|
Sugar flares
G'day everyone. I have been absent from forum for a while. I have been busy planning my wedding the last year. I was worried about having a flare up do to all the stress I was under around that time but the big day finally came and everything went smoothly.
I have been ok for most part but I have noticed that most antibiotics flare my SFPN and very recently very sweet desserts do too. Not normal foods or pasta and bread. Nor dark chocolate or biscuits. But sticky date pudding and caramel slices which are like nothing but pure evil sugar have caused a flare on at least 5 or 6 occasions. I have no known allergies and I have non diabetic SFPN. I am 5'6 and 63 kilos in pretty good shape exercising almost daily. My PN was either caused by thyroid/metabolic derangement's or gastritis/h. Pylori infection 9 years ago. I am currently in remission from Graves hyperthyroid. It's only been since last Xmas or so where heavy sugary sweets have caused flares. It started with Christmas pudding, and I thought it may have been the rum in the pudding?? Then I was advised that most alcohol gets burned off through cooking. I was always able to eat what I wanted to but now I am wondering if this sugar thing is an ominous sign that needs to be reported to neuro? Does it mean I may be becoming diabetic? Any advice would be appreciated. Hugs, Aussie |
Quote:
|
From my expereince with neuropathy group participants--
--even those who do not have neuropathy caused by diabetes have reported sometimes experiencing exacerbations of symptoms after having consumed sugar, alcohol, or other foods high in simple carbohydrates.
Not quite sure why this is, although sugar and alcohol are known for being nerve irritants. It may just be that those with already compromised nerves are somewhat more vulnerable. During my most severe acute neuropathy experience, I distinctly remember one major flare after a potluck pasta dinner. The experience was on reason I eventually went gluten free, though I have never tested positive for celiac on blood tests or endoscopy. I'm probably better off without all those flour products in me anyway. |
Congratulations on your wedding!:hug:
Sugar is inflammatory in general and Skews cytokines to the PGE2 inflammatory Side of the fatty acid chemistry. And as Glenn points out, leads to high insulin Levels which lead to low dips after the sugar Is moved around.. Sugar 'crashes' and this Disturbs the nerves too. Sugar is part fructose and many people cannot metabolize this well, either. My feeling is that if something does not agree with you, you should avoid it. |
Quote:
I've been tested for diabetes & related multiple times—always with negative results, yet my PN flares with sugar, sugar alcohols (found in diabetic candies & other foods), and white starches. It began with only sugar, and progressed to the others within a couple years. Whatever it is, if it aggravates/exacerbates my symptoms, I avoid it. Doc |
One thing that antibiotics and sugar have in common are that they both play havoc on the healthy bacterial in the gut. At least that is my understanding. The gut is quite important for the immune system, and many believe that it is quite important in general for health. Most doctors do not have this understanding. There are a large number of nerves supplying the gut, leading some to call it the 2nd brain. Why the sugar causes a flair-up, I don't know, but something to think about. Sounds like you should avoid sugar, which would be great for all of us, but I am certainly not willing to do so at this point, so I understand. Good luck.
Ron |
Quote:
So can I ask you what you have as a treat or sweet now? Thank you!! |
Quote:
The wedding was fantastic! Afterwards we went to New York and it was absolutely the most magnificent city I have ever seen! I wish I could have stayed longer. I loved it! Thank you for the info on sugar too!!:) |
Quote:
I do remember you mentioning the flare after the heavy glutening. This is what's happening to me if the dessert is very very sweet. But I'm planning on changing my diet to avoid the flares anyways. As I mentioned I believe I had a 2nd assault of PN 2 years ago with a completely different pattern which put me in a worse off state for a while and I had to leave my job finally. But I started to cutout sugar yesterday and so far so good. Thank you!! |
Quote:
I am also sad to give up sugar but I think in the long run I'll be glad I did. I wish you well on your journey too.:) |
Quote:
|
Quote:
Also, for anyone who is being failed by the mainstream disease care system, I recently discovered a podcast called Extreme Health Radio that is very interesting. Their website: extremehealthradio.com Justin and Kate record a show 4 days a week and bring in all sorts of guests in 'alternative' medicine. There is a lot of healing going on out there, about which you won't hear from your MD. Ron |
Quote:
Chocolate, Ice Cream, etc.? Aside from the occasional little bag of chemicals known as "fat-free, sugar-free instant pudding" (Eat it quick before the chemicals die!), various diet sodas (they stopped selling my favorite root beer in 2 liter bottles in my area), and fresh fruit, not a whole lot. Every sugar-free "ice cream"/frozen dessert I've tried so far has been pretty vile. :vomit: The sugar-free chocolate made with sugar alcohols that's sold in our area is actually pretty good, but since my PN still thinks it's sugar, I don't do that anymore. There's also an issue with the stuff being a cramp-inducing laxative. I've been experimenting with various sweeteners—aspertame, sucralose, saccharin, and DW just picked up some stevia, which we haven't had a chance to try yet. I'm also curious about neotame, but I haven't actually seen or tried any yet. If I can figure out a way to make a palatable fudge or decent chocolate candy, I'll be all set. :Ponder: Doc |
Quote:
I bake a lot of breakfast cakes/loafs using wholemeal flour instead of white and Stevia instead of sugar. They turn out pretty good usually. But today I downloaded a Paleo recepie for blueberry muffins that called for Almond flour and Stevia. I am going to try to make over weekend. So far I'm ok with carbs but this was the kick I needed to clean up my diet anyways so I am going to look at this in a positive light right now to get healthier and hopefully loose those 2 last kilos I haven't been able to loose. |
The sugar substitute conundrum--
--has a very close echo in the gluten-free community.
