat (freshly ground for that matter!) flour – muffins, bread, pancakes, waffles. I will be replacing that sugar with either agave nectar, stevia or maple syrup, depending on the recipe. I still have not figured out honey yet…I think I will still end up using that some, too.

I am going to be writing down what I’m eating to make sure I’m getting enough protein.

The hardest part for me will be NO SWEETS. These banana muffins I made are actually pretty good…I’m hoping that as I replace our sugar, I will also find foods that taste “sweet” to me (and satisfy that craving) while are healthier at the same time. Ultimately I’d love to stop craving the foods all together! (a girl can dream, right?)

So, is anyone else on this journey? Any tips? Any recipes? Any books to suggest? I’d love to hear from you!!