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Hi. Does anyone know the answers to these questions? I recently read that artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame, can "trick" the body into an insulin response. Could the same be true of stevia? How about the safety of other alternatives, such as xylitol, or maltitol (such as you find in sports protein bars...) I have rheumatoid arthritis, and I know they don't cause any bad reactions, but I hesitate to use anything that has a chemical-sounding name! Thanks! -Fingers
In Reply to: 5 months and still sugar free posted by Fingers on February 28, 2001 at 07:33:30:
What I've heard is that it is the "taste" of *sweet* that tricks the body into an insulin response. So then it must be the taste buds sending a message to the brain. Hope this helps a little.
In Reply to: 5 months and still sugar free posted by Fingers on February 28, 2001 at 07:33:30:
Fingers,
I can't answer your questions but I think it's great that you've gone 5 months with no sugar. If you don't mind maybe you can brief us on your results. Are symptoms going away, are you feeling better, any tips on practical meals and cooking? You know, that kind of stuff. Anyways, congrats on your progress thus far.
In Reply to: 5 months and still sugar free posted by Fingers on February 28, 2001 at 07:33:30:
I hate to sound like a broken record, but ANY questions about ANY food, disease, immunity prob, can be explained IN SIMPLE terms in Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions book!
I've been off sugar and refined foods for 2 years, (occasional cheating doesn't kill me!!). Read this and you'll not believe what has been done to our food, spices, and everything we consume!!!
In Reply to: Re: 5 months and still sugar free posted by vivian on February 28, 2001 at 16:12:49:
Thanks to everyone. vivian - I've written down the Fallon book - but OH NO!!!! I DON'T WANT TO KNOW!! I can't take it anymore - I already work 2 full time jobs just paying for the special food. Maybe God WANTS us to be poisoned! It's so much cheaper and easier! I found out about Maltitol. It's hydrogenated maltose. So it can't be good. But with Xylitol and Litesse, all I could find was manufacturers propaganda. And apparantly sucrolose is almost as bad as aspartame. Frank - Yes,the symptoms are unbelievably better. At first, all I could eat was poultry, fish, a few fruits, and most veggies. Then I added some nuts - OK. I have tried some grains, and don't have problems unless I eat too much. So I do a little oatmeal thickened with egg whites, and almond milk with flax seed oil,(and a teaspoon of heavy cream!) and sometimes some rice protein (I'm still sensitive to soy) But I'm much less sensitive to everything than I was before - except the caffeine, sugar (including honey and molasses, etc.) and alcohol. Still can't touch those things - even in tiny doses. Or red meat, either, even though I'm a hunte-gatherer (or mixed??) But if I stay away from those things, and go very easy on the grains, I sometimes forget I have RA. My fingers even seem to be straightening out a little. I try to remember to take my glucosamine. I use fish oils, and was taking MSM, but recently stopped, to see if it caused insomnia. (It could just be working two full time jobs, or withdrawals from sugar. I've never gone longer than 2 weeks without it. I'm sobering up for the first time in my life. (54 years!!) Didn't realize that sugar makes you drunk. It's a little scary to wake up and look around. I never have my evening beer(s), either! But I miss it less and less...)) My diet gets pretty boring - I'll make a spinach souffle with almond milk and almond cheese (or rice cheese) once in a while. Most spices don't bother me, so I experiment with those. (But now, according to vivian, I should watch out...) And as a recovering sugar junkie, my favorite recipe (I invented it myself) is this: Mix one can plain pie pumpkin with one whole egg, and two egg whites (I use the packaged kind - shame on me...) add about a teaspoon of powdered (green ) stevia, a dash of salt, a tiny smidge of Frontier alcohol free butter flavor,a few shakes of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, etc.and maybe 2/3 cup of almond or rice milk. I then bake it or cook and stir over low heat. Very tasty. But of course, spices are very YIN and so is canned pumpkin. It's even better with fresh squash. Oddly enough, though, your tastes DO change, and I think now my very favorite sweet is a macintosh apple. The bottom line is that the diet DOES work - it's SO obvious after a while. But you know, you can't tell anyone!! They think you're some kind of subversive or something! There's a YOUNG woman at work who was just diagnosed with RA, so I sent her all my web sites, and now she walks great distances to avoid me. And even if people do believe you, they would rather live in pain and have all their hair fall out, and be nauseous all the time, than change their diet. Of course, these are the same people who spent the day complaining that they have to go to church instead of going home - and get some ashes rubbed on their faces, so that God will love them enough NOT to send them to hell...(or whichever it is that this horrible person called "God" is supposed to do to them...) I guess some people just believe everything they hear. I guess we all do, at some level. Oops! I work too much, I talk too much! KMD - thanks - maybe it's all just psycho-physiological. I once read that you can actually gain weight just by SMELLING something good. Maybe you can lose it by watching your room-mate jog! I'll have to go out and buy an exercise video. Of course, Walt would just tell you to eat whole foods, and if you need to find out about a food, then just listen to your body. But my body only tells me to do things I don't ha
In Reply to: 5 months and still sugar free posted by Fingers on February 28, 2001 at 07:33:30:
I study learning and memory and know that the context of a particular object/event/food/drug can trigger the same response in the body as the object itself. This is true whether the response is a memory, a feeling, and even a physiological state.
