I am sugar intolerant and addicted to sugar. I would love to go raw and I'm drawn to the 80/10/10 approach but I'm not sure if it's really going to help me.

The sugar intolerance results in a 'reaction' lasting for maybe four days whenever I eat too much. Usually it is food containing refined sugars that cause the problem, but I think I may have had reactions to fruit sugars in the past. I'm not sure. Small amounts of refined sugar are usually tolerated though - so quantity is a factor it seems.

The first time I tried to go raw (100%) I started to feel really bad after about a month. The main problem was certainly that I wasn't getting enough calories. Afterwards, I worked out that I was only on about 1000 calories a day! But I also suspected the fruit sugars were causing reactions.

As far as sugar addiction is concerned, I have only recently come to understand it. There is a good web site at www.radiantrecovery.com that explains it well. In summary, certain people are sugar sensitive and and don't produce enough seratonin and beta endorphins. When a sugar sensitive person consumes sugar in sufficient quantities he does get a boost of these chemicals and feels good. Really good! But the effect soon subsides and the user craves more sugar. That's where the addiction starts. In the case of beta endorphin the effect of a boost is akin to taking morphine (the same receptors are involed). Apparently, there is a genetic aspect to this - if your parents are alcohlic or sugar sensitive, the sugar sensitivity is passed on to the children. Although I'm not aware of any alcoholics in many family, I think a lot of my relatives could be sugar sensitive.

In may case, the addiction is really strong. I find it hard to go without some kind of suggary food for much more than a few weeks.

On the radiant recovery web site the author descibes a seven step process that basically means eating more protein at every meal, cutting out refined carbohydrates, eating regularly at meal times with no snacks, and eating a potato last thing at night. (The potato is hard to explain quickly, but it is used to create more seratonin). Being vegetarian, its going to be tough to consume protein at the required levels. The author suggests protein powder, which I'm not mad about.

I have sort of started on the program (just step 1) but I'm really hoping for something better. Something in the raw vegan world.

Anway, I'm wondering whether the Rainbow Green Live Food cuisine approach to raw, or the 80/10/10 approach might be useful for me. Both seem to make claims about dealing with sugar problems like diabetes etc. I'm wondering if my sugar intolerance would lessen if I cut out fat for example. The RGLFC approach makes the most sense since it is low on fruit sugars (in phase 1 especially), but I'm much more drawn to 811 since it seems more natural.

Does anyone have experience with sugar intolerance or sugar sensitivites here?

Gary

my sister has sugar intolerance, the reaction is coughing and projectile vomiting within hours of eating anything sugary.

Do you take metformin for your sugar sensitivity? if so what dose?

Can you tollerate any fruit currently?

I would be drawn to saying maybe non sweet fruits, greens.. initially.

Sure more knowledgeable guys will chime in

Just wanted to say hello and we are here to support

Anyway will certainly try and help..if you can answer thos questions!

TTFN!

I've never heard of metformin. I will look that one up! I've seen doctors recently about intolerances etc but all they say is to exclude. Sugar intolerance is supposed to be very rare. I have also been tested for diabetes recently and I'm ok (so far).

I can tolerate fruit, but I'm not sure where the limit is or if there is a limit even. I don't usually eat a great deal of fruit.

Your sister's reaction sounds much more severe than mine. My symptoms usually include irratability, depression, a spaced out feeling, lack of concentration, very slow mentally, and perhaps a head ache / blocked sinuses.

The only medication I take regularly is anti-histamines but that is for allergies like hay fever and my poor cat.

Gary

LOL at poor cat!

Okay I am going to do some reading and get back to you Gary!! I am thinking going from little fruit straight to high fruit isnt advisable!

Will drop some more info on here later

gary,

The syptoms you list are identical for a reaction to sucrose when afflicted with systemic candida; have you had this medically excluded? In any case, I would think that a high greens, lower fructose(berries, green apples) raw diet would work OK. I agree with your instict to limit fat--that's a problem with regard to sugar intake no matter whether one has a disorder. I wish you luck in dealing with this, and hope you find a raw path that works to heal you . . . I have never heard of a genetic sugar sensitivity that wasn't Diabetes, so maybe this is a problem you can reverse.

Hi Tamukha,

this is interesting. I have explored this subject at length in the past and treated myself using an anti-candida program. I'd sort of forgotten about this.

I'm really not sure whether I had candida or not. I did improve somewhat on the program though - in particular I had athletes foot and this has now gone. So maybe.

One of the books I bought on this subject has a kind of self-test where you tick the boxes depending on what symptoms you have. I was border-line usually. I was told that medical tests for candida were very unreliable though and that most doctors would not take this condition seriously.

I will have to look into this again. Thanks.

I had a severe case of candida and have sugar sensitivities. I have no sensitivities to fruit, only processed sugar. I can even eat a few dates with no reaction at all. I get spacey and dizzy if I eat processed sugar. Not a pleasant feeling at all...even a little nauseous. It makes me feel sick just to walk down the cake isle at the market now. My candida is almost gone now. I had an abdominal mass and when I limited fats I started to get better quickly. My sugar sensitivities seem to have increased as I have gotten better. I don't even want to think about eating any non raw sweets, the thought makes me feel sick. I think a doughnut would make me puke.

