Refined Carbohydrates and Adrenal Fatigue

Bear with me here now, I'm no doctor, but I am a smart person who is listening to what their body is telling them. I will do my best to provide information that I truly hope can help some people.

Over the past few weeks, I have been researching refined sugars and their effect on our bodies and minds. It has become obvious to myself that these sugars have taken a toll on my life, as I have been consuming them everyday since the beginning of my life. One major thing I stumbled across was one of the complication that comes with eating this stuff. Going hand in hand with obesity, diabetes and sugar addiction is Adrenal Fatigue.

Adrenal Fatigue happens when your body can no longer handle stress because your adrenal glands have been exhausted. This can be from everyday stress, childhood abuse and many other things, most notably, refined carbohydrates. When you eat these simple sugars, your blood sugar spikes dramatically, prompting the adrenal glands to tell your pancreas to produce insulin to bring it back down. This process in response fires up adrenal glands again, reporting that now the blood sugar is too low and that there is an emergency. Over time, this cycle fed by sugar addiction wears out the adrenal glands and leaves an exhausted and spent human being in the wake.

Mainstream medicine is not yet willing to accept Adrenal Fatigue as a common issue. Their threshold for diagnosis is far to extreme to matter to those who are simply unbalanced and unaware that their problems and inability to handle stress is linked to havoc their sugar addiction causes. Unfortunately, that also means that some of the information is anecdotal. Still, this emerging topic should become prevalent someday.

The following sites are excellent resources for checking for symptoms and other general information.

Site explaining many causes and symptoms of Adrenal wear.
Chronic Fatigue and Adrenal Fatigue

Another Resource explaining symptoms and suggestions.
MyAdrenalFatigue.com

If one has diagnosed themselves (or has been officially diagnosed), the most important next step is a change in lifestyle. The first and foremost step is to eliminate refined carbohydrates from their life. No white sugar, white bread, flour or alcohol (alcohol is an extremely refined sugar).

These sites explain a very careful diet that is extremely low in rapidly digested sugars and is specially tailored to Adrenal Fatigue.

Dr James Wilson - Diet for Adrenal Fatigue

An Adrenal Fatigue Diet is a Low Carb Diet

Whole foods are the answer in recovering from overworked adrenals. Complex carbohydrates in moderation along with a good amount of protein and a generous amount of vegetables are a staple in this diet. Fruits are not recommended to be eaten regularly, as their sugars may be natural and absorbed slower, but the bottom line is that it is sugar, and the goal is to discourage the over exertion of the adrenals as much as possible.

Now I get a little rant section to myself. You can certainly listen if you would like.

Refined sugars are an addictive drug in my opinion. I have been hooked all of my life and haven't even realized that sugar clouded my judgment and very likely caused my attention problems when I was in school. Ever since I was a baby, I had chocolate milk in my milk bottle. Sugar was always there. I'll be posting some links to sites outlining sugar addiction and information about the BIG sugar companies.
Since quitting sugar in the last week, I have noticed huge changes in my psyche and body. I have stopped eating refined carbs completely and have started a whole food diet. I will tell you that I feel completely different.

Continued in next post.

I feel more awake physically, intellectually, spiritually, and my emotions are becoming more stable. Unfortunately, the road to balance will be long, as I feel the effects of sugar withdrawal everyday, but It becomes a drive and motivation to stop. Whenever I feel that I will cave, I just focus the pain to thinking about what I WANT TO DO WITH MYSELF. I will not let sugar companies cast me into sleep with their products.

/end rant.

Now for the links on sugar. These should provide some insight into the companies that produce sugar and how it's affecting people all over.

Excellent videos on the subject with an informative article:
Sugar - Pure White and Deadly

Blog with a lot of information and videos:
David Vanadia - Stop Being Sweet

Sugar Withdrawal:
No-Hype Holistic Solutions

These links are a good place to start with your own personal journey to ending the sugar nightmare in you life.

As a quick note, I would also like to mention that alcohol addiction is the same as sugar addiction. Alcohol is a highly refined sugar. It may go to say that treating alcohol addiction the same way as sugar addiction would make a world of a difference.

As a conclusion, I would like to say that there is probably a lot of information that I neglected to cover, but the most important facts are here. This is not meant to try and change your mind about eating all the sugar you want, It is for those who are curious about the subject and find themselves with the problems indicated above. As this is my first major post here, I can't say that this was the most organized effort, but it was genuine.

Refined Carbohydrates have no place in the human body and only contribute to its cancerous, diabetic, obese and exhausted breakdown.

Cheers!!

reply to post by Joe1378


Joe....thank you SO MUCH for this...what a brilliant thread, and very timely for me. I have a problem with this, which I've known about for a while, but kicking the habit is a monster of a thing to deal with. I've never had any other kind of addiction to get over, but I can't imagine this is any less really, and it's so subtle...we are lead to believe that the foods we are fed are benign, and they are not. It all goes back to prepping our own stuff so we know what we're comsuming for sure. I can confirm the wide awake feeling for sure, after the first few groggy detoxing days are over and we start to break the craving. Everything is sharper.

Star and flag from me, and I will be reading all the links.

Cait x

I have noticed lately that no matter where I go to get a beverage,they are always very high in sugar.
There is no alternative but to drink water and we all know the stories about whats in the water.
Even the so-called healthy drinks are very high in sugar.

So,the choices are these.
Drink water.
Drink aspartame.
Drink alot of sugar.
Not labelled so you have no clue.

Great thread.

i wonder how salt fits into this also.i personally noticed i wasnt eating/intaking enough iodine. i wonder if refined salt with "less sodium" has effects on thyroid functions.i have not had any issues with sugar in my life; but have seen great grandparents loose legs because of it, so i should be mindful.

reply to post by DrumsRfun


I drink unsweetened coffee, unsweetened tea and water.....and wine and beer.

If you HAVE to have something sweet just use xylitol or stevia.

To the OP:

If you want a starting point, this book is the best place: Good Calories, Bad Calories, by Gary Taubes

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Gary (Taubes) is one of the smartest, toughest, most fearless science writers in the business. He sets the bar very high for his peers. Most science writers are content merely to celebrate and explain the accomplishments of scientists. That's not Gary's style. He questions scientists claims and subjects them to rigorous scrutiny. If the claim seems dubious to him he says so, no matter how accomplished the scientist may be. Gary backs up his claims with relentless in-depth reporting and research. As a result, his writings often have a major impact on the fields that he covers.

Gary is a correspondent for Science, the peer reviewed journal, and he freelances for the New York Times magazine, Discover New York magazine, The Atlantic and many other publications. He's won lots of prizes including three Science and Society awards of the National Association for Science Writers. He's written two very well received previous books, one on the Cold Fusion debacle and another on High Energy Particle Physics.

His new book, Good Calories Bad Calories, is by far his most ambitious and consequential work. It has already invoked an intense debate about how diet affects health. It's not just the work of journalism, it's a major contribution to the major scientific fields that he investigates. The historian of physics, Richard Rhodes, says that, "If Taubes were a scientist, rather than a gifted science journalist, he would deserve and receive a Nobel Prize in medicine."

Weston A Price...his book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration and the www.WestonAPrice.org website are great resources as well.

reply to post by Ausar


Sodium is not a problem unless you have elevated insulin levels.

-Dev

Originally posted by DevolutionEvolvd
reply to post by DrumsRfun

 

I drink unsweetened coffee, unsweetened tea and water.....and wine and beer.

What, you never sweeten your beer?

Seriously, I also stick mostly with unsweetened coffee, unsweetened tea and Seltzer water when I want something carbonated. Turns out, sugar is an acquired taste (so is salt) and we can have a lot less of both.

reply to post by DevolutionEvolvd


Stevia is a great thing. I use it myself.
If you have dogs, be careful they don't get ahold of anything with xylitol. It lowers their blood sugar to dangerous levels, and is fatal to some. I have 3 dogs, one of them little, so we don't use it at all in our house. It is harmless for people, but just want to make sure everyone knows how dangerous it is for dogs
There is lots of info available now that veterinarians are becoming aware of this, if you do a google search.

Personally, I have given up pretty much all processed foods and have gotten into a hobby of making my own! It's a lot more fun to be involved in your body's most vital process of taking in and making energy.

As far as artificial sweeteners go, I stay away. Even the natural ones. I'm on a traditional diet now. I try to involve myself on the lowest levels of preparation.

