Sugar affecting psych symptoms?

I haven't experienced this but will just throw out a few ideas. It may be that the diet is not agreeing with your body and may need to be tweaked. I think avoiding refined sugars and processed foods is an excellent foundational idea. But maybe you could compromise and include more fruits into your diet to see if that helps stabilize things? Fruits would at least be preferable to processed foods that are chock full of refined sugars.

And of course different things work for different people, certain diets even if they conceptually make sense on paper don't always work for everyone.

Whether it is die-off, body not getting proper nutrients, etc, I couldn't say. Have you talked to your doc about your response to the diet? I tend to think it's ok if there is some challenge in the transition period as one shifts to a new diet, that can sometimes be expected, but after several months if things haven't stabilized something needs to be changed.

Ive been zero sugar cane, beet sugar, zero added sugar for 2.5 months now. The ONLY sugar I get is what's in..... well....fruit. My carbs are limited to, so there's not much turning into sugar in my gut either.

Yep added sugar and corn chemicals are in almost all pre-packed foods today............label shock. Even deli meats are injected, they are the SAME as packaged lunch meat on the cooler wall. Yes, ask for the label. A meat/butcher shop is the only hope, not any grocery store.

Anyone doing low or zero sugar really should invest in knowing their past glucose levels and obtaining a glucose meter - to eliminate guessing with sugar based energy levels.

I have way more energy with out it now.

Highs and low seem to be minimal but this is also because my thyroid seems to be "waking up" again. I might need to lower my thy med for once.

It sounds like you are not getting enough sugar/carbs in your diet. I'm not a dietitian, but a not-fasting blood sugar of 60 sounds way too low. I think avoiding bread and too many carbs is a really good idea, but maybe it's possible to overdo it.

Some people (especially ones with porphyrias, I've read), can't tolerate low carb diets, so if the diet your are on is actually making you feel worse, that might be a sign you should tweak it. Mood swings/emotional instability is a symptom of HYPOglycemia, as well as hyperglycemia.

My fasting blood sugar on a low-carb diet was always in the high sixties of low seventies, except when I was really sick and it was down into the fifties.The first time I did a low carb-diet I lost a lot of weight and had to quit, and the second time I did a low carb diet, I just kept gaining weight, and I just felt like the diet was putting something in my body out of balance, so I quit.

I always wondered about the sugar debate, because you hear about diets like the Gerson diet that have healed so many people from cancer, and are VERY high in sugar, but then avoiding sugar can slow the growth of some bacteria. It just doesn't make sense.

My dad eliminated almost all carbs when he was diagnosed with diabetes. After a couple episodes of nearly passing out, he learned that he needed some carbs. Unfortunately I don't remember details, but I think it's important to listen to your body.

running wild said...
What is your main source of food, astroman?

Short answer:
Real natural whole foods that dont come in a box. Thats what I grew up on. I leaned toward the typical American diet as a young adult, knowing it was not good for me, slowly changed back and now I kind of turned it into a science lol,Most natural meats and veggies. People have cured Hashimoto this way, with fillings in their mouths too.

Specifics:
Its mostly a Paleo diet (not 100%)more modified towards what my specific body does not have a cytokine reaction to. I call it a low cytokine diet. I leave out my big offenders which were found per lab testing to be corn, turkey, cinnamon, and cane/beet sugar. The lesser offenders (another list) that I like I will slowly try bringing back but one at a time to see what happens.

I also have not had any milk products for 2 years and limit glutan, I was 100% glutan free the last 2.5 months but will might re-introduce it some time mainly as soughdough bread (less gluten). Anything with corn releases more cytokins in me than gluten. There is one brand of hot dog that I will eat for what it does not have in it- thats it for processed factory meat. Sugar free uncured bacon too. Melons and berries are the best fruits. There are a couple chemical / gluten/ corn free crackers out there.

Had chicken stir fry Friday night (olive oil). Maybe a small steak with veggies or brown rice, quinoa maybe a few shrimp tonight too. Scrambled eggs/with onions and mushrooms this morning + bacon. My workday breakfast is a choice of berries/nuts/ pre-boiled hard boiled eggs, carrots, apple - easy and fast. Nothing in excess, and I eat a little all day. Summer I grill a lot of home made Kabobs, winter more stir fry. Different seasoning changes the same meal easily.

Almond milk and herbal teas.

I get creative when I can like low cytokine burito /wraps with: chicken, beef or shrimp, Amys low inflammation chili, brown rice, leafy veggies, 100% rice wrap (no wheat, chemical or corn chemicals) - its pretty good.

Im never been a huge socializer and past that part of my life anyway, so restaurants and bars are out for now and will never be a big part of my future. I live modern but simple, however, if I was younger and healthier, living "off grid" looks pretty cool untill you think about not having warm showers and AC. Farmers were all "off grid" years ago.

Its too bad that many young people grew up with boxed/processed/ man made food as regular every day food, its very addicting. And now some feed their kids this not as a treat, but every day. They dont need to do what I do, but at least improve a little.

Post Edited (astroman) : 11/11/2018 5:51:02 PM (GMT-7)