That sugar thing....

[MyOwnWoman]

That sugar thing....

Hey Suze - I remember reading in "How to Stop Drinking without AA" about the sugar cravings. When you drink you get a boat load of sugar. Stop drinking and your body will still crave it. Accdg to this author you'll never fully get over alcohol cravings til you get over sugar cravings, so it is very important to get over it. He says (and I've read elsewhere) that if you just quit the cravings will subside in a week or so. He also said, though, if you are having a sugar or alcohol craving that won't stop, have candy not booze!!
Agave syrup is a good idea, better than honey (which as said is better than refined sugars).

[Accountable for Me]

That sugar thing....

Yes the good ol' sugar cravings! Eat breakfast!!!!! Toast with an egg or some jam will help! Believe me.... eating breakfast will help in this regard.

[Happier]

That sugar thing....

I have the book "Potatoes Not Prozac" and it says that most alcoholics are sugar sensitive.
The book makes sense and I think I will re-read it again. You are suppose to eat protein with each meal and eat whole grains to keep the blood sugar steady. You might even have a baked potato before bedtime if I remember correctly.
My thinking is if nature made the food it's got to be good but if it's manufactured it's bad.
Thanks for reminding me of this book!

[Finding My Self]

That sugar thing....

What a great thread! Um, my two pennies worth..... done no sugar no yeast sooooh many times in my life and sometimes felt better sometimes not (?!?!) When I went AF I remember a week of FOUL sweet tea..... and loads of chocolate! (Didn't fancy food at all for a bit but I never really did anyway...) (Odd too, that I 'need' sugar coz I actually loathe sweet drinks like Coke/tonic and even in the G&T days I would have a (sensible then!) bit of gin, a tiny bit of tonic to taste it and then top right up with fizz water... I still do with loads of things.....watery coffee and tea and very weak cordials..... what's that about then???? )

I've stayed on the chocs, never had sugar in tea/coffee, raely have Coke now except out, thoroughly enjoy my puddings again (hadn't fancied anything sweet (?! it was all in the booze wasn't it!! All I wanted was salt!) and have lost 14 lbs.... (sorreeeee!)

BUT - today I really noticed that I have to cut the sugar back AND add in more of the good stuff. I think that's my aching legs etc. My weird 'unlove of food' (don't go there; all that parent stuff again!!!) means that I am in danger of living either on alcohol or sugary things. (Arrested development!!!) Well, alc's out now so I've to watch the sugar. (Doesn't make me crave booze - guess I'm lucky...?!?)

But, I am wondering now.... As sugar goes up (or in the past booze) my 'need' for good food goes down.... I must get the good stuff in mustn't I! And not skip any meals (getting bad at that again) coz I can't be bummed to eat. Then I wont 'crave' bad stuff.....

Shouldn't think my ramble does anything useful in any way but I wanted to join in.....!!!!! (And thanks coz you've got me thinking ....)

Bon wotsits!!
Love
FMF xx
(PS I'm hungry now! Amazing!!)

[ChangeAgent]

That sugar thing....

Determinator;199073 wrote: as a personal observation when I start eating too much sugar I KNOW I'm screwing up...jitters, mood swings, alcohol cravings, sleep cycle goes to hell....bad.

Me too. When I started cutting back on alcohol and especially when I started AF the sugar cravings became rampant. I started baking, from scratch no less, when previously I rarely had sweets in the house and baking usually meant defrosting something store bought. :H

I've been trying to cut back and eating things a little sweet but with grains - lightly sweetened multigrain cereal and jam on multigrain bread. It really helped over the past couple of days. Absolutely no cravings for alcohol yesterday. I felt so good this morning that it bordered on euphoria.

Then I over indulged on the dark chocolate in my desk drawer. Half of a Dove Bar instead of three little square pieces, and I feel like crap. Headache, jitters, lack of focus, overall not having a sense of well being.

Lesson learned.

[PJ]

That sugar thing....

Hey all,

I just ran across this thread, and wanted to add some thoughts on information I've recently found around the web:

1) Hypoglicemia is becoming a widely accepted diagnosis for alcohol abuse.

Here's how it works, more or less: (I'm summarizing, rather than quoting all sources)

- Drinking starts
- Alcohol stops glucose metabolism in the liver (among other things)
- Blood sugar crashes
- Nutritional deficiencies occur
- Breeding ground for Candida overgrowth is established
- Body craves sugar

Some of the solutions I've found include: (common to alcohol, weightloss, psych disorders, and the list goes on...)

