Refined Sweeteners... the Wrap Up

Last month our family did a "Refined Sweeteners Free Month" and it was just plan alot of work. I think it was great though. I learned alot more than I thought I would. I don't know that I want to do it again, I had to make pretty much everything from scratch and you know, that's alot of work! I make alot of things from scratch anyway, but everything had to be made from scratch. There was no last minute pizza runs or drive through food joint just because we're in a hurry. I had to plan everything out, days in advance sometimes.

By the middle of the month I was really annoyed with food companies. It seems to me like they treat sweeteners just like nicotine, they put it in everything, just to keep us addicted. It's no wonder that alot of people don't like homemade/from scratch, it's not as sweet. It might not even be as bad if companies didn't use high fructose corn syrup, but that makes everything so much sweeter than just plain sugar.

I'm not sure what the hardest thing for me was, could have been the baking bread 3 times a week, or never having a break from cooking, not being able to grab a bowl of cold cereal in the evening when I'm wanting a snack, maybe even not having condiments (mayo, steak sauce and definitely no ketchup!), and spices... like taco seasoning. Pretty much anything that makes our time in the kitchen easier or faster has some sort of sweetener in it. Dextose seems to be pretty popular as well as high fructose corn syrup.

Health benefits. There were quite a few!
Mood swings. My monthly cycles are not pleasant, but my mood swings weren't as bad. I was hoping they would be gone completely, but instead they just didn't last as long- like a few hours a day instead of every day for a week.
Migraines. I didn't get get them, that was a huge plus. I typically get migraines with my cycle as well, usually from a couple days before through the week after, so yes, about 2 weeks of migraines. Most of the time it's about 2-4 migraines during that time. Now, having said that, I did get headaches. I wonder though if I went "sugar" free for a year if they were just go away completely? My headaches weren't horrible and I took some Tylenol and they went away. I didn't have to sleep it off at all. During March I had cut back on sugars and I didn't have any migraines either. Now during the month of May, since we have been back on sugar, I had 2 or 3 migraines through my cycle.
Zits. My complexion was very clear! I can't complain too much about it normally, but I definitely noticed how clear it was without sweeteners. Now, I have no idea what made most of the difference. If it was actually not having sweetened things or if it was because everything was made from scratch and so I didn't get anything processed and avoided all the who knows what that they put in our foods.
Colds. We did get sick during the month. It wasn't too bad, I guess. I don't think it was any less or shorter. I know that sugar lowers your immune system though, so I would love to see how often we were sick if we actually stuck with it a year.

The boys did do better in school. That was interesting to me. I would love it if our schools went for no refined sweeteners. I would love to get my hands on their menu! I think it would be a hard adjustment though for the lunch ladies... I don't think there is even a stove or oven, just a microwave. But then, maybe avoiding the microwaved food was what helped the boys so much!

It was interesting eating "normal" food again after this. Doughnuts were disgusting. I don't know if they still are, I haven't tried again. We had lunch at Arby's. The bread and meat were both too sweet and didn't taste very good to us. I haven't even wanted soda pop. I'm afraid I would feel like I was drinking syrup. I feel gross now if I eat much sugar. I had 1 (yes, 1) semi-sweet chocolate chip and had to get a drink to wash that overly sweet taste from my mouth.

Sadly, I don't think we could do this for an extended amount of time, at least not being as strict as we were. If people ever invite us over or bring food to a potluck, there is sugar. Camping- that would be alot more work without some pre-made foods. That would mean I would never have a break from cooking, because anything frozen or made at a restaurant has sugars. Grandma would give us a bunch of fake sugar. Which in my opinion is even worse.

Guest Post by Brian (Rachel's Husband)

I wasn't quite sure what to think of a sugar free month, but when Rachel said natural sugars were still allowed, I felt better. :) I did cheat a little though, I have lunch with a friend weekly at Subway and while I eliminated pop in favor of tea and gave up on having cookies, I was unable to avoid the sugars in the bread. The biggest thing that I think it pointed out to me as the month progressed was how many products have processed sugar in them and how may names they disguise it as.

Trying to find a ham or turkey for Easter dinner was impossible, everything was either made with sugar or soaked in a sugar bath. Ended up having a pork roast instead. When trying to figure out a meal for a boy scout outing, I could only find one type of hot dog that had no sugar, corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup. Hebrew National was the only option, fortunately it is a good tasting option. Some of the other brands had all three types of sweeteners listed above in them.

Not having sugar also cut down on my coffee intake. At home I had already gotten accustom to using natural maple syrup as sweetener but I still used sugar when away from home. Now I had to just drink black coffee when away from home and quickly found out who has good tasting coffee. It is amazing how enough sugar can hide bad coffee. :)

In the end I think it was a good month. We decided to keep a few things but had to go back to sugar for others if nothing else than for ease. With as much bread as our family goes through alone, it was keeping Rachel busy baking. It is too bad that America in general has become so dependent on sweeteners. I think most people have lost the ability to taste the true flavor of the food they are eating. Just like in the coffee, all the sugar that is added covers food that usually tastes better without it.

What Jesse Thought of Our "No Refined Sweeteners" Challenge

Rules: Absolutely no refined sweeteners.

Why did you decide to do this challenge?

Because it sounded fun.

What did you enjoy most about the month?

The packed lunches.

What was the most surprising thing about this month?

How many meats have sugar in them- like jerky!

How did people react if you told them?

They said they wouldn't be able to do it.

What was the thing you disliked the most?

That I couldn't eat all the stuff I wanted to.

Did you notice any changes in yourself? (Emotions, thoughts, school work, physical?)

I ran alot faster and my spelling average went up.

Are there any changes that we made that you want to continue?

No.

Was this challenge hard?

Yes, because people offered me alot of food, that I couldn't eat.

Would you be willing to do this again? For how long? (another month, a year?)

Yes, I would be willing to do it again. For a week.

What Luke Thought of Our "No Refined Sweeteners" Challenge

Rules: Absolutely no refined sweeteners.

Why did you decide to do this challenge?

I decided to do this challenge because I wanted to raise my math scores.

What did you enjoy most about the month?

I enjoyed having more fruit sauce on my pancakes.

What was the most surprising thing about this month?

My math grade went up two letter grades.

How did people react if you told them?

"Aren't you malnourished?" or "thats stupid".

What was the thing you disliked the most?

Having to skip out on a pizza party.

Did you notice any changes in yourself? (Emotions, thoughts, school work, physical?)

My math grades went up two letter grades.

Are there any changes that we made that you want to continue?

Not really.

Was this challenge hard?

Yes because just about everything has sugar.

Would you be willing to do this again? For how long? (another month, a year?)

Possibly for a month but never for a year (life was just to bland without sugar, and so were muffins).