If you want to live forever stop eating sugars. A true story !

Simple Truth

We all love biscuits, donuts, chocolate, cakes, fruit juice, pizza, fried rice, chips, crisps, corn snacks, beer, wine. you don't? you might be a rare and very lucky person and you're possibly very fit. For the rest of us ordinary mortals, overcoming the cocaine like addiction to these foods could be the key to increased health, a better quality of metabolism and for anyone who has ever suffered with IBS, a literal (possible) end to symptoms and a strengthened immune system.

This is extreme but it works

Here's an absolute shocker and one that I've been trying out over the last year, under strict supervision from a medical expert.. if you eat no sugars your body will just burn fat instead. It's difficult to avoid sugars entirely but you can almost reduce sugars intake to zero with some serious re-education in nutrition and sharpening of your culinary skills.

lactose (milk sugar)

When you eat sugars your body uses it up or stores it immediately (the insulin response), you don't use up any fat and the body's normal processes are not fully active. The sugar is stored in the muscle as glycogen and then is turned to fat. you won't ever burn this fat unless you a) starve yourself of calories.. not cool, b) go on a long term calorie reduction, or c) when you stop eating sugars (pretty much immediately. It's important to remember pizza is sugar, in the same way that rice and bread, pasta and cereals are sugar. (hydrated carbon) Fruit juice is really high in sugar, so is beer. Milk contains lactose, another sugar. Sweets and cookies are obvious sugar stores but think about it like this. you have a pizza, it's covered in cheese which is a protein molecule wrapped by 2 fat molecules. the base is carbs. your body naturally uses the carbs then stores the fat, unless you are incredibly active, in which case it will consume everything you eat.

Pizza is a lot of sugar

• a medium pizza (regular crust) is typically about 200grms /7 ounces of carbohydrate (almost half a pound of sugars)
• a medium pizza (deep pan) is typically about 300grms / 10 ounces of carbohydrate (almost 2/3rds of a pound of sugars)
• information from domino pizza
  

Full fat

When you eat a full fat diet without sugars your body burns fat naturally as it's primary and preferred source and when you are not eating your body continues to work through your fat stores, which in a person over 30, is usually stored everywhere. I also eat quite a high protein intake but because I'm not eating sugars, it's not wasted. my body will use it for energy and because it's slightly energy denser than carbs, I feel fuller, quicker and so eat less. Eggs are regular guests at my table too. It may be more difficult if you are a vegetarian to sustain this high fat protein food combination as meat is high in fat and protein but it's not impossible. Nuts are my new best friends. They are very high in fats. Good fats and they contain a decent amount of protein and fibre. Hazelnuts, Macadamia, Walnuts and seeds. I am avoiding all fermented foods at the moment with the exception of balsamic vinegar in small amounts for my salad dressing.

Meat is high in protein and fat.. but so are nuts.

Slimbo

I am eating a full fat diet, but I have also lost about 20lbs, the (first 8-9 in less than 6 weeks) and am now at a 5-6 year low weight, which is almost in the middle of the healthy BMI level for my age and height. It was all done to promote my immune system and it's working well (after a long period of infection). It has not been easy ! It has stretched my culinary skills to the edge. I discovered edamame spaghetti. 14% carbs and 40% protein & high in fibre. That was a good replacement for pasta and rice. At the moment I can't even eat that, so I have discovered that sliced boiled cabbage makes a perfectly reasonable replacement for pasta or rice dishes. A very good discovery and I can drink the cabbage water too. If you ever dreamed of flawless skin.. cabbage is the daddy. I have eaten 2 whole savoy cabbages in about 1 week. My super food salad (previously eaten with warm goats cheese) and now swapped for a steak burger is the ultimate Skinny burger. here's the ingredients

• baby chard, lambs lettuce, baby spinach,
• beetroot, tomatoes, radishes,
• toasted sunflower and pumpkin seeds, pine nuts,
• sliced green olives,
• extra virgin olive oil or (combined with avocado / walnut oil.
• balsamic vinegar.
• Pink Himalayan Rock salt / Black pepper

It's a very filling, super nutritious meal. I heap on the olive oil and it's very satisfying. Himalayan rock salt is the salt. When I was really ill my doctor recommended a salt solution as a tonic. Sounds weird but for my condition which included low blood pressure, it seemed to help. unlike the bleached, toxic, over processed salt you might see sold as cheap table salt Pink Rock salt from the Himalayas contain 84 minerals and trace elements with positive health benefits. (Our bodies need salt, that's a solid fact so this is good choice to fulfill that need.) I use it quite liberally in my cooking. It's flavour is more subtle and rounded.

I am now on a very strict low FODMAP diet for 3 months and I am a couple of weeks in to it. (FODMAP is an acronym which includes all the major fermentable carb groups; poorly absorbed by the body.) It is difficult to avoid all sugars, but the advantage to digestion is incredible. Macadamia nuts have become my best friend. I also have to avoid dairy so it's really tough without yoghurt, cheese and milk. I will be able to slowly return to small amounts of these foods in a few months time and I'll be able to eat low sugar fruit and some legumes.

• F.O.D.M.A.P Fermentable Oligo- / Di- / Mono- / saccharides& Polyols (sugar alcohols)

Macadamia Nuts

TREAT

My treat is a small amount of sugar free, creamed coconut. I swear it tastes like white chocolate and although it's high in saturated fats, it has no cholestrol, is full of vitamin c, b & e, selenium. It's easier for the liver to digest than animal fat and it's main content, lauric acid is purported to have many health benefits including anti-bacterial agents.

WARNING

warning. I am doing this under medical supervision for clinical reasons. If you suddenly stop eating sugars, your body will most likely take quite a serious objection. I spent my first week (in March) with a photo-phobic headache and bodypains like flu. I was told to expect it. You also need to flush your system with plenty of water daily.

all images courtesy of wikipedia