I guess I need to run a test and see what happens when I eat more fruit.

So my plan is to reduce my fat intake (to 10% if possible) and then to gradually increase my fruit intake whilst reducing my cooked grains.

If I do have candida, and the Douglas Graham's ideas about fat / insulin are right, I should be onto a winner right?

Does anyone have any suggestions about how I should do this? Keep in mind that I am not at all raw at the moment, but I don't eat meat or dairy prodcuts.

Could you give us an example of what you eat now.. maybe a gentle transition?

I follow 8-1-1 myself..will try and assist where I can!

Eating low fat is a lot easier than I thought it would be.

I suggest eating fruit all day and/or salad and then cooked veggies, brown rice, quinoa and beans at night until you transition to all raw, if that is your goal. Some days you could just eat all fruit, that is what I do a lot. I felt better right away after cutting fat.

rawdanceruk:

Breakfast is usually oats with water and a chopped apple.

Lunch is usually a salad (lettuce, tomato, carrots, sweet pepper, celery) together with cooked rice, quinoa, or buckwheat. I sometimes add some cooked beans or raw fish for protein.

Dinner is usually a cooked vegan meal like chips with veggie burgers and steamed veggies, or gluen free pasta with (commercial) bolognaise sauce and soya mince. Alternatively it might be brown rice with a curry sauce and more soya chicken etc.

I think a gentle transition is a good idea.

pakd4fun:

How is your candida now? What are the remaining symptoms?

I would love to go all raw vegan (or at least 80% raw), but my problem with sugar seems to be a stumbling block. I'm hoping that low fat is the key.

Gary.

My symptoms are mild now. The abdominal mass has shrunk to about a tenth of what it was and it is hard to find now. I have a little bit of thrush and and vaginal yeast and that is pretty much it. I believe those two symptoms are due to my body eleminating the mass, which is nearly over. I have only seen a doctor twice for my condition. She sent me to have cancer tests done and wanted to send me to a cancer specialist and that is when I decided to heal on my own. That was three years ago.

80/10/10 has been the answer for me.

pakd4fun - I presume the cancer tests were negative then?

If I thought I had cancer, I hope I would turn to nutrition instead of doctors, but saying this is much easier than doing it. I would probably cave in.

If that is what you did then RESPECT.

I have a friend with cancer who has been given only months or weeks to live by the doctors. He has been treated with chemotherapy etc. Part of me wanted to tell him to stop and go raw instead but really I don't think I have the right to offer medical advice. What do I know - I'm not a doctor? I think his cancer is probably too far gone since it has entered his bones.

I feel bad that I didn't say anything about raw though.

Gary,

I went to some initial testing for cancer and they came out negative. My doctor then highly recommended that I to go to a specialist because she was not satisfied with those results. I had hated the first tests and I had had some really bad experiences with doctors in the past and it all just didn't feel right to me so I declined. A year later I had discovered a large abdominal mass. I was really scared, but not near as scared as I would be if I were in the medical system. I am so happy with the decisions I made. I healed myself completely by natural means and I am so healthy because of it. My sister found out she had Leukemia last year and took a magic pill and is supposed to be cured. She is now so sick all the time. She looks terrible and things keep going wrong, like her back went out a few weeks ago. Meanwhile, I can out run my 13 year old and I look and feel great. Friends tell me I look 20 years younger. My daughter tells me I look twenty. I think being an example for my kids and their health is a huge reward in itself.

I am sorry about your friend.

Hello Gary,
Thanks for posting this. I too am sugar intolerant, mostly just processed sugar but I am also very addicted. I feel so great when I don't eat it but then I add a little bit in and before I know it I am eating it all the time, my digestion is slow, my headaches, I get very moody and my skin breaks out. If you have any tips that have worked for you please let me know.
I am just starting to research the raw diet but I think it is what I need.
Thanks so much,
amy

newtorawfooddiet

I've only just started my transtion to raw vegan, so no tips for you just yet.

However, I have started to eat small amounts of fruit each day (specifically two apples and one banana) and I've not noticed any 'reactions' yet. I have reduced my fat intake, so maybe that is helping.

I'm not craving sugary foods and maybe that's because I'm getting my sugar fix from the fruit. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not.

Since it's still hay fever season I can't yet say that I'm feeling any better. But I'm not feeling any worse.

So far so good.

The fruit will give your body fuel, not a fix. But it just so happens to taste great as well (ripe fruit, that is).

gary,

Hope your experiment is going well. Just a reminder: when you are craving sugar, it's actually your monkey memory craving fructose. So the fruit should satisfy you.

Hope things are going well gary!!

8-1-1 makes life so easy!! and enjoyable!

Monkey memory :-)

I'm quite pleased with my progress this week. Been eating small amounts of fruit each day and have cut right down on fats. I don't think it's in the 10% range yet I think that should be easier to achieve when I'm eating more fruit.

I seem to have caught a cold, but I don't really mind because it seems to supress the hay fever! I suppose the pollen can't get through all the snot or something. I always seem to catch a cold when my son or daughter gets one.

Oh - I had my first green smoothie in ages last night. Loads of Kale. Drank more than two pints and quite enjoyed it.