For example, if a person just pours a beer, they will feel relaxed even before taking a sip - same for a heroin addict just seeing a photo of a syringe (sometimes this is refered to as craving). The learning process is classical conditioning - same thing as Pavlov's dogs: salivating to the bell before the food ever arrived.
But, no fear. If you smell sugar and trigger an insulin response in your body - and do *NOT* follow with ingesting the sugar - the body will stop responding to the smell, - eventually. This process is extinction.
by the way Fingers, 5 months, congratulations! i have only recently found this list. i have added a humidifier to my house and am nearly 100% congestion free. even better, i have been sugar-free for 5 weeks and feel incredible!! stevia only. also - 95% whole foods (can't seem to get a good loaf of bread without the gluten flour and can't budge on the microwave popcorn - i will try though).
kind regards,
de
In Reply to: Re: 5 months and still sugar free to Vivian, Frank, and KMD posted by Fingers on February 28, 2001 at 23:06:08:
Fingers, I have no answers to your questions but I do have the utmost admiration for your willpower.
Just wanted to comment on what you said regarding the expense of trying to eat "good" foods. I get a lot of organic food these days and have slacked off on my supplements - had to make a choice there.
Are there any archived posts about your beginning journey in letting go of sugar? I think a lot of us have difficulty letting go of certain things - like sugar or caffiene and the like. I feel that the fact it is hard is maybe an indication of the degree to which we perhaps need to make changes. Would love for the dialogue on this to continue to help everyone learn more. Cheers!
June
In Reply to: Re: 5 months and still sugar free - how smell can trigger insulin response posted by De on March 01, 2001 at 12:18:59:
De,
I found a great gluten-free bread, Food for Life Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Bread. Organic, 100% flourless (no gluten!). And it tastes nutty - not the typical shingle. Katie They make pitas and hamburger buns, too.
In Reply to: Re: 5 months and still sugar free - how smell can trigger insulin response posted by katie on March 01, 2001 at 14:54:38:
I have this exact bread. It contains organic sprouted wheat and barley, both contain gluten! Also, it may not be a perfect whole food, because it also contains malted barley, which may or may not be allowed depending on its source.
In Reply to: Re: Ezekiel Bread posted by correction? on March 01, 2001 at 17:37:07:
According to the quick reference list for Brand Names in "The Healing Power of Whole Foods" The following Food for Life breads are no no's for the perfect diet: Ezekiel4:9 is a no because of malted barley. 7 sprout grain is a no because of honey and molasses and sprouted whole grain bread is a no because of malted barley. If you don't own this book you need to buy it. If you do, copy all the reference pages in the back and take them to the store with you. You will always want to recheck ingredients on the approved name brands because companies may change ingredients. Also, all acceptable items on the lists are not created equal. For example the powder form of Stevia in packets by the company Stevita, contains maltodextrin which is a no no on the perfect diet. Reading every word on a label every time is important if you want to follow the perfect diet and not a liberalized one.
In Reply to: Re: Ezekiel Bread posted by Steph on March 01, 2001 at 17:55:12:
Thanks for the info. I ordered the book from Amazon today. What bread do you recommend? katie
In Reply to: 5 months and still sugar free posted by Fingers on February 28, 2001 at 07:33:30:
Hi, Fingers.
I had not heard of any of the "artifical" sweeteners causing any insulin response. However, I HAVE heard of them perpetuating the "desire" for the sweet taste--I have even, personally, experienced THAT.
