“The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.”
Ann Wigmore
Two years ago this very month I had had enough. Enough of constantly feeling tired. Enough of bloating and stomach pain. Enough of breaking out in severe acne, headaches and my constant, unhealthy desire for food and my ability to eat all of the snacks! Enough was enough for me.
With all of that in the front of my mind, I went into the cupboard at our little apartment found our container of white sugar and dumped it all into the garbage. And honestly – that was it. After dumping our white sugar out, I proceeded to get rid of any and everything in our fridge and cupboard that had the ingredient ‘sugar’ on the label. And let me tell you – there was so much! (Don’t worry, I didn’t throw it all in the garbage like my dramatic sugar moment – I put it in bags to give away. My friends were more than willing to take some extra bottles of ketchup!).
MY JOURNEY TO THIS POINT
Okay, let me back it up. There were three instances over the last two years that led me to marching up to our cupboard and tossing the processed sugar right into the garbage.
First, about a year before Byron and I got married I learned about a new book that came out called “The Daniel Plan”. Rick Warren, the lead pastor at Saddleback church, had just gone through a journey with his congregation where they pursued living holy lives for Jesus. He published a book focusing on five essentials in life. His idea is that if you are able to focus on these five things and make healthy choices in these areas then you would have a more balanced life. The five F’s are faith, friends, fitness, food, and focus. In his book he goes through healthy habits to ensure these areas are well rounded. I recommend giving it a read if you’re interested. I was obviously really curious about the ‘food’ section. In that section he talks a lot about what to look out for when buying food (he advocated against processed food and added refined sugar), and how to choose and consume more balanced and whole foods. Throughout the book he continues to point to the Biblical view of health and how God has given us food to eat and use as medicine. There is also The Daniel Plan Cookbook which has a ton of recipes to help you get started on the journey. Byron and I have seriously used it so much over the past four years that it has completely fallen a part! I may just need to order myself a new copy too!
Second, I was introduced by a friend to essential oils. To be honest, the only reason I went to her essential oils session was because I felt bad that no one else was attending . . . so I thought I would go to be supportive. The thing was, everything that I learned that evening really struck a chord with me. Did you know that each morning the average woman puts hundreds of harmful chemicals on her body as she gets ready for the day (between make up, hair, perfume and beauty products alone)? All of those harmful chemicals (which are found in everything from cleaning products to relaxing scented candles) are constantly causing stress on our bodies by disrupting hormones and our immune systems. Not good. Shortly after learning all of this, I bought my Young Living starter kit and began to research how I could make some changes to help my body, increase my energy and honor the temple that God has given me. (I’ll write more on all this in a later blog post!).
Lastly, I happened upon a book called The Healing Power of Essential Oils by Dr. Erik Zielinski. This book is a 5/5, highly recommend from me. I loved it and learned so much. Through reading this book, I also found myself on Dr. Z’s webpage where I started to learn more about how the Z’s live their daily life. Naturally. I learned a ton about choosing the right food for your body and the harmful effects of the processed sugar that I was eating daily (plus, how to read labels on food you buy! Processed sugar is hidden in everything!). The Z’s gave a ton of natural, healthier options (options for food, DIY beauty products, cleaning products, sunscreen, bug spray, etc). They didn’t just say “don’t do this – it’s bad for you!” They give alternatives to almost everything – so I wasn’t left getting rid of everything with nothing in return . . . but getting rid of things in order to supplement with something healthier. They shared not just about food and essential oils, but they brought it all together for me sharing how to live in a natural and healthier way and to advocate for your health.
One of the main take away for me from all of this information had to do with what I learned about the effects of processed sugar. Those headaches I had? Could be from processed sugar. The lack of energy I had each day as I woke up? Many factors definitely played into this one – but one for sure was all of the processed sugar. My acne? Sugar. My stomach issues? Well, my dad has Crohn’s disease and sugar is a gut irritant . . . so I wasn’t going to take my chances any longