True Stories: Cutting Sugar

By Blog Contributor Rachel Lodge

In my previous blog on sugar (Part 2), we delved into some of the damaging effects of sugar on our bodies, and at the end of the blog, you may remember I mentioned starting a 3-month sugar-free trial.  Well…I made it! - and I have to say it felt good to take the plunge as I really wanted to see how much effect this would have on my ME/CFS symptoms.

Before I start, I think it is important to clarify exactly what being ‘sugar-free’ meant for me, as often, when you dig a bit deeper you discover that this term means different things to different people.  As we discussed in Part 1, sugar has several different guises, and it’s sneaky stuff that can annoyingly appear where you least expect it.  Obviously, refined white sugar (sucrose) was going to be off the menu; but I also wanted to make sure I was avoiding other simple sugars that are frequently added into many pre-packaged foods such as dextrose, glucose, maltose, lactose, high-fructose corn syrup (to name just a few!).  Essentially, the best way for me to bypass all of these added sugars was to rule out processed junk food; remembering that even the vast majority of ‘savory’ junk foods contain these added sugars too. 

What about natural alternatives to sugar such as honey, maple syrup & coconut sugar?

Well, I decided to have a tiny amount of these each day, mainly because I eat a grain-free granola most mornings that has a very small amount of natural sweetness in the form of coconut blossom nectar, and I didn’t want to forgo this.  It’s a great breakfast to have on hand (very tasty combined with berries and coconut yogurt - yum!) and very convenient when you are gluten-free and don’t have a lot of energy.  However, that was my quota for the whole day, and I was very conscious of not simply replacing refined white sugar with other types of natural sweeteners.  This can of course be highly tempting, but I would urge you not to fall into the trap of considering foods such as raw honey, coconut sugar, brown rice syrup, agave syrup, and maple syrup to be ‘healthy’ alternatives that can be eaten in excess - just because they come from nature.  Remember, after all, that refined white sugar is of course originally derived from a natural plant source too!  Some do argue that these naturally occurring sweeteners are slightly preferable to refine white sugar because, unlike the ‘white stuff’, they contain certain beneficial minerals and other nutrients such as the enzymes present in raw honey. Regardless of this, please don’t be fooled, these are still all forms of simple sugar that will significantly raise blood sugar levels in the body and therefore need to be eaten sparingly.  Just as an example, coconut sugar is comprised of around 70% - 80% sucrose anyway!.  

Sweet Relief

Well, I noticed three obvious benefits during my sugar-free trial.  Firstly, my digestive health seemed to improve, and I certainly noticed less stomach bloating particularly following my evening meal.  As the weeks went on, I also noticed that my clothes became slighter and looser, and my waist circumference reduced - a measurement that is now commonly recognized as a strong predictor of future health.  Perhaps most significantly though…my sleep improved.  Like many sufferers of ME/CFS I have had problems with insomnia and disturbed sleep for many years, but interestingly cutting out sugar seemed to improve this symptom quite dramatically.  Whether it was the reduction in sugar itself that helped; or the fact that much of the sugar I was previously eating was combined with caffeine in raw chocolate, I’m not sure.  Either way, the positive impact this had on my sleep was amazing after years of struggling.

This was a win!  As probably everyone who has ME/CFS will tell you, any win, whether it be big or small, feels like a huge victory and it spurs you to take on the next challenge in your journey.  Celebrate it and keep moving forward! 

We’d love to hear from you in the comments section below if you’ve ever attempted being sugar-free, how did it go, and how did it impact your health?  If you’d like support with your sugar-free journey, please get in touch.

Suggested Further Reading:

‘The Case Against Sugar’ (2016) by Gary Taubes.