Why Avoiding Sugar Works

Most people who answer that question will say that sugar turn into fat in our bodies and they are right, but there is an important distinction to make about table sugar that can have a big impact on the foods that you choose to eat in the future.

First of all, let’s talk about what you may already know: the overall reason why avoiding sugars helps weight loss.

How Sugar Increases Fat

Imagine that you need 10 units of energy to run every process in your body for a day. It doesn’t matter what that energy is, let’s just call it a unit of energy. Most people, by the way, think that the only way to get that energy is to use sugar, but you body also uses ketones for energy.

Now, let’s also say that you eat a meal that contains 30 units of energy (which is very easy to do when you are eating sugar – remember the stuff is addictive and leads to overeating). Your body will use the first 10 units of the 30 units you consumed to do all of its bodily things. The question is: what to do with the other 20 units of energy? If your body is wise, it is going to want to save that energy for future use (because your body doesn’t know when you may run out of energy).

Your body’s wise solution is to store that energy and that energy is stored as fat.

Remember that many foods act like sugar in our body (mostly grains) and these types of foods will also increase fat storage, but there is something about table sugar that is different than any other food we eat.

What is Wrong With Table Sugar

If you think back to your high school biology class, you will remember that table sugar is what is called a disaccharide (this simple means “two sugars”). Table sugar is a combination of fructose (a monosaccharide) and glucose (another monosaccharide) and each of these sugars acts differently in our bodies.

Glucose is one of the basic fuel choices in the body and the one that most people in developed countries rely on to run their bodies. So, when you need energy, that glucose is going to be used by the body. Glucose is also the breakdown product of many of the complex carbohydrates that we eat. Eat some pasta and it is glucose that will be released as we digest.

The other part of the table sugar molecule is fructose and this molecule is what causes problems for humans. Fructose acts completely different in your body. Where glucose can be absorbed from that meal you just ate and then used as energy, fructose cannot. That means that fructose has to take a journey from your digestive tract to your liver. When fructose arrives in the liver, the liver has to make some choices, it can either convert that fructose into energy (that is: change it into glucose) or it can store that fructose as fat.

The problem for the liver (and your body) is that converting the fructose into glucose takes a lot more energy than it does to turn the fructose into fat. Since you liver is already busy doing a million other things, it is more likely to spend less energy and turn that fructose into fat.

The other things that makes the fructose into fat conversion more likely is this: the only reason why your body would turn fructose into glucose is if your body needed the glucose, but you just ate plenty of glucose when you ate your meal (remember that table sugar is half glucose and half fructose). There is no incentive for the liver to make the conversion.

So, what do you take home from all of this?

The first is that table sugar is a unique non-food that is likely to store fat and fructose is far from a benign molecule. But, what you also need to pay attention to is the amount of fruits you are eating. If you have been relying on fruits for your energy needs and having a hard time losing weight, now may be time to take a look at how many fruits you are eating. The fruits with the lowest amount of sugars in them are the berries (raspberries, blueberries…). If you need something sweet in your life, use them sparingly.

I’ve said  it enough if you read this blog and, I think to be healthy, we should only be eating meat and vegetables (and the occasional low-sugar fruit). So you will often find me agreeing with much of what low-carb diets are saying. The problem is that I think diets like Atkins, South Beach, and even many of the “caveman diets” miss some key points and these points are crucial to your long term ability to maintain your weight and avoid common chronic diseases.

But before I tell you about what I think they are missing, let’s talk about what they get right:

• Professionals don’t know what they are talking about: If you want to live long and maintain a good weight you are going to have to ignore the advice of your government, medical doctors, and nutritionists. Advice from these professionals is not based in science but politics and many of the people who are supposed to be looking out for your health are not.

• Carbs are killing us: There is no doubt that we shouldn’t be as afraid of many of the fats we eat (go ahead and fear vegetable oils) as we are and that sugar is the main reason why most of us gain weight and why we are so sick. Many of our health problems arise from that fact that we decided to grow and eat grains and foods that act like sugar in our bodies.
• Weight Loss: The best way to lose weight is to keep carbs out of your diet. While many of the low-carb programs disagree on how many carbs you should eat a day and whether you should be producing ketones or not, the research is clear that there are cutoffs for the amount of carbohydrates you should be eating if you want to lose weight and that is generally under 50-100 grams of carbs a day.