Recently I have been eating: Kale, celery, carrots, organic peanut butter, Flax seed whole grain bread, Uncle Sam cereal, fish and almonds and plenty of beans.

It is very important to check ingredients in anything you buy. I have made sure in everything that I buy that there are no added sugars or refined carbs.

Also, here's a little list of things on ingredient lists that more or less mean added refined sugar:

SUGAR
HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP
CORN SYRUP
MALTODEXTRIN
CORN MALTODEXTRIN
FRUCTOSE
DEXTRIN
CORN SYRUP SOLIDS
DEXTROSE
SUCROSE

reply to post by Joe1378


If you're adding dextrose, which is glucose, and maltodextrin, which is starch, then you might as well add potatoes, bread, pasta and cereal grains.

reply to post by DevolutionEvolvd


Hmm, if that is so I guess I got a little trigger happy with that list

But in all seriousness, perhaps save those two which I failed to thoroughly investigate, the rest would be red flags.

Though correct me if I am wrong, is maltodextrin not used as a food additive as well?

I think people would be better off avoiding all carbohydrates. No sugar, grains (wheat, rye, corn,rice,beans), potatoes etc.. All the carbohydrates a person needs they will still get in proper proportions. Obesity will disappear, health will be improved, energy, attitude, etc.. Of course people won't entirely avoid the list above but if the attitude is to avoid them on a daily basis, people would be greatly benefited.

reply to post by Joe1378


You're right, avoiding those foods are a very good idea; however, you're forgetting other foods that are metabolically similar. Wheat and flour and corn products and grains are generally a bad idea. Potatoes....they're essentially blobs of glucose.

-Dev

Hi all - very interesting thread thank you!

I know the name is a bit ambiguous - long story (but I'm a guy)

I was encouraged by a friend to change diet and lose weight, carrying too much on the belly and face and sported a lovely pair of man boobs.. I have been exactly 15 stone for at least 10 years I'm just shy of 6 foot and busy but not sporty. Walk a lot, about 3 miles a day less or more..

I pretty much dropped, potatoes, pastas, bread out of my diet overnight and started "fresh" if you like, I eat most fish; flaky and oily, fresh and ocean fish if that's the right terms. Also a reasonable amout of chicken, lightly cooked with garlic and cracked black pepper or a home made sauce, peppers, chillis etc..

I eat a small yoghurt in the morning with blueberries or if I think I will have a busy day a bowl of porridge and maybe a banana or blueberries again (in season here)

and a LOT of salad and balsamic vinegar .. it seems anyway

I drink water - tea and coffee without milk (now and again) - no sugar and a larger amount of water. I do still have like a glass or two of red wine mostly at the weekend but I have given up booze for several weeks before and didn't struggle too badly although I have to say I think I'd hate to give it up entirely - I don't drink beer too often and I've never smoked..

In saying that my portion sizes look about the same but about half is salad. Overall I am enjoying it.. I lost 1 stone over 5 weeks roughly

Food, stress a bit too much booze on occasion I and the wrong kind of exercise has been my undoing I feel..however.. (background summary aside)

2 nights ago after a long running around day with next to no food I felt really aggitated, which isn't really me I'm normally the last to get angry or panic - I really lost my temper with my family - hated the experience and hated myself the next day (verbal temper only I might add I am NEVER violent..) but nonetheless I upset those I love the most albeit for the best reasons which I won't bore you with ..

Finally, my question - I have been defending my diet as I've felt I 've been making a change for the better but am I? I might have lost a stone but I lost a bit of my dignity too.. is it worth pursuing, no keen on going to the quacks and getting tablets and generic chat thrown at me..

Some experience from those who have perhaps been through the same thing would be very helpful - I hope I can add to this worthy thread - thanks in advance

bB

reply to post by Joe1378


I been on this for years, people needs to remember that the main issue with refined Carbos is the sugar that is in them even food items that you will never think will have it, refine sugar from corn is a preservative and cheap so is used in almost anything that is not organic.

So while refine carbos are a problem is actually the sugar consumption that American people have been receiving in mega doses what is causing most of the health problems in the US and the new wave of diabetic young adults this days.

Get off the refine sugar, meaning most refined carbos and you see the big difference. . .