How Reducing Sugar Changed My Health

{This site uses affiliate links. Click here for the full disclosure.}

About 6 years ago now, as I was struggling with persistent yeast overgrowth manifested by infections and skin rashes, I decided that I finally was going to take the plunge and do a candida cleanse. I eliminated sugar, dairy, grains, certain fruits and vegetables, and legumes. I followed this book and was on this strict diet for almost six weeks. During this time, I heard about Trim Healthy Mama AND found out that I was expecting our second child so I figured that I may as well stay away sugar and the things that I found out were exacerbating the yeast issue {dairy, corn, and some fruits} for the remainder of the pregnancy. The rest of that pregnancy I felt AMAZING and though I now go on and off of THM, I still try to stay away from excess sugar. Here are some things that I have learned and how reducing sugar changed my health.

What I have learned after reducing my sugar intake:

1. The average person’s intake of sugar per year in the United States is 150-170 pounds!!!

This seems crazy, but when you add up pop, breakfast cereals, coffee drinks, teas, ice creams, cookies, and whatever other sweet thing the average person eats, it is easily seen how this happens. It also explains why so many people are struggling with gut health, autoimmune diseases, and inflammation.

In the early 1800’s the number was considerably less than what it is now, in fact the average American then, consumed in one year, what an average American now consumes in a little over two weeks!!

2. My body does not handle sugar alcohols well at all.

One of the first things that I tried when I was reducing and eliminating sugar from my diet, was replacing the sugar in my recipes with xylitol, erithrytol, and mixtures of sugar alcohols and stevia. But I quickly learned that sugar alcohols give me stomach cramps, gas, and bloating. This isn’t something that is uncommon either.

For people with autoimmune diseases, leaky gut, or other gut issues, sugar alcohols can do more harm then good. Why? Sugar alcohols aren’t able to be fully digested in the gut and can build up leading to bloating and gas, and ultimately harm the lining of the gut. {For more amazing info check out this article from the Healthy Home Economist.}

3. There are amazing recipes out there that are sweetened with stevia.

You can make amazing recipes that are sweetened with stevia. If you are in doubt, check out these recipes:

• 17 Stevia Sweetened Dessert Recipes
• Cocoa Nuts {a grain free breakfast porridge}
• Chocolate Zucchini Flax Muffins
• Sugar Free Stevia Sweetened Mint Lemonade

4. Lower glycemic foods help me to stay satisfied longer than high glycemic foods.

Foods that are higher on the glycemic index include starchy carbohydrates like white potatoes, rice, and fruits often left me feeling hungy-ish/snacky {I say hungry-ish/snacking because with my Hasimotos/Hypo-Thyroidism it is very rare that I actually feel hungry, most of the time I have to make myself eat.} within a couple of hours. This is because of their effects on blood sugar and the crash that follows after these foods are eaten.

When I changed my diet to include more foods that were lower glycemic, as well as pairing them with protein when I ate them, I was satisfied for a lot longer than before.

5. My yeast rashes have been almost completely eliminated.

The main reason for this is because sugar feeds candida {the yeast that grows in your intestinal tract}. By reducing my sugar and limiting high GI carbs, there is less for the candida to feed on. I still have flare ups when I get into too much corn, dairy, and sugar, but now that I know the cause I am able to get them under control pretty quickly by eliminating those things completely for a while and using lots of gut healing foods and good probiotics.

6. Sugar increases inflammation in the body and causes hormone imbalances.

Numerous studies show that sugar increases inflammation in the body. Chronic inflammation leads to other diseases like: heart disease, asthma, and Crohn’s disease, and may be linked to others like high blood pressure, cancer, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s.

Sugar can also cause imbalances between estrogen and progesterone because excess sugar leads to lower sex hormone binding globulin which leads to higher estrogen and testosterone levels. Higher estrogen levels means that you may have: bloating, irregular periods, a decrease in sex drive, mood swings, anxiety, insomnia, and more.

Below are some other changes I have noticed since reducing sugar:

7. Acne breakouts happen less.

8. PMS is no longer an issue.

9. Cramping during my cycle has been greatly lessened.

10. Mood swings have decreased.

I am sure as time goes on I will realize that there are more then these benefits seen in my life, these are juts the ones I have noticed til this point. If you are thinking about trying to eliminate sugar from your diet, I highly recommend the Trim Healthy Mama books. They have a lot of great information in them!

You May Also Like:

Trim Healthy Mama Overview and 1 Week Eating Plan

How to Build a Trim Healthy Mama Meal

Grain Free Flour Options