While many of the low-carb diets are maligned by mainstream they are on the right track, but that doesn’t mean they are perfect. Here is where they miss the boat:

• Food Quality: Many of the low-carb diets don’t even mention the quality of food and food quality makes a big difference in how healthy you are. Where you get your food and how it was raised is an important factor in your health.
• Fake Sugars: Most low carb diets suggest that you use artificial sweeteners. You probably already know my stance on this: they are bad for you and they keep you addicted to a super-sweet taste and that will only keep you craving sugars. Enough said.
• Consistency of Food: No hunter is ever able to hunt every day, so that means that our cave-person grandparents had to eat something when they didn’t have meat. Building in days when you eat only vegetables or even fast is a great way to maintain your health.

• Lifetime: Most diets have an induction phase and weight loss phase and a return to normal phase. This way of thinking only hurts the person and a diet because they think they can go back to the way things were before the diet began, and this just isn’t true. Your body thrives on foods that existed before we discovered agriculture (around 6,000 years ago) and if you want to be healthy, you are going to have to change the way you eat forever. Does that mean that you can never have cake? That is up to you. But you might be surprised that you don’t really want cake after you try it a few times after not eating it for a while.

What you will find as you move from your way of eating to a human-based diet that you are able to get off the emotional roller coaster that you find yourself in now. You may occasionally look longingly at the some sugary treat you used to enjoy, but most of the time you will feel full and satisfied like you never have. You will also maintain the weight you want to and avoid many common diseases (like diabetes, heart disease, cancer) that all your friends who eat a standard diet will fall prey to. Changing the fuel source of your body (which I will explain later) takes away much of the urgency you used to feel around food. If you need to skip a meal, it is usually no problem.

So, join my 30 Sugar Free Day Program, or use some other low-carb or paleolithic diet, just make the change today and start feeling great again.

What I want to talk about here are the other problems with wheat that will hopefully add fuel to your wish to move beyond this grain.

Wheat has changed dramatically from the time when it was a wild grain to today. We know this because we have found grains with ancient human civilizations and they look nothing like modern wheat. The most dramatic evidence came from the so-called Iceman who not only was carrying an ancient grain called Einkorn, but also his last meal was Einkorn.

When you look at the difference between ancient grains and the genetically modified modern wheat, you see dramatic differences. Not only do the look different (click here to see a photo), but modern wheat is genetically complex compared to ancient grains. Wheat was genetically engineered from only 14 chromosomes to 42. This was done to make wheat more resistant to drought, have higher protein and to be able to run through machinery better. The results are a higher amount of gluten (and, yes that is a huge problem) but it also has a higher amount of Lectins.

Lectins

Lectins are found in almost all foods, but they are especially high in grains, legumes (beans), seeds, nuts, and nightshade plants; they are also high in nut oils and especially high in genetically modified organisms (for reasons you will understand soon).

Technically speaking, lectins are proteins that bind to sugars. While that may not sound very ominous, it has huge implications to your long-term health. The protein lectins in bread, donuts, cereals and other grains that you eat are going to bind to something as they go through your digestive tract and what the lectins bind to are the cells that line your digestive tract. This also may not seem to be a big deal: lectins binding to your digestive tract… but it is. When that binding takes place, your body considers it an attack and releases inflammatory chemicals causing overall body inflammation.

What scientists are beginning to think is that lectins are a form of defense for the plant. If you eat a lot of a plant that contains lectins then you will get a tummy ache and then you will avoid that plant in the future. While lectins are not as active as, say, a rattle on a snake, lectins are built into plants to help them survive and reproduce.

The crazy thing is that when scientists are looking for ways to make plants more resistant to pests, they are generally looking to up the lectin content of that food. When scientists genetically modify a plant, especially those designed to increase pest resistance, they are increasing the amount of lectins in that food. These so-called Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are good for the farmer and agriculture business, but not so good for you. Consuming GMOs is putting even more lectins in contact with your body.