A lot of the gluten-free stuff is made with "white flour" substitutes--corn starch, potato starch, etc. Besides the problem with taste and texture being, uh, disappointing, in terms of being overall healthy there really hasn't been much of an advance. Potato and corn and many other "flours" will spike blood sugar just as wheat flour will. The one somewhat healthy "flour" I use regularly is buckwheat, which is, of course, not wheat and not a grass like many grains but a seed-producer more closely related to stalky herbs like rhubarb and celery. Unfortunately, the flour produced is very dry and inelastic and doesn't have much of a taste. http://glutenfreecooking.about.com/o...kwheatisgf.htm |
Oh, I like the buckwheat spiral pasta!
I have some with me here!;) |
concentrate on adding foods rather than taking away
Quote:
Put all your focus and energy into adding things to your diet rather than taking away. I have an incredible sweet tooth (I would happily eat pure sugar cubes). I concentrated on adding to my diet loads of things that are healthy and ruthlessly hunt for healthy things that I like. My food intake would be so completely full of the good stuff that it would push out the sugary stuff. I would do all I can to get my environment supporting me and get all sugar out of my arms reach. After not too long, my tastes changed and I no longer wanted the stuff that wasn't good for me anymore (which was a colossal change). Trying to re-work conventional foods (i.e. baking with different ingredients) didn't work for me ... it was easier to just get completely away and build a whole new way of eating that I really liked. Everyone around me laughs and thinks I am a freak (while they chomp on their potato chips). It feels really good to be laughed at and be a freak because the current "normal" is headed for a very unpretty path. |
Quote:
Anyhoo, the stuff is a challenge to cook and/or bake with, but websites devoted to that diet have lots of recipes using it—some good—some not so much. :Dunno: Doc |
Quote:
|
Quote:
A lot of Paleo recipes also rely on almond flour. I went to supermarket yesterday and they did not have it. So I made my muffins with gluten free white flour instead. But as Glen mentioned that's not much healthier!! |
[QUOTE=glenntaj;1087298]--has a very close echo in the gluten-free community.
A lot of the gluten-free stuff is made with "white flour" substitutes--corn starch, potato starch, etc. Besides the problem with taste and texture being, uh, disappointing, in terms of being overall healthy there really hasn't been much of an advance. Potato and corn and many other "flours" will spike blood sugar just as wheat flour will. The one somewhat healthy "flour" I use regularly is buckwheat, which is, of course, not wheat and not a grass like many grains but a seed-producer more closely related to stalky herbs like rhubarb and celery. Unfortunately, the flour produced is very dry and inelastic and doesn't have much of a taste. http://glutenfreecooking.about.com/o...kwheatisgf.htm[/QUOTE. I cooked with gluten free flour last night when I made my muffins. Working with that flour is also a challenge. Muffins were great last night but they seem so dense today! Lol |
Quote:
I don't have PN, but the title 'sugar flares' caught my eye. I totally agree with glenntag's post regarding the gluten free foods. My daughter and I were so disappointed with the gluten free foods we were searching through some time ago. Some of the products had so much added sugar and tasted so gross it wasn't worth buying them. One loaf of bread I made was like a brick. We've noticed that the US has a way better selection of gluten-free foods than we do too. Anyway, the reason I posted was regarding the almond flour - look for almond meal here in Au.. All the bigger supermarkets here will have almond meal but it's not kept with the flour. You can find it in the baking section near things like coconut and nuts etc.. It's quite expensive. It does make really yummy raspberry or blueberry friands. :) |
Quote:
Oh! I didn't realize that almond meal =almond flour! Thank you!! Yes the gluten free food can be dreadful and sugary I agree. I went to Woolies and IGA and couldn't find Buckwheat or almond flour. Now I know to look for almond meal. Thank you!! |
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
|
I'm sorry, I just meant the labelling here in Australia.
I'm yet to find anything here in the major supermarkets labelled as almond flour. Health food stores may label it that way, but in the large chain stores I've only ever been able to find almond meal and yes, it comes in different textures. Some does come without skins though and is reasonably fine. It's quite rich so I would imagine it wouldn't be for all tummies. Adding a small amount of another type of flour to the mix would make it less dense. I have seen it labelled almond flour on an Australian GAPS diet website that sells products from here. Certified organic, skins removed without chemicals. 3 kilo for Au$75 :eek: |
Quote:
I have the same reaction with sweets. I have not studies which ones bother it more. I would definitely have and A1C test for your sugar. Right now I am going through a flair cuz I wanted an Apple maple muffin oh the numbness and burn. |
| All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:24 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin • Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
vBulletin Optimisation provided by
vB Optimise (Lite) -
vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2025 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.