All of the words that end with "ol" are metabilized exactly the same as sugar and need to be avoided: xylitol, mannitol, sorbital, alcohol, etc.
Remember that ALL refined carbohydrates cause the same reaction as sugar in the system. See the homepage article about that.
Hope this helps.
Walt
In Reply to: Re: Ezekiel Bread posted by katie on March 02, 2001 at 07:16:05:
Home made bread using Beth's recipes are good!
In Reply to: Re: 5 months and still sugar free - how smell can trigger insulin response posted by De on March 01, 2001 at 12:18:59:
Congratulations de.
Microwave popcorn IS a whole food.
You are right about the effect of smell on the endocrine system. The allopaths have been ignoring this very powerful influence on the physiology.]
Harvard Medical School has begun to do competent research (over the past 5-10 years) in this area and have found them VERY potent. However, since aromatic oils do not require a prescription (and thus no income for the physician) these findings will be a long time getting to the public.
Walt
In Reply to: Re: 5 months and still sugar free posted by vivian on February 28, 2001 at 16:12:49:
Congratulations, Vivian.
After being perfect for about 6 months, occasional lapses cause no symptoms in nearly everyone who has done it.
Walt
In Reply to: Re: Ezekiel Bread posted by kmd on March 02, 2001 at 08:57:11:
Mmmmmm homemade bread- I can't wait. Adios Ezekiel Bread!
In Reply to: Re: Ezekiel Bread posted by Steph on March 01, 2001 at 17:55:12:
Steph, how does spelt bread measure up? Its a grain but not wheat. I buy it from New Berlin in Ohio but sold here in the east.
In Reply to: Re: Ezekiel Bread posted by katie on March 02, 2001 at 10:00:26:
Yes homemade bread is the best, using Beth's recipes. It can be time consuming though if you have a job and kids, so I recommend getting a bread machine if you can afford it. There are breads available that are acceptable that you can buy, but you really have to search for them. I have used spelt bread, but didn't like it.
In Reply to: Re: Ezekiel Bread posted by Steph on March 02, 2001 at 20:20:40:
I've been a little leary of bread machines - they all seem to have an aluminum interior. Does anyone know if that should cause any concern? katie
In Reply to: Re: Ezekiel Bread posted by katie on March 03, 2001 at 22:39:59:
hi
yes, it does for me. aluminum, like all metal ions, will enter your body and can easily accumualte and cause problems. AL in particular accumulates in the brain, as in Alzheimer's.
the bread maker my mother uses has a stainles steele inside (the part that touches the bread). most people say that stainless is ok, but i side with the few that say its still not good...not as bad as aluminum, but still not good. (stainless is at least 8% nickel, which as i recall from my chemistry would be the most likely of the metals in stainless to escape...nickel accumulation is linked to development of so called "metal allergies" and baldness and other problems)
it may be worth considering that home made bread-- even contminated with metal ions-- is hundreds of times safer than manufactured bread, which is full of solvents (much worse than metals) and often loaded with mold-- a very nasty and underappreciated problem! as well, if you keep your other intake of metals to a minimum, maybe your detox system could handle a little nickel in your bread...
...so just from my own point of view, id be concerned about aluminum...enough never to use it...and id say stainless interiors are a concern, but not as much of a concern as oterh nastier factors.
i have tried very very hard to find another sort of cooker ( a rice cooker) that has a glass lining...cant find it yet.
In Reply to: Re: Ezekiel Bread posted by Steph on March 01, 2001 at 17:55:12:
hi
as for sticking to whole foods, i have just always passed over anything manufactured. i mean, i admit i am tempted to go and check out these better breads, but before we even consider it, we already know it cant be good-- it is manufactured. how can we expect anything manufactured to be pure ? i dunno...
in place of flour in cookies/etc, maybe we could take cooked (to a fairly dry consistency) millet and mix that right in with butter, etc...ofcourse leaving out the other bad things, etc... i reecall seeing cooked millet used to make a type of pie crust.
anybody else have any good ways of making something like this ?
In Reply to: Re: Ezekiel Bread- bread machines--aluminum posted by leon cavallo on March 03, 2001 at 23:19:58:
Thanks for the info, Leon. I was not aware of the nickel in stainless steel. Do you happen to know the brand of bread maker your mother has? katie
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