Your Gut Pays the Price

Anywhere from mild irritation, to digestive upset, to full-blown diseases such as Crohn’s Disease’s, irritable bowel and others can be blamed on lectin protein/digestive tract binding. The problem with consuming foods with lectins (they are impossible to avoid altogether) is that they destroy the integrity of your gut. This can lead to a condition called “Leaky Gut Syndrome”. While I won’t go into all the problems associated with leaky gut here, the end result is more inflammation, which, in turn, leads to more leaky gut, which leads to more leaky gut, which (…you get the idea).

In case you are unaware, inflammation is what many scientists would agree is at the bottom of most of the diseases you are likely to get during your lifetime: Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, arthritis, asthma and even weight gain can all be associated with inflammation.

Lower Your Lectin Exposure

It appears that some people are more sensitive to lectins than others, but it is in all of our best interests to avoid exposure to lectins as much as possible.

The easiest way to reduce your lectin exposure by simply avoiding grains altogether. Lectins can also be lowered by fermenting, soaking, sprouting.

Another great way to reduce your exposure to lectins is to rotate your foods. We all tend to get stuck in ruts and eat the same foods over and over, but this will increase your exposure to lectins. You can also try Einkorn and Spelt.

Lectins give us all another good reason to avoid all grains.

What this article will show you is the state of the art about a no-sugar or no “food that act like sugars” (mostly grains) diet and how you can optimize your training and running (or cycling) by sticking to a no-carb diet most of the time. What you will learn is that (at least according to conventional wisdom) is that you have to include some sort of carbohydrate to keep your exercise intensity high.

Recovery

Let’s start at the end, your recovery. The most efficient way to recover from a long exercise bout is to first replace glycogen and then protein. Research has shown that muscles uptake of glycogen is most efficiently 20-30 minutes following exercise. In order to replace this glycogen, you need to eat some form of sugar. This can come in the form of fruits and fruit juices, but fructose (the sugar mostly found in fruit) is not as efficient as glucose so consider a recovery formula (I like the one from Vega).

After you have replaced the glycogen then you should move on to protein. During an hour-long training season, you have lost some protein and you should focus on eating protein to provide your muscles with the building blocks it needs for repair. There is good evidence that eating a diet without sugar or the foods that act like sugar most of the time is helpful at shortening recovery. So, 20 minutes following your exercise you should eat some form of protein like eggs or meat (I like Chili). What you are doing in this phase is giving your body what it needs to function well.

Exercise

In order to understand what you should be eating during exercise, you need to understand what your body considers fuel. When you are at rest, you body will generally use free-floating fats (fatty acids) as energy and this is true when you start to exercise as well. As you increase your exercise intensity, your body will switch from blood fats to using muscle fats called intermuscular triglycerides (IMT). These are the main source of energy to run your muscles. As you further increase intensity, this is when your body will start to use glycogen (this is the form of quick sugar storage in your muscles and liver).

When you get to around 65 percent of your maximum intensity (VO2 max) this is when your body is using about 1/2 glycogen and 1/2 IMT. Things really change when you start exercising at 85 percent of your maximum or above, this is when glycogen becomes the dominant fuel. The body chooses glycogen at this point because it takes less oxygen to burn glycogen than those IMT.

You have probably experienced this if you have ever forgotten to take enough sugar during very intense exercise. As your glycogen depletes, you have to switch to burning body fat, this means you have to slow down because your body is using more oxygen. This isn’t quite bonking, but you feel like everything is uphill.

Review

So to review: if you are exercising slowly, then you don’t need glycogen or sugar; your body has enough fuel to get you around. You also don’t need sugar if you exercise intensely until you run out of glycogen (for most people this is around 1 hour of exercise). When you are exercising at a high intensity for a long time is when you need to keep a constant stream of sugar in your body. Most books will say that you need around 300 calories of sugar per hour for running something like a marathon or longer. If you run longer than a marathon, then you also need to think about consuming some protein.

There is also another trick you should know about that benefits the low-sugar athlete. Most athletes only focus on replacing glycogen, but you can improve your performance by increasing your intermuscular

So while most athletes focus on replacing glycogen, you can increase your efficiency by storing more intermuscular triglycerides (IMT) and this comes from eating low or no sugar and exercising at a high intensity. Yes, this means doing speed work.

I find that eating any sugars tends to make you crave more sugars (I call it the sugar magnet), but if you can focus on using sugar for recovery and using it for only the longest of your runs then being a low-sugar athlete has many benefits.

The last thing I want to say is that what you have read here is the conventional wisdom and researchers only look for what they believe to be normal. It may very well be that not using sugar right after exercise or during long runs may work, but it hasn’t been really tested.

For now, check out The Paleo Diet for Athletes for more information about a low-glycemic diet for athletes.

Over 8,000 people have joined us for a month without sugar, is it your turn this year?

Season of Sugar

It is that time of year again: The Season of Sugar.

As the weather turns colder, and the sun dips lower in the sky (except for readers south of the equator), the days get shorter and with shorter days come incredible sugar cravings. Our collective lust for sugar is only fueled by the multiple invitations to gather with friends and family and the tendency of office workers around the world to bring plates of tasty treats to share with everyone. Too many holiday parties, too many advertisers highlighting tasty foods, too little time outside, too many temptations; it is no wonder we all wake these days feeling like we have a hangover and notice that our clothes don’t fit as well as they did the day before.

New Years

New Years is coming quicker than you might think and it is a good time to start thinking about New Year’s Resolution. The best resolution you can choose is a resolution of health and the best thing you can do for your health is to kick sugar and foods that act like sugar out of your life.

Why don’t you join us this January for 30 Sugar Free Days 2012 and give sugar the kick it deserves?

Sugar Harm

The question I always get is: Why kick sugar out of your diet?

The reason is actually pretty simple: Concentrated, pure, processed sugar is not a natural thing to put in your body. Our bodies are simply not meant to handle such a pure and addicting substance.

Take a look at what eating sugar does to you and your health:

• Sugar adds Weight: Added sugar means added weight. This happens because your body has to do something with the extra sugar that enters your blood stream. Maybe you know this, but your body is great at storing sugar as fat. This ability to store fat is unique to sugar and doesn’t happen with non-purified foods. Added weight means you are more likely to live a shorter life, get diabetes, heart disease, stroke and have certain cancers.

• Diabetes: Despite what most medical associations and your doctor might say, there is a connection between sugar and diabetes. Consistently high blood sugar develops into insulin insensitivity and eventually diabetes.

• Toxic: Sugar is toxic to blood vessels in a similar way that cigarette smoke is toxic to lungs. Sugar destroys blood vessels. The results of sugar damage are easy to see in diabetics (who have very high blood sugar) that have a much higher risk for heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, eye disease and other conditions.

Take the 30 Day Challenge

Kicking sugar means that you will not only lose weight (if you want to), but that you are taking the first big step toward living a longer and healthier life. When you kick sugar out of your life, you decrease the chance of getting diabetes, heart disease and even cancer.

Breaking the sugar habit is not easy; at every step you are going to run into your addiction. The effort to stop sugar, however, is well worth the results: you will live a longer, healthier life with sugar out of your diet.

Joining us for the 30 Sugar Free Days Challenge is a great step towards your better health. The program is free and provides you with the support you need to succeed. So many weight loss programs help you shed pounds (for a little while), but often do nothing to address your health.

Why not have both good health and weight loss?

Click the links in this page, or use the navigation on the top of the page and join us for the adventure of a lifetime!

I wake to the sound of birds outside my window; dawn is approaching. I sit up. Soon, the sun will begin its journey through the sky; it’s time to run.

Ask any random person what they think of running and their answer is almost always “it’s painful and too much work.” Running, though, is something much more than that.

I have to admit that running is not the first thing that comes to mind when most people think about a spiritual experience. If you are looking for something soulful, chances are you are walking into a church, visiting a spiritual person, holding a newborn baby, or in quiet contemplation. Yes, running can be hard and painful. When I run, my feet and knees complain and it is sometimes more work than joy. There is also the weather, the hills, the bugs, and the occasional accident or injury. But, despite all of those drawbacks I still run and I run because running is more than a simple exercise and it is more than just a way to stay in shape.

I put my feet to the floor and the creakiness of middle-aged bones greets me. I do the mental algebra: the bed is soft and warm, but the ground is hard and cold, I was comfortable where I was and now I’m uncomfortable… Logic would have me stay in bed, but running is not about logic. Something is drawing me outside.

