My Week Of No Sugar

It began with a podcast, heard on a drive, at the beginning of a long weekend. The podcast addressed the perils of modern eating, and the toxic, addictive qualities of sugar.

I have heard a lot about "evil sugar" over the past few years. It has displaced fat as the enemy #1 of the health conscious, and become the subject of fitness rants with topics like why sugar is the worst thing for you ever. From lifestyle blogs to the New York Times, journalists have been suffering through a month without sugar.

My reaction was to think guiltily of the cold, premium craft sodas (cane sugar sweetened) and the dark chocolate pieces I consume at the end of a typical work day; and then to move on to other things

 My husband's was more decisive. "Let's quit sugar for a month," he said, "starting today."

"We've already had some sugar today," I countered, "let's start tomorrow."

What I really wanted to say was, let's start never, but I gave into peer pressure. And so it began.

The rules were simple; no added sugar, in any form, in anything. Natural sugars (fruits, milk, dates, raisins) were allowed.

Day 1

We are attempting a hike today, among the more ambitious in recent years. I have bravely had a breakfast of sugarless coffee (not that bad, actually) and oatmeal sweetened with dates (quite delicious).

Apart from water, we have no supplies except an orange and a banana from the hotel buffet. Our other food supplies were sugary Indian biscuits, out of bounds now.

After over 4 hours of scrambling up rocks and down stony pathways, my body screams for a lemonade, but my spouse is stern. Our late lunch is accompanied by a berry smoothie, hardly sweet at all. And after the inevitable headaches all afternoon (sun? sugar?), I have to give up my favorite drink of Fresh Lime Soda at the Indian restaurant dinner. I could weep.

We hit the Walmart and buy bushels of fruit. Berries, cherries, peaches, litchis, bananas - the sweeter, the better. At night, we feast on fruit like we never have before.

Day 2

Another day, another sugarless breakfast. A beautiful garden, a dose of strong summer sunlight. By afternoon, we are driving home and my body is reacting terribly; headaches, nausea, dizziness. I have started to realize that my desire for an afternoon cuppa is not just a caffeine dependency, but probably a sugar dependency as well. My body has started to crave it. I give in and have a mildly sweetened drink at our lunch pit stop. The headaches die down a little bit. I am relieved.

Day 3

At home, heavy on chores. Dates sweeten my breakfast which is not too bad. Again, the biggest struggle comes in the afternoon. I feel hungry and dissatisfied after my unsweetened tea. We have become diligent fruit shoppers; when the fruit bowl empties our anxiety shoots up.

Day 4

Back to work. I stay on the wagon, though I feel exhausted and the headaches hit. Fruit and dates form a big part of my day.

I begin to talk to people about the sugar fast and am surprised by how many have given up sugar either permanently or temporarily over the past couple of years. I am encouraged to know that I am not alone in my headaches or my cravings.

Day 5

More of the same. I am getting used to sugarless coffee in the morning, and enjoy my afternoon tea unsweetened and accompanied by a couple of dates.

Day 6

Friday. I fall off the wagon today afternoon; back from a long meeting and exhausted, I dive into the refrigerator for a piece of chocolate. I eat it and nearly throw up; all the sugar in it makes me feel sick. It is too much.

Day 7

I am tea shopping today, wanting to make up in flavor what I am giving up in sweetness. At the beautiful tea shop, I join friends at the tiny cafe. I usually avoid dessert since I don't eat eggs, so I am not too put out at missing the scones initially. But then the wait staff informs me that they are egg-free. I fall off the wagon by tasting a tiny piece of scone. They are mildly sweet, light, buttery and perfect. I could cry.

Day 8

I have a perfect coffee at my local coffee shop, and day dream about how it could taste even better with sugar added. In the afternoon, I have some sugarless adrak tea accompanied by dates. Feeling hungry and unsatisfied, I binge on (unsweetened) snack foods. But I am left feeling ill, and vertiginous to boot. I begin to read more about sugar online, looking for alternate perspectives and find this more moderate one from my favorite Indian nutritionist. Irritable and upset, I immediately eat two ginger cookies. I feel so sick I want to throw up.

Conclusion So Far...

Have I given up the sugar fast? I don't think so, not quite.

The fact that I am struggling does mean there is an issue here. And I think I am already not enjoying sugary cookies or chocolates any more. The problem is (and will continue to be) the beverages. They are habits and hence a struggle to give up.

I have fallen off the wagon almost every alternate day, as you may have noticed. My husband, to his delight, has stayed on the wagon with zero slips.

So; I may continue this and complete the month to reassess my baseline before returning to (hopefully much less) sugar. Or I may reintroduce 1-2 spoons, preferably unrefined jaggery, into my afternoon tea. After all, simple pleasures are important. And mental health as much as physical health.