The sweetest drug of them all...

Sugar skulls make a suitable illustration

My man has gone from being a severe sugar addict to a complete health freak since he initiated his sugar-free month. He had a few kilos too much, nothing serious, but with a slow metabolism like his, we could both conclude that there was a point in naturalising his food intake before things went completely out of hand. I started previously by explaining to him that cutting sugar and other sweetened things would alone make a difference, but it was not until after a nice dinner conversation with some other influential friends that he suddenly became determined enough to do it.

He quit smoking one and a half year ago - by going cold turkey - after being a heavy smoker during his entire adult life, so when it comes to his character and determination after a decision like this, I am convinced of his super powers. So, he went cold turkey on the sugar! No chocolate, no candy, no sweet fruits, no sweetened drinks, no sweetened additives or sauces, and the toughest one of them all, no sugar in the coffee!

The taste of the coffee was the only thing that disturbed him during the first couple of days, but other than that I don't even think that he experienced much withdrawal symptoms. Common symptoms include headaches, cravings, fatigue, tremors, depression and anxiety. On the contrary, he felt better and better already from the beginning, and it did not take many days before he suddenly came home and explained to me how sweet stuff now did not appeal to him anymore. A guy at his work had treated his colleagues with a birthday cake, and to be polite Yoram said that he would taste a tiny bit, but the taste almost made him nauseous. He also started to sleep better and he looses kilo after kilo. One evening I made a salad of grated carrots and apples with some walnuts, and while preparing it I wanted to explain how nice that salad would be with cranberries - of course after his sugar-free months was over! I did not get further than to "when this month is over" before he interrupted me with the information that he probably never would go back to eating sugar ever again. Then I added that I merely talked about some dried cranberries, and then he calmed down.

We always buy Actimel in the small portion bottles, mostly for the kids. I can drink one now and then, but far from every day. For me Actimel is a functional food and not to be mixed-up with a regular yoghurt. The sugar content in Actimel makes the calories shoot sky high and a litre of Actimel contains almost 1000 kcal. One morning Yoram came out in the kitchen all excited and told me that he had read on the bottle and that he would never ever drink Actimel again. Well, hallelujah! Other than that, regular yoghurt also gives you healthy lacto-bacteria (without added sugar) so the whole thing is merely ruthless business as usual.

Before I moved here I never used sugar, ate cakes very rarely and the only candy I ingested was chocolate, mostly dark (less sweet) chocolate. Even as a kid I was no sugar addict. My parents never served me lemonade or soft drinks other than on special occasions, and we did not eat candy on a regular basis. However, me and my dad could easily cram a huge chocolate bar sometimes, but after that we had enough for a while. That was only occasional gluttony. I also remember how odd it felt when I came to my friends families and they constantly drank lemonade from sweet concentrates instead of water, which always has been my favourite drink. I was also always quite sensitive against too sweet things, especially early in the morning. While many people like sweet things for breakfast, like marmelade, müsli with a lot of sweet stuff in it, or sweet cereals, those things always made me feel nauseous.

With this background it is not difficult for me now when we exclude many things from the shopping list. It is rather a relief. It is not hard for Yoram either. He already got the taste of how a sugar-free body works and he wants more of that. It is tougher for the kids. They are right now getting used to not eating "dessert" (i.e. candy) after every meal. Where did the tradition Lördagsgodis (Saturday candy) disappear..?

Update: Galya supplied me with an excellent link to a text and two documentaries about sugar, the politics surrounding it, and the effects of sugar on the body and mind.