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sugar cravings ... hungry neurons?

Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2011 3:05 pm
by zap
I know sugar cravings are common, but can't help but wonder if perhaps my own lifelong love of /addiction to sugar might be the result of my brain cells demanding glucose due to poor blood flow ... higher blood sugar being a way to get around reduced flow.

Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2011 7:58 pm
by heartsandskulls
I have been doing research online into chronic pain and the more uncomfortable aspects of my MS and I came across "intractable pain". My main problem is suddenly going from not being a sweets eater to it's pretty much all I want to eat to the point of making myself sick from it. When you're suffering from intractable pain, your body craves sugar. It's crazy but it explains a lot for me when I read about it.

sugar cravings

Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2011 8:12 pm
by zinamaria
Wow Zap! What a concept! I have been a sugar addict my life entire (but frankly I think most people are and just in denial, because almost everything short of protein turns into sugar in the blood stream, so even if a person says "Oh I don't eat sweets, they may eat a ton of grain and/or drink wine etc, all sugar eventually, and almost everything on the shelves these days has sugar, even the sushi bars put sugar in the rice! sugar added to bread products, you name it, its in there).
Anyway, it took some serious action on my part to change the cravings. But I have done it over the years by slowly cutting out all sugar, to the point where I even gave up fruit for a certain amount of time. Now I can eat a piece of fruit without all the cravings taking over and caving in to them.

But what you have suggested is very interesting. I am going to do some research into this.

zina

Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2011 12:27 pm
by Ruthless67
Here's a couple of links to look at if you wish to limit/or discontinue your sugar intake.

http://www.radiantrecovery.com/

http://www.annboroch.com/

I wrote the following back in 2009 about both Ann's and also Kathleen's books;
I was diagnosed in 1997 when I had Optic Neuritis in my right eye. I started on Row L. Swank’s, Low Fat MS Diet the very next day. I was on the diet for three years, lost about 20 pounds, felt great and was exacerbation free. Then I got very lax about my diet, I was feeling so much better and I began to enjoy all foods, liquor and deserts once again.
In August 2001 a very prolonged and stressful situation came up I had my second bout of Optic Neuritis, this time in my left eye, the vision has come back now but it has left the optic nerve with some permanent damage. The colors are off, and when I’m tired it’s more like black & white. Glasses help somewhat, but it’s still not clear vision, it’s distorted.
For the next few years I avoided fried foods and food with hydrogenated fats in them. But I was back to sugar and alcohol. I muddled through, not good, not bad. I tried the compounded Prokarin Patch for about a year and a half for my MS. But we were traveling in our motorhome and it wasn’t always an easy matter to find a compounding pharmacy. I also managed to put the 20 pounds back on and then some.
I had a Neurologist talk me into trying Avonex shots in 2005. I used the beta-interferon drug until May 2008. I was becoming less and less comfortable about injecting myself with a drug powerful enough to suppress my immune system and possibly cause permanent liver damage, week after week. Then I saw Ann Boroch on TV talking about her book, Healing MS.
I have been on her diet ever since and I feel great. I was having real problems with fatigue and body bloating prior to starting the diet. As well as some elimination problems. Those are virtually all gone. As well as those extra 40 pounds. My family doctor is amazed at my turnaround and how good my blood work is, good cholesterol levels, glucose and triglycerides looked good. Yes, I still have balance problems, vision problems and my feet and legs have their own spastic moments; but for the most part I feel great and I get out and run all my own errands. So life is good.
In April 2009 I added a new dimension to the Healing MS Diet by incorporating the 7 step plan from the book The Sugar Addict’s Total Recovery Program. The steps helped me wean myself completely off all sugar and alcohol and I couldn’t be happier. I’m starting to realize what an amazing world unto it’s self our body is. If you read this book, you’ll understand when I say, I’m doing the food and eating my nightly potato!
And I’m coming to the conclusion, now matter how absurd it must sound to some, but I think candida albicans is the one of the catalyst for all the Auto-immune and inflammatory diseases out there. I hate hearing “They don’t know what causes MS and they don’t have a cure for it.” Then I read the latest MS breakthrough where they identify a symptom and create a new drug to treat that symptom, but often the side effects from that new drug is worse than the symptoms it’s supposed to treat. And these new drugs cost a fortune!!
I’m willing to continue to stick with the Candida cleansing diet and I don’t miss the sugar and alcohol at all. I’m healing myself from the inside out. I refuse to continue poisoning myself and being a guinea pig and meal ticket to the pharmaceutical drug companies. Or eat the processed crap that’s being presented out there as food!
So, that’s where I’m at in my journey.
I'm afraid I have allowed sugar back into my diet and have lost some of the gains I'd made. It's HARD to follow these diets....but I felt so much better. Reading this thread and my own words is a wake up call for me, at the very least, I need to try and glean the EXTRA sugar back out of my diet. I really do try and eat just lean protein, whole grains, fruits & vegetables and avoid dairy, bread & pasta's. The Holiday's made it just that much harder, and my resolve, dissolved, lol.

I have NOT cured my MS through diet or sugar elimination, but I sure felt much better in 2009. Guess it's time to hitch my pants back up and get back on the wagon!

Joan also has an excellent article called, Endothelial Health, on the CCSVI Alliance page relating to dietary factors and suggestions for lifestyle changes if you haven't read it, here's the link.
http://www.ccsvi.org/

Lora