- All the same nutritional supplements that are used in MWO
- Sugar substitution with something natural like Xylitol or Stevia (fixes the craving without adding to the vicious cycle)
- Increased glutamine suplements (until cravings subside)
- Cleansing programs to flush toxins (NAC is a great starter supplement)

My 2 cents

[Determinator]

That sugar thing....

SlightlySuze how much L Glutamine are you taking? I have the Dr Robert Atkins "vita nutrient sourcebook" and he's found in some good studies that you will need to take 7 to 12 grams of free form LGlutamine powder to stop sugar and/or alcohol cravings. I mix mine in a small ammount of juice since it's nasty in water. fortunately it goes to work in about 15 minutes
regarding Atkins misunderstood diet here's an interesting piece of trivia: if you are following the Atkins diet properly you will be eating more veggies than the average American...no kidding. He's big on complex carbs from natural sources contrary to the media version of his diet.

here's another thought: you may have a low blood count for GABA and/or Seratonin...perhaps a blood test can help out? you may need to take supps to help balance your chemistry.

Be well everyone.

[Determinator]

That sugar thing....

PJ...great post BTW...I completely agree.

[PJ]

That sugar thing....

Hi Determinator,

I'm pretty new to all this (just joined MWO today - read my post "Just like me!"). I'm experimenting with what amount of glutamine and kudzu supplements work best for me.

An interesting note I found somewhere about the Atkins diet, said that complex carbs are an absolute must for maintaining stable glucose levels. I don't remember how now, but that got me off searching and reading about Glycemic Index, Glycemic Load, and Fullness Factor (see www.nutritiondata.com/topics/glycemic-index).

[AMELIA]

That sugar thing....

Hey Suze,
Yes, I have read extensively on the sugar/caffiene spike to our drinking.
I believe blood sugar imbalances contribute hugely to relapses.
I have been reading Potatoes Not Prozac and Sugar Addicts Total Recovery Programme.
I have posted elsewhere prior that as a teenager I was a huge sugar addict. Huge bowls of ice cream with sugar on top - Cups of honey and sugar etc etc.
When I stopped eating all the sugar, I started drinking heavily. Substituted one for the other........
.
x

[Cinders]

That sugar thing....

Hmm. This is very interesting.

Having read Cosette's story yesterday, me being gastric bypass and not totally losing it until after my surgery, Bradford nurses telling me that they have seen tons of gastric bypass patients.

One of the side effects of gastric bypass is that you can no longer eat sugar. It makes you violently ill. (Dumping syndrome - won't kill you but you kinda wish it would...)

I wonder if we are substituting alcohol for the sugar?

Maybe the Master Cleanse followed by a strict adherence to Atkins (or South Beach) would be helpful for me. (Plus L-Glutamine. Already doing that but might kick it up a notch..)

Thanks for the info, guys!!

Cindi

[PJ]

That sugar thing....

Hey Cindy,

You may be right. I read a few days ago that GB causes sugar and alcohol metabolism to bypass the stomach and go straight to the small intestine unrestricted. This somehow causes you to end up with a far lower tolerance than before - often resulting in an addiction cycle suddenly kicking into overdrive out of nowhere...

[Guest]

That sugar thing....

Can manage to mostly resist sweet treats, but am still craving sugar at 4+ months sober, and consequently, still have some of the wine weight to lose.

Starlight Impress x

[slightlysuze]

That sugar thing....

Strange to see one of my old threads come up again....LOL.....

My sugar cravings just petered out quite early on in this current AF.....I stopped buying chocolate so didn't have it around, which helped. Also I had that awful kidney infection and I think the meds reduced my apetite anyway. I've just had a bout of flu and found - very weirdly - that I went into a real sugar-fest and scoffed the biscuits that my husband has! I usually don't even think about them. And then I made him go and buy me the macaroons that I really DO like and I scoffed them too! Work that out!!

Anyway, my temperature came down today and I feel I'm on the road to recovery. The sugar craving has gone. Hmmmmmm....:bonkers:

I think I'm going to increase my l-glut just in case...can't remember at the mo how much I take...but only 1 tablet a day. Probably could do with more.

Has anyone used chromium for sugar balance??

I am totally convinced that nutrition is absolutely key in recovering from alcohol abuse.


Suze x

[PJ]

That sugar thing....

Hi Suze,

I haven't used chromium exclusively for sugar balance, beyond the electrolyte blend I take that contains a balance of trace minerals. There's a lot of conflicting research on the benefits of chromium supplements, not to mention evidence of cell damage as a precursor to certain cancers when it's taken in high doses for a prolonged period of time.

L-glutamine definitely gets better press, along with eating more slow digesting stuff like complex carbs (veggies) and protiens. Switching to a natural sugar substitute (never the artificial ones - they have more negative side effects than benefits) also helps.