Intertribal Life Newspaper -

Karen Wingate

I remembered the feeling of days long ago, before my Christian conversion, when I got high; a feeling of lethargy, as if my arms weighed 50 pounds each. I could actually feel the blood coursing through my veins. I could feel my heart beating without touching my chest. Suddenly things would get very quiet, and my vision centered in more and more as my peripheral vision narrowed. Yes, I remembered the feeling. In fact, I was feeling it again, but now I was on sugar, not illegal drugs.

Every time I had my blood sugar checked, the results said I had a perfect balance. Then why did my present post-sugar experiences rival my previous pill-popping parties?

Amid a myriad of websites, books and medical reports, I learned refined carbohydrates (like white flour) as well as refined sugar, convert into blood sugar. In me, they created an emergency situation I often ignored.

The basics of what sugar does to the body go like this: We eat and the food is changed into sugar, which then enters the bloodstream. As the blood sugar level begins to rise, the pancreas sends insulin into the bloodstream. The insulin opens to the cell wall, sending sugar from the bloodstream into the cell. This newly energized cell produces energy for the body to function and perform.

When we eat a refined carbohydrate like white sugar, our bodies borrow essential nutrients from healthy cells to metabolize the incomplete food, but the bacteria in the intestines that manufacture B vitamin complexes begin to die. When the B vitamin complex level declines, the glutamic acid is not processed and sleepiness occurs. We may also experience decreased short-term memory and other difficulties.

Now, I've never been a "numbers" person. Consequently, I don't need anything else to hinder my ability to make correct change at my next yard sale. Also, because I'm so easily distracted, I certainly don't need anything to hurt my short-term focus.

I don't have diabetes nor do I have hypoglycemia. According to Potatoes Not Prozac, by Kathleen DesMaisons, I may be "sugar sensitive." Whatever. I feel drugged.

I decided to experiment. I cut out sweets. That may sound simple, but it really wasn't. I went cold turkey. I was someone who could sit down and easily polish off an entire box of Oreos or Vienna Fingers in one sitting. So I couldn't have just one cookie or one donut. No, I was addicted, and being a self-proclaimed sweets addict, cold turkey was the only way for me.

With a prayer of Philippians 4:13, "I can do everything through him who gives me strength," I set out to avoid all sweets.

It didn't take me long to realize I didn't want to live without chocolate. Viewing it as medicine, I replaced milk chocolate with dark chocolate. You get used to it, and if it's the only chocolate you allow yourself, you will come to love it. Obviously, this is to be ingested in moderation. So I get a very small custard bowl and mix dark chocolate chips with unsalted peanuts. It's a not-too-bad-for-you treat and the small bowl is portion control.

To help stave off cravings, I increased my vitamin B-12 and flax oil intake, something I'd learned while working in a weight-loss clinic. In just a couple of weeks, my cravings for sweets subsided and I began to feel different. My vision was clearer. I slept better. My wide-awake quiet times were more restful. Even my attention was more focused, which is a big deal for a hyper person like me. My body became more "regular" and I could even breathe better. With all these wonderful side effects of not eating sugar, I had an added bonus of losing five pounds!

While initially I had less energy, after just two weeks I was revitalized. The very thought of eating candy, cookies, cake, donuts or pie made me cringe-not because I didn't still love them, but because I didn't want to go back to the way I had felt before. I found there are sugar-free substitute snacks for nearly all of my old favorites.

Like so many addicts, after about a year I fell off the sugar wagon and my sugar tolerance was low. I went to a popular pancake house. "It's dinner," I told myself. "It's not really a sweet-it's a meal."

Just halfway through the tasty treat, everything began to get eerily quiet. My peripheral vision started to close in like I was looking through the wrong end of binoculars.

Oh my gosh, I thought. I'm going to pass out right here at the restaurant!

I grabbed a tall glass of ice water and gulped it down. I breathed deeply and tried to focus on something across the room. I surely didn't want to fall on a well-trodden restaurant carpet and have people stare at my drooling face falling to one side.

TheAndrasBarta

I quickly left the restaurant and for the next few hours sat in limp-armed lethargy, experiencing the sensation of my blood coursing through my veins. Yep. I remembered the feeling and I hated it.

Will I go back? No way! I am back on the sugar wagon for good this time. If for no other reason than to save face, I will not put myself at risk of crumbling in a heap on some disgusting public floor.

If I can avoid the certain results of sugar-a suppressed immune system, anxiety, depression, kidney damage, gum disease, cholesterol upsets, and the development of food allergies or overstress to my organs-I will. Wouldn't I be a fool not to?

Karen Wingate is a speaker, blogger, and freelance writer living in Western Illinois. Her blogs appear at http://www.graceonparade.com.