Sugar... Was that the answer all along?

[MarkB]

This is more of a personal post but anyone is welcome to join in the conversation if you wish.

I've had severe back / joint pain since my hip replacement surgery back in 2012 aggravated the nerve damage I sustained in the near fatal car accident I was in back in 2001... I've mentioned before the frequent need for lumbar injections (roughly every three months) to help alleviate the pain and discomfort.

Beginning in January this year, after my father's funeral, I decided to make a conscious effort to take better care of myself. Being diabetic, one of those things was to eliminate as much sugar from my diet as possible. Since then I've dropped my sugar intake by probably 90% (some things can't be avoided such as fruits but I take care not to over indulge).

One thing I've noticed that surprised me greatly was the reduction in the level of pain I deal with on a daily basis. It's still there but nowhere near as bad as it was. I never realized how much sugars contributed to chronic inflammation. My last lumbar injection was in August 2022. I'm feeling so much better now and can more effectively treat what pain I do have with the prescribed meds + OTC ibuprofen as needed. It's been eight months since my last round of injections and I don't feel the need for them any more. I don't see my family doctor again until November but I'll be interested in seeing what my A1C level is at that time.

More plans to begin walking / exercising as the weather continues to warm. I hope to lose enough weight where I can (one day) begin cycling and golfing again.

So, if I could condense the essence of this post into one thing it's this; if you experience chronic pain problems like me, eliminate sugar from your diet for a month or two and see how much things change (for the better) for you.

 

[HMan]

Wonderful that you've found something that's helped with the pain! Keep it up

 

[CBLindsay]

Sometimes it is THAT easy.

I have 2 things that cause me great pain if/when I consume them. Sugar is one and the other is Oxalic acid (oxalate). Sugar is an easy one to identify and oh so tasty. I can tolerate it in reasonable moderation but when I go full fat man on it I pay the price. Oxalic acid is a sneaky one, its in the green things (and other 'healthy' things) my wife likes to make me eat when I am not eating sugar. If I eat too much of it I get great pains in my muscles and joints. It builds up in the tissues over time so if you stop eating it cold turkey your body dumps it from the tissues and you feel even worse. your body needs it in small amounts so you don't want to avoid it all together, just limit yourself to smaller amounts. In my case the oxalic acid build up was far worse than the sugar.

Good job on figuring out the sugar connection and doing what it takes to cut back.

 

[Bill M]

Congrats on your progress and those things you have done to improve the quality of your life. Keep up the good work.

I’ve gone Keto to reverse my diabetes. 5.7 A1C 6 months after an 8.8.

After reading a bunch of stuff and experimenting on myself, I’m reasonably convinced that the high insulin needed by my body to manage the sugar that I couldn’t or wouldn’t burn off left me with pain, inflammation and damage. I used to take quite a bit of OTC pain meds every night to sleep. Can’t remember the last time I’ve used any.

Cheers

 

[Spider]

 

[GearNoir]

 

[dangerousdon]

People don't realize that high or even moderate levels of sugar can create inflammation. Not saying that people shouldn't eat sugar ever, but it is definitely something that is put in way too many foods. High Fructose Corn syrup is in EVERTHING. Some people can tolerate it better than others. But good for you for figuring this out!

 

[August West]

Augustus Owsley Stanley III, expert chemist best known for concocting the world’s finest LSD, was the original sound engineer and patron financier of The Grateful Dead. He subsisted solely on beef and milk. While he was completely bankrolling the seminal rock group with the proceeds of his LSD sales, under the guise of Alembic Studios, he insisted the original members follow the same diet.

 

[CBLindsay]

REVIVAL!
I decided to revive this sweet little thread because I had some interesting and useful information to share about SUGAR.

It has already been mentioned that there is more to sugar than just the calories it provides. For example, sugar is highly inflamatory and it plays a role in cortisol levels (which plays a role in all sorts of other health and weight issues). For those with diabetes sugar is an obvious enemy of good health and over the long run leads to a BUNCH of little things that add up to a shorter, less enjoyable life. WhatI wanted to add to this thread is a little snippet of what I have observed regarding dietary sugar.

For me personally, I have cut way back on my total sugar consumption over the last 2 years. I used to think I didnt consume THAT much sugar because I stayed away from sugary drinks and foods. But upon deeper examination I really was consuming plenty of sugar, often eating bags of candy in one sitting. I have shifted to a more protient focused diet (not keto, just more focus on protien) and I limit my candy consumption as much as possible. NOW, if/when I eat a lot of sugar I can FEEL it within 20 minutes and I don't like the feeling. I also feel the impact of massive carbo loading although it takes longer than 20 minutes to set in. I still fall off the wagon but I have learned I don't like the way I feel when i do so I am moving in the right direction. I have lost a lot of weight and become much healthier as a result of my focus on a better diet (not a perfect or great diet, just 'better')

My wife has had her own sugar epiphony. As an 'older' woman she has had some unwanted weight gain and was finding it difficult to lose weight despite feeling like she didnt consume a lot of calories and is relatively active. Unlike me, she can eat candy in moderation, sometimes making a bag of candy last many days, so she didn't think sugar was an issue. And honestly, I didn't think she consumed THAT much sugar. But while she didn't eat a lot of candy at any one time she DID mix a little cucumber/lime/mint juice into her water. She would go through a bottle of this lovely nectar every couple days. So i suggested she focus on reducing sugar intake to see if it reduced her pain level and maybe helped her cut a few pounds. She did, she cut out that splash of juice in the water and stopped eating the candy from her not so secret stash and even cut out the few cookies and treats she would eat occasionally. The result? She quickly lost about 5% of her body weight and is nearing 10% down after a little more than a month. She not only feels better she can see a difference. She was not a heavy person to begin with so loosing a couple more pounds will put her around her target weight, but with removing sugar helping her to get a good kick start she is motivated to finish the job. For my wife sugar WAS the problem even though she didn't consume an obviously large amount of it.

So the take away here is the knowledge that sugar just MIGHT be the problem.