Sugar Sensitivity

Foggy brain? Can't concentrate? Moody? Irritable?Tired all the time? Do you eat a lot of sweets, bread, pasta, cereal or dried fruits? Depressed?

Have you ever thought that you might have a sugar addiction?

Thousands have been helped by the books of Dr Kathleen DesMaisons. See how her plan for sugar addicts can help you too! ::

Sugar causes chronic disease research shows

International research appears to confirm that high consumption of added sugars – such as white table sugar and fizzy drinks – contributes significantly to the incidence of dental caries and obesity. >>>

Does the Atkins Diet really work?

Atkins goes against all nutritional advice to eat a sensible, balanced diet - (which would be lots of fruit and vegetables, protein, wholemeal carbohydrates and low saturated fat). Atkins is high in fat and very low in carbohydrates. Can it work and is it harmful?

The Importance of Breakfast

Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day - studies have shown that children perform better at school and have less chance of being obese if they have a good start to the day. But what makes a good breakfast? find out more

Higher Nature Vitamins

Syndrome X

"Syndrome X" was first recognised in the late 1980's to explain a set of symptoms that Doctors and researchers were beginning to see in their patients.

It is characterised by:

• Weight gain, especially around the middle
• Raised cholesterol levels
• High blood pressure
• Fatigue / overwhelming tiredness
• Foggy brain - unable to concentrate
• Sugar cravings
• Water retention

People who are diagnosed with "syndrome x" are thought to be at much greater risk of going on to develop diabetes and heart disease.

But what exactly is it?

Doctors still don't really know, it is known to run in families and is thought to be caused by excessive eating of sugar and refined carbohydrates - pastry, cakes, biscuits, bread, pasta, fizzy drinks, sweets, alcohol...... a pretty 'normal' western diet in the 21st Century....

Our bodies are not designed to eat sugar, sugar is a man-made invention, our bodies are designed to eat fish, meat, nuts, seeds and lots of fruit and vegetables. (Fruit and veg contain a natural sugar called fructose, which our body digests slightly differently to other sugars, which makes the blood sugar spike much slower).

When we eat so much sugar, our blood sugar levels (the amount of sugar in our blood steam) rises to dangerous levels and the body tries to keep levels down with insulin, released from the pancreas. Insulin firstly tries to get the muscles to use some more sugar, and if that fails, it lays the sugar down as fat. So increased sugar in the diet = fat.

Because we are constantly eating too much sugar and carbohydrates, at every meal and snack - maybe 6-10 times a day, our insulin system gets completely over worked. Our body also stops paying so much attention to the insulin, in the same way that you switch off if someone is constantly nagging you! - so less sugar gets used by the muscles and more stays in the blood stream.

This is called insulin resistance or syndrome X.

In my opinion, this is also sugar sensitivity, the syndrome written about by Dr Kathleen DesMaisons in several books.

What's the answer?

Read lots of books - especially those by Dr DesMaisons and Patrick Holford - learn about your body and how it is reacting to the food you are eating.

Lowering your sugar intake may not be as easy as it sounds, sugar is addictive and you will crave it. For lots of helpful advice and a plan that will enable you to kick the habit - read The Sugar Addicts Total Recovery Program - it works!

The key to healing your body from syndrome X / insulin resistance / sugar sensitivity is to keep your insulin responses low, some helpful steps are:

• Reduce your sugar intake
• Convert to wholemeal carbohydrates
• Increase your vegetable intake
• Eat protein at every meal - even breakfast (see my breakfast article ::)
• Exercise for 30 minutes every day - longer if you can.
• Slowly cut down on your carbohydrate intake (but don't cut them out completely - that would be dangerous we need carbs for energy - see my thoughts on Atkins ::)
• Increase your intake of oily fish, green leafy vegetables, nuts and seeds
• Avoid all processed food.
• Drink lots of water

For help with changing your diet, find a nutritional therapist who understands these complex issues.