No Sugar Tonight: Fibromyalgia and Diet

Question: Wouldn’t you have less pain if you just ate better foods and lost weight?

OK. It’s True! 🙁

… I am a sugarholic. I love sweets and have very little willpower to resist them. If it’s there, I want it. I’m doing some better but it is still a challenge.

But to be honest,

I have yet to have a doctor tell me to eat more healthy or tell me to cut out sweets or fats. I have only received guidance through a holistic nutritionist, a representative to a nutritional product, and through reading on the internet. I’m going to leave most of the advice to the professionals, but I do want to take some time to talk about sugar.

Reminder:  I just want to say that I am a patient, not a doctor. What I am sharing comes largely from what my doctors taught me and what I have discovered in my own searching.

I am sharing to hopefully help you be informed enough to support friends with this syndrome or possibly acquire informed questions for your doctor. Please talk with your doctor or visit the Mayo Clinic website for official information, diagnosis, and treatment.

Aside from all those giving their advice

I am very aware that sugar is my biggest downfall. I believe, it is the underlying cause of many if not all of the autoimmune diseases we are dealing with these days. There could be other reasons, such as pesticides, GMOs and processing, but sugar is the biggy.

Sugar Equals Pain

Over the past 8+ years of my fight with chronic pain, I have learned to pay close attention to my body. It tells me when I am getting too much or not enough of something. When my pain gets more extreme, I can look back a day or so and see that I have given in to the sugar temptation.

Usually, as soon as I cut out the sugar, my pain numbers drop back down to a manageable level. And I’m sorry to say this, but this includes most if not all of the sugar substitutes that are out there.

I’d like to make this request to my friends and family.

I know that you love to give me gifts and surprises. And you know that I love sweets and want to buy me something I will enjoy. But please, STOP BUYING MY SWEETS. It’s no different than an alcoholic, you wouldn’t bring home a beer or alcoholic drink to them, so don’t bring home sweets to me.

Sugar Substitutes

Sugar substitutes all come with their own disadvantages that basically make them worse than using the real thing. Dr. Mercola explains it in his article. Here’s a snippet…

Sweetener lesson 101: Avoid artificial sweeteners like the plague. While the mechanisms of harm may differ, they’re all harmful in one way or another. This includes aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal), sucralose (Splenda), saccharin(Sweet’N Low), acesulfame potassium, neotame, and others.

Twenty years ago I wasn’t sure, but now there’s little doubt in my mind that artificial sweeteners can be far worse for you than sugar and fructose, and there is plenty of scientific evidence to back up that conclusion. In fact, there’s enough evidence showing the dangers of consuming artificial sweeteners to fill an entire book — which is exactly why I wrote Sweet Deception.

“The Case Against Artificial Sweeteners“.

I was also told by my nutritionist that your body reacts the same to substitutes as it does to real sugar. So indeed, you are not helping yourself, even to lose weight by using these substitutes.

Sorry, No Sugar Tonight

So, it’s really important to just stay completely away from sugars of all kinds. I try my best, but my family likes having snacks around AND I love to bake. So sometimes, I do succumb to a sweet or two. The problem I find is that once I start, it is sooooo difficult to stop. That’s why it’s best to avoid sugar at all costs.

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The Sweet Herb, Stevia

There is one substitute that I use for my tea and coffee in the morning, Stevia. It is not a processed food but rather, it is an extract of a plant. My nutritionist suggested using only Kal Stevia or Sweet Leaf Stevia. She says, they are the only ones entirely pure.

I like the liquid form because you can control the amounts better. It is something like 20x sweeter than sugar. So you only need a few drops. If you get too much, it will have a bitter aftertaste.

For traveling or eating out, I use the packets, only because it is easier to carry around than a bottle of the liquid.

So …. these are my thoughts about sugar… even though I am preaching to myself.

Feeling Your Pain;

Mandy Farmer

Pastor’s Wife (retired) &  Chronic Pain Warrior blogs about how to make it through anything by relating her own life experiences to her writing. She is passionate about her love for the Lord and desires to spread that passion to others. She has a great desire to encourage women who are following behind her.

www.mandyandmichele.com