The question of why I run is a question I ask myself all the time. At times, running seems absurd and I wonder why I would do something so crazy to myself. Some of my friends say I’m addicted to running and they think of it just like any other addition. I agree that running may be an addiction, but what I’m addicted to is not some drug my brain produces but what running gives me. Running connects me to spirit in a way that nothing else I do does. It taps something deep inside me that is by its very essence a spiritual and that connection to spirit is what gets me out of bed in the morning.

After a trip to the bathroom and the kitchen to get some water, I check the temperature outside. Do I have the right clothes for the weather? I decide I’m okay and I take my shoes outside and sit on the front porch. The sky is just beginning to blue. The occasional sound of birds fills the morning air and except for a few cars in the distance it is pretty quite. The bustle of the day seems a long way off. I put on my shoes, stretch a bit, and start off toward my trail.

There are those who would claim that spiritual experiences can be found anywhere and I think this can be true. You expect a spiritual experience when entering a church, but you could also claim that washing dishes, driving your car, being on a yoga mat, and even picking up dog poop is a chance to engage your spirit. This might be true, but I have a tough time finding spirit in everything. Maybe someday I will be enlightened enough to find my soul when taking out the trash, but right now my best bet is a dirt road and a good pair of running shoes.

There is something about running that sets it apart from everything else that is called spiritual; in fact, running may be the most spiritual thing I know.

When I first hit the trail I feel jerky, almost robotic, but soon I warm up and I feel in sync with my body and my surroundings. My heart beat, my feet hitting the ground, my breathing all fall into a cadence. The rhythm is not coming from outside me like when I hear music, when I run, I’m the rhythm, I’m the pounding, I’m the drum.

It’s this rhythm that pushes running from an exercise to something else. Certain music and chants share that exact rhythm. When my running switches from erratic to smooth, I am bathed in a rhythm that transports me from the earth and earthy concerns. I find that I have a hard time relating to people when I’m in that zone and that it takes effort to say hello to someone passing in the opposite direction. I’m in a trance. This is my connection to spirit. I still think about my work, family, money and other concerns, but they just bubble up in my conscious and then float away.

Why do I run? I run because it is running that helps me feel the most human, the most connected to spirit. Is running spiritual? Ultimately that is a question for each of us to decide.

My run takes me a few miles out and back. Today was a good day. Now, back at home, I take off my shoes and walk inside. Everything is different.

Runner’s Soul

Running as a Journey to Self

Runner's Soul

Why do you run? This question seems simple enough to answer, but one that Scott Olson, the author of Runner's Soul, has struggled with his whole life. After all, with all the tools we have for transportation, running is the most unnecessary thing a human can do in the modern world. While runners can run for a variety of reasons (exercise, to lose weight, for competition) most runners run because they are compelled to do so, because running fills something inside of them.
That something, Olson suggests, is our soul.

You can also buy this book from other sellers:

Click here to order the Paperback version of Runner’s Soul from Amazon	Click here to order the Kindle version of Runner’ Soul from Amazon	<coming soon>	Click here to order the Nook version of Runner’s Soul from Barnes and Noble.	Click here to order the iBookstore version of Runner’s Soul.

I’ve been asked a lot about how effective my 30 Sugar Free Days Program is for weight loss and while I could give you a lot of diet success stories, why don’t I let the people who have been through the program let you know:

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I just began my third week on Sunday, and my wedding ring is loose! All my clothes are baggy and I don’t think I will ever eat sugar again! I love how you said you can feel like an “alien on planet carbohydrate” … that’s exactly how I feel! I have found some wonderful farms in my area and I’m shopping at the market less and less. Thank you so much, this is exactly what I needed!

Hilary Barry

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My great news is the my cholesterol went from 268 to 184 and my triglycerides from 271 to 75. I am simply amazed!  My cholesterol and triglycerides have never been that low as far back as my records show which is 1998.  This after being sugar free for just 4 months. It proves to me how dangerous sugar is to our health.  This is great motivation for me!

Thank you again.  I am floating above the clouds after being so down for so long with these high numbers.

Marion Pippin

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I’ve been sugar free for a little over 2 weeks now, and Dr. Scott was right, my cravings severely declined within the first week I would say. Now I don’t even think about sweets! That’s not to say that at this point I wouldn’t WANT something sweet , but I have the willpower to turn it down because my cravings are no…t out of control. I’ve never gone this long without sugar or bread, I can’t believe I’ve made it this far

Nerine E

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Thanks a million for your program and sage advice. I did not follow the plan strictly for these 30 days (it is my second time around), but kept the principles in mind to adjust my entire lifestyle for the rest of my life. I am a former fat girl, went from 170 lb in my teens to now 115 lbs at 47 years old. I look and feel better tha n I ever have in my life. I can do 30+ pushups, vigorous cardio, working with a preschool population with ceaseless energy. Everyday, I work out and I eat a lower carb, low sugar diet super rich in veggies, fruit, nuts and meats…

I think what you offer us is so great…Your language and formatting is direct, concise and easy to absorb.  You do not come across like a lobbyist, or in-it-for-profit industrialist, or highly technical scientist…

Your encouragement and inspiration works to motivate me.  You are giving the gift of a better-lived life:   with a healthier body, clearer thinking, more energy to be the best YOU…I am so grateful.

Diane Rogers

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I’ve completed 7 days and lost 1.5 pounds. I don’t think I’ve ever EVER gone 7 hours without sugar so this is a HUGE accomplishment. I really look forward to the emails. I keep them all and reread when I need a boost.

Very nice program!

Jess Marke

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I’ve been low-carbing for 5 years now and feel terrific. Still, I have a sweet treat from time to time and was having a horrid problem eliminating artificial sweeteners from my diet. Your challenge inspired me – 30 days! I could do that.

Thanks for sponsoring this!

Bev C

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I’m sorry but I didn’t think to take pictures but I did take body measurements and I lost about 2” off my hips. I hope that helped, I plan to keep doing it for life. Thanks a lot!

Cathy

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I’ve been sugar free and actually, mostly meat free as well, for almost 3 weeks now. The weight is coming off finally and I feel free. I feel that I’m healing from all the destructive foods I’ve eaten in the past year. Not eating the meat has provided my liver to clean up, so I’m grateful to be “cleaning house”. I can tell by my increased energy and healthier looking skin, that it’s really helping.

My cravings have virtually disappeared, I think because I’ve eliminated the foods that trigger the cravings. It’s been, actually, the easiest weight I’ve lost in a long time.

So, thank you again. Just had to write and let you know how much I appreciate this.

Elaine A

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I have become a much healthier person in the last month (my doctor said I could lower my insulin from 30 units to 25) and I thank God for finding you and your program on the internet! Thank you for staying in touch with me through the 30 day challenge and being the encouragement that you are!

God Bless You, Joe

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After just two weeks going sugar free, the biggest benefits I get are:

• Less muscle pain.

• Better sleeping at night.

• More energy.

• Clearer thinking. That is the number one reason I’ve gone without sugar. Sugar fogs my brain. After just two weeks going sugar free, I can think clearly, process difficult decisions effortlessly and remember much better.

• I simply function more efficiently.

Again, thank you for the 30 days plan. I think it’s great!

Yours truly,

Julia M

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I just finished the 30 day Sugar Free Days. I really enjoyed having someone who knew what I was going through. I thought I had been sugar free for three months before I started your program, but I didn’t realize how many products I was eating contain sugar by a different name. I would go to my computer each morning before breakfast to read your encouragements. I learned a lot from your e-mails and printed some out for reference.

I am pre diabetic and my blood sugar was in the 100-115 range when I started four months ago. It has only been in the low 90?s for the last week, for which I am grateful to you. I didn’t think I could get it down without medication. I am having my cholesterol checked on Monday. I am hoping for the same result.

Thank you very much,

Marion

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Facebook

There are more diet success stories on Facebook, check them out here: Facebook Group 30 Sugar Free Days

If you have been told that you have to give up gluten grains, you may be feeling a bit lost. This guide to cooking with non-gluten grains can get you started.

Many people who have Celiac disease or gluten intolerance (also called sprue, gluten enteropathy or gluten-sensitive enteropathy) are now stuck with the problem of finding something to eat.  This guide will introduce you to the non-gluten grains and link you to some fabulous recipes you can find all over the web.

