on sugar and survival

fifty days ago, on a whim inspired by the book i was reading at the time, i gave up most forms of sugar and all forms of artificial sweeteners. it was an interesting experiment. these are my observations:

• i didn’t miss sugar at all. with the more healthful alternatives i was allowed (raw honey, organic maple syrup & agave nectar), i got by just fine day to day.
• what i did miss was the flexibility to eat whatever i wanted whenever i wanted. i said “i can’t eat that” a lot and that kind of restriction started to chafe after a month.
• my breath got a lot better. i’ve always known that my mouth would get a gross coated feeling after i ate something really sugary, but i guess i didn’t think about what would happen once i got all the sugar out of my system. this was good because i couldn’t chew gum or eat mints to cover up any bad breath.
• sugar hides in almost every processed food item you can imagine. seriously, here’s just a few names it can use: maltose, barley malt, maltodextrin, dextrose, fruit juice concentrate, succinate.
• i lost about four pounds without even trying. it was a wholly unintended consequence, but it makes sense, since the sugar-added things i was avoiding were mostly high-calorie things.
• okay, i cheated a little. i ate some processed foods which probably contained sugar. also, when my knee borked out i had some pity chocolate and after giving blood i ate cookies. and, boy, did i pay for it! the day after giving blood, i had THE WORST headache ever. ohmygod.
• if it hadn’t been for this experiment, i might never have discovered i actually LIKE steel-cut oatmeal. i’d say that’s totally worth it right there.

four days ago, i ate sugar again. boy, did i eat sugar again. and, you know what? i’ve felt like ass the entire four days.
in conclusion (boy, i haven’t used that to start a final paragraph since about 1992), removing sugar & sweeteners from my diet for 46 days was a Very Good Thing. i’m glad i did it and i think, overall, there will be a lot less sugar in my diet in the future. it’s just empty calories which react badly in my body and i’m all about making my body happy these days.