Sugar free diet

[Grogger]

Anyone on here ever tried a sugar free diet or know anyone who's tried it?

I suffer from a chronic eye problem linked to my eczema and it always flares up this time of year. Did a bit of research and it seems that going sugar free is a good way of helping fight infections and skin problems so I'm thinking of giving it a try.

Not sure how easy it'll be to do or how much it'll cost but it's the last resort for me as I can't stay on antibiotics for a long period of time!

 

[pendodave]

There was an article in the graun about this the other day :

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/feb/08/suzanne-moore-sugar-free-diet

Not so much fun....

As with fat, it's the processed foods and drinks which are the problem. At least when you cook yourself you can see what goes in.

 

[Grogger]

There was an article in the graun about this the other day :

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/feb/08/suzanne-moore-sugar-free-diet

Not so much fun....

As with fat, it's the processed foods and drinks which are the problem. At least when you cook yourself you can see what goes in.

Interesting article but seems a bit extreme to some of the things I've been researching. I've been looking at ones where fruit and veg are a staple part of it.

Going to try a few different things and see if it has any affect on me. I'm desperate!!

 

[Leftie]

Do your research.

Some fruit and vegetables are actually quite high in sugar.

 

[SocketRocket]

Cut out sugary foods, including carbohydrates which are another form of sugar. Look at books by Dr John Briffa.

 

[ScienceBoy]

I just think before I eat, ,"do I need to eat that" and "what's the alternative?"

It's hard to cut things out totally butnsome planning and thinking and you can manage a healthy diet with foods you like.

 

[Ethan]

A sugar-free diet is a crank diet and should be avoided. Your body needs carbs and it is pretty much impossible to avoid them even if you did, unless you want to stay in a permanent state of ketosis, which is not a good thing.

Sugar is a brand term and a specific, and people get them confused. The white stuff you put in tea, or which Starbucks puts in almost everything, is sucrose, a refined sugar. Reducing this is a good idea. So cut out those drinks listed on news reports yesterday, fizzy drinks that aren't diet or zero calorie and look at the labels on ready meals.

Carbohydrates are the staple food stuff for almost all the world, whether as potatoes, cereal, cous cous, pasta, noodles, fruit and veg or whatever. You need them as a source of energy which your body can easily process. It is wise to choose low GI (glycaemic effect) carbs where possible, such as pasta, grains, fruit and veg rather than cakes, white bread and the like. The latter have a sharper spike in blood sugar. But you cannot and should not try to cut out all carbs.

 

[GeneralStore]

Banting or Paleo is something to read up on, some amazing results have been achieved with people following a low carb, medium protein and high fat diet. Amazing actually. People are fighting illness, certain types of diabetes and obviously being overweight. This doesnt mean no carbs, but just very low carbs and the quality of the carbs is key...e.g. green veg have carbs in it, but they are excellent for you. Tim Noakes is a scientist that I follow whom has written a couple of books and is causing such a shift in eating patterns in South Africa that the big FCG companies are after him and suing him. He has written a book called Real Meal Revolution http://realmealrevolution.com/ which is a good and easy read and also full of good recipes.

Refined sugar is more addictive than some class a drugs, so they do take some effort and will power to kick, but once you have done so, you tend to not look back.

If you really want your eyes opened watch That Sugar Film http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3892434/

Best of luck

 

[SocketRocket]

A sugar-free diet is a crank diet and should be avoided. Your body needs carbs and it is pretty much impossible to avoid them even if you did, unless you want to stay in a permanent state of ketosis, which is not a good thing.

Sugar is a brand term and a specific, and people get them confused. The white stuff you put in tea, or which Starbucks puts in almost everything, is sucrose, a refined sugar. Reducing this is a good idea. So cut out those drinks listed on news reports yesterday, fizzy drinks that aren't diet or zero calorie and look at the labels on ready meals.

Carbohydrates are the staple food stuff for almost all the world, whether as potatoes, cereal, cous cous, pasta, noodles, fruit and veg or whatever. You need them as a source of energy which your body can easily process. It is wise to choose low GI (glycaemic effect) carbs where possible, such as pasta, grains, fruit and veg rather than cakes, white bread and the like. The latter have a sharper spike in blood sugar. But you cannot and should not try to cut out all carbs.

Thats right. A 'low' carb diet , zero carbs is not normally suggested.

 

[Grogger]

Banting or Paleo is something to read up on, some amazing results have been achieved with people following a low carb, medium protein and high fat diet. Amazing actually. People are fighting illness, certain types of diabetes and obviously being overweight. This doesnt mean no carbs, but just very low carbs and the quality of the carbs is key...e.g. green veg have carbs in it, but they are excellent for you. Tim Noakes is a scientist that I follow whom has written a couple of books and is causing such a shift in eating patterns in South Africa that the big FCG companies are after him and suing him. He has written a book called Real Meal Revolution http://realmealrevolution.com/ which is a good and easy read and also full of good recipes.

Refined sugar is more addictive than some class a drugs, so they do take some effort and will power to kick, but once you have done so, you tend to not look back.

If you really want your eyes opened watch That Sugar Film http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3892434/

Best of luck

Thanks very much for that! I've just done some research online and it seems a paleo diet may be the way ahead for me. Lots of people with the same condition swear by it so think I'll do some research this weekend

 

[Ethan]

Thanks very much for that! I've just done some research online and it seems a paleo diet may be the way ahead for me. Lots of people with the same condition swear by it so think I'll do some research this weekend

The Paleo diet is basically a low carb, no processed food diet with an overall reduction in calories. It is a bit of a conceit though, because the premise is that humans have not really evolved (in digestion terms) since Paleolithic days and that modern foods have become too rich in processed elements and so on. That may be partially true, but human digestion has changed since then, foods were different then (fewer toxins in some foods, more in others) and many health foods have been developed through cultivation or otherwise identified. Just eat a sensible diet avoiding processed foods (especially meats) and eat plenty of fresh vegetables, pulses and nuts.

The guy who wrote most of the Paleo diet stuff doesn't live in a cave any more. He has managed to hunt and gather a very great deal of money. Don't contribute any more!

 

[Ross61]

Did you see "sugar free farm" on ITV? It was a celebrity thing, but still interesting what effect it had on them physically and mentally. They were led throughout by a nutritionist.
You can still get it on the ITV demand site for another week if you are interested.

 

[Ethan]

You can come up with all sort of crank diets.

What about a Bible diet: You can eat anything mentioned in the Bible - an apple, loaves, fish, fatted calf, frankincense, myrrh, but you have to exercise for at least 666 calories a day.

I bet you will lose weight.

 

[GeneralStore]

That is going to be an interesting marketing campaign Ethan, would like to see that.

On a more serious note, I agree with the your underlying point in that following a 'fad' diet is not usually a good idea, nor is it usually sustainable...HOWEVER...I dont think the average person is too well read on nutrition, not saying the OP is or isnt, but in general that stands. So a 'diet', even if has loads of marketing, but is based on truth, can do more good than bad, if it educates the person following it and moves them closer to their goals in their long term. IF they read the right books and learn from it, at the very least they will learn what parts work for them and what doesnt.

I also think that while there is a fair bit of good research out there, there is loads of bad research as well (by that I mean Coca Cola sponsoring research that shows that drinking 1 coke everyday is fine) and I also think that what works for people varies, from a physiological and psychological point of view.

I have done a fair bit of experimenting on myself with nutrition and I have found that the banting principles work very well for me, some parts of it work well for my wife, although she needs slightly more carbs than me. It hasnt produced amazing results from a weight-loss perspective, but from a health perspective/immune system/getting ill/energy levels it has been fantastic. Only by trying, measuring and learning can you find out what works for you. Some rules obviously apply across all healthy eating plans, but if you dont have that knowledge how do you get it...by reading some of these books, watching a few documentaries and building your knowledge.

As an aside, my daughter is given lunch at school every day and I cannot believe how they are given sugar-laden desserts everyday! Absolutely ridiculous! Obesity levels increase and yet most parents, marketing and schools are 'training' children to love and depend on sugar. How can that possibly be a good idea? Coca Cola and Mars say its fine, so it must be. Good luck with that

 

[Ethan]

That is going to be an interesting marketing campaign Ethan, would like to see that.

On a more serious note, I agree with the your underlying point in that following a 'fad' diet is not usually a good idea, nor is it usually sustainable...HOWEVER...I dont think the average person is too well read on nutrition, not saying the OP is or isnt, but in general that stands. So a 'diet', even if has loads of marketing, but is based on truth, can do more good than bad, if it educates the person following it and moves them closer to their goals in their long term. IF they read the right books and learn from it, at the very least they will learn what parts work for them and what doesnt.

I also think that while there is a fair bit of good research out there, there is loads of bad research as well (by that I mean Coca Cola sponsoring research that shows that drinking 1 coke everyday is fine) and I also think that what works for people varies, from a physiological and psychological point of view.

I have done a fair bit of experimenting on myself with nutrition and I have found that the banting principles work very well for me, some parts of it work well for my wife, although she needs slightly more carbs than me. It hasnt produced amazing results from a weight-loss perspective, but from a health perspective/immune system/getting ill/energy levels it has been fantastic. Only by trying, measuring and learning can you find out what works for you. Some rules obviously apply across all healthy eating plans, but if you dont have that knowledge how do you get it...by reading some of these books, watching a few documentaries and building your knowledge.

As an aside, my daughter is given lunch at school every day and I cannot believe how they are given sugar-laden desserts everyday! Absolutely ridiculous! Obesity levels increase and yet most parents, marketing and schools are 'training' children to love and depend on sugar. How can that possibly be a good idea? Coca Cola and Mars say its fine, so it must be. Good luck with that

That is fair comment. And it highlights one of the issues with Paleo diet.

Paleo man didn't go to Waitrose to get organic lentils or Chilean Sae Bass. He ate what he was able to hunt, which was not always much, especially in winter, and he had to feed his family. It didn't matter too much to Paleo man that his diet was poor in Vitamin D, for example, because he didn't live long enough to get osteoporosis or a fractured hip. His kids didn't get a lift to school every day, and most of them died before reaching adulthood.

As for Atkins/Banting/Paleo and other low carbs diets of various flavours, they all tend to reduce calories, and in the short term, low carbs are fine and you will lose weight. But high protein,. high fat diets can be problematic and have long term health issues. But you can also lose weight on a normal carb diet. Portion control is the key, and a focus on low GI foods and no added sugar will help. No alcohol helps too, as does an increase in exercise, even walking but preferably something that makes you sweat.

 

[GeneralStore]

Ethan, I agree with all of that. Regardless of the macro nutrient breakdown calorie control is key.