If you want some help kicking the gluten grains consider trying my 30 Sugar Free Days Program that helps people stop eating sugar and the foods that act like sugar (mostly grains).

Amaranth

Amaranth is a tall plant that produces millions of tiny seeds. Amaranth seeds are high in protein and they have a distinct nutty flavor. Amaranth mixes well with other grains, try adding a little bit to the next rice dish you make and watch how it enhances the flavor of the meal. Cinnamon Amaranth Grits (use Stevia for a non-sugar version) Aztec Tapule Spanish Style Amaranth

Buckwheat

Buckwheat has a strong flavor that could be described as nutty or dark. It has a strong flavor that many Western tongues find strange, but give it a try and you will find that its flavor grows on you. Buckwheat is high in manganese, magnesium, zinc and fiber. Buckwheat is a staple of Japanese foods and you can by noodles made out of buckwheat (which many people looking for gluten free foods are looking for). Sweet and sour buckwheat noodles with asparagus Buckwheat Coconut Pudding Buckwheat Salad

Corn

Corn is one of those grains that people are familiar with, so when they first switch to a gluten free diet they eat a lot of corn. But corn is a common source of food allergies too, so watch out. That being said, corn is a wonderful and versatile grain that fill the gap when you can’t eat gluten grains. Corn can be eaten right off the cob, but there are also corn noodles and many corn backing mixes. Most people know what to do with corn, so I don’t have a lot of recipes, but here is one I like: Chili Mac (use corn elbow noodles)

Millet

Millet is one of the tiniest of grains, but it packs a powerful nutritional punch.  It has a bit of a nutty taste to it, but not as strong as buckwheat.  Anytime you think about using rice, think about substituting with millet.  I like to mix millet with other grains (think about a rice/millet pilaf). Broccoli and Cashews over Millet Millet Casserole Autumn Millet Bake Butternut Squash and Millet Cakes

Quinoa

Quinoa has a distinct flavor but one that most people find enjoyable. Like millet flour, you need to use some binder (see below) to help it stay together when you are baking with it. Quinoa is one of the healthiest of the non-grain grains and you should experiment and use it often. Quinoa and Black Bean Salad Quinoa and Veggie Stirfry Quinoa Skillet Dinner Italian Quinoa Dinner

Rice

Rice is a staple food all over the world. It is a wonderful addition to any meal. There are rice noodles, but they take a bit of getting used to (sauce doesn’t stick as well to rice as it does to wheat).  Once again, most people know what to do with rice, but here are a few recipes. Rice Stick Noodles with Exotic Mushrooms Pad Thai

Teff

Teff is the tiniest grain that is used for food. The word Teff means “lost” – supposedly because it is so easy to lose these tiny grains. The taste of Teff can best be described as malty, try mixing a small amount of teff in with your next rice or other grain meal. Teff Polenta with Veggies Berbere Stew (lentil and teff stew)

All is Not Lost

You can enjoy your life even if many of the grains you are used to are now gone. Most people who start a non-gluten diet feel much better than they have in years.

If you like baking, take a look at this guide: The Gluten Free Flour Guide.

Do you have some great recipes of your own? Leave them in the comment section below (or provide us with a link to the recipe).

Want to learn how to break a sweet tooth addiction? That is easy. Well it is easy to say (but actually very hard to do). If you have ever tried to stop eating sugar then you know just how hard it is and new research is showing us exactly why it is so hard to kick the white death out of our diets. While you might have wrestled with your sweet tooth in the past, let me show you how you can knock it down and finally triumph over this pesky troublemaker.

Why is it so Hard to Break a Sweet Tooth Addiction?

Do you want to know why it is hard to break your sweet tooth action? The answer is simple: Because it is a real addiction. Research has shown that sugar addiction is every bit as powerful and hard to kick as addiction to alcohol, smoking, and even hard drugs.

So while you might be kicking yourself for not being strong enough to fight your sweet tooth, you should cut yourself some slack because sugar addiction ranks high on the hard-things-to-kick list.

How You Can Break Your Sweet Tooth Addiction

If you want to break your sweet tooth addiction, the first thing you have to do is stop thinking it is going to be easy. No one tells an alcoholic (or a drug addict) that they can get rid of their addiction easily. Fighting against your sweet tooth will take time and effort and you will be constantly tested in ways that other addictions are not. For example: how many cigarette ads do you see on the television? And how many of your friends think you are crazy to stop eating sugar? We are bombarded with sugar advertisements daily and most people who stop eating sugar feel alone in a world of sugar junkies. So, take your addiction seriously and understand it is going to be hard.

The second way to succeed in kicking your sugar addiction is find some support. There are many ways to find the support that you need. The best support comes from friends or family members who want to go on a sugar-free holiday with you, but there are also groups on Facebook or other web-based sites that can help you as well.

I have a 30 Day Program called the 30 Sugar Free Days that helps people get off of sugar. Check it out here: 30 Sugar Free Days. You can break your sweet tooth addiction, but it will take time. Breaking your sugar addiction is well worth the effort as you will likely lose weight and feel much better.

Does eating sugar give you a headache? The sugar headache, otherwise known as the Holliday Headache (because we eat so much sugar on Easter, Halloween, Christmas and other holidays) has a lot in common with a hangover headache but it strikes any time year when we overdo sugar.

While most have experienced a sugar headache at some time in their lives it is not well known in medical circles. It might even surprise you to learn that the exact causes of all headaches are a bit of a mystery. Migraines and cluster headaches are thought to be vascular (having to do with blood flow) but how blood changes create a headache is unknown; the same is true of the sugar headache.

I view the sugar headache as a toxicity or dehydration event and while it might be an annoyance it could also be the sign of something more dangerous. Let’s look at dehydration ad toxicity and see how they might cause a headache.

Sugar Dehydration

Dehydration is a common way to get a headache and sugar can lead to dehydration. Eating too much sugar dehydrates your body in two ways.

• Dilution: When you eat too much sugar, your body has to dilute that sugar to keep it from harming your body. This means that water is being pulled from all parts of your body to balance the large amount of sugar in your blood stream. While this water-pulling effect happens all over the body, it is your head that suffers the most.

• Urination: One of the ways that your body has of getting rid of excess sugar is to dump it in your urine. This is especially true of diabetics, who have to go to the bathroom a lot.

Toxicity

The other way to think about sugar is to consider it a toxic event. While your body runs on glucose (a simple sugar) it was never meant to have a ton of simple sugars running around in the blood. If you look to nature, you would find that there are almost no foods that contain the high amount of sugar you would find in a soda or piece of cake. If natural foods do contain a high amount of sugar it is often bound up and hard to get to (like in a sugar cane). The only way to get a large amount of sugar into your body is to have that sugar processed before you put it in your mouth. Processed sugar or processed grains both act like sugar in your body and this is toxic to the very blood cells that carry the sugar throughout the body. (I explain this at length in my book Sugarettes).

Something Worse?

Sugar headaches can also be a warning. If you get sugar headaches often, you might just be diabetic or pre-diabetic. The best way to find out if you are diabetic is to go and see your doctor and have them run some blood tests, but here are the typical symptoms of diabetes:

• Excessive urination: As I mentioned above, sugar acts like a diuretic and will spill sugar and water into the urine. Having to urinate a lot is often one of the first signs of diabetes.
• Excessive thirst: Since diabetics are losing a lot of water (see above), they are often thirsty all the time.
• Excessive hunger: Everyone has periods of time when they are hungry, but diabetics are hungry all the time (with strong cravings for carbohydrates, sweets and sugar). This is one of the strange things about diabetics: They have a lot of sugar in their bodies, but it is not being used by the cells so they are hungry all the time.

Sugar Headache

The reasons why sugar gives you a headache are many and not readily understood. But you don’t have to wait for a reason to stop the pain in your head.

You can stop your sugar headaches and give sugar the boot by trying my 30 Sugar Free Days Program. During the program, you will learn about foods that act like sugar and what you can do about your cravings. Make sure you understand that sugar is doing more harm to your body than just giving you a sugar headache, take this opportunity to learn from your headache that you shouldn’t be putting large amounts of sugar in your mouth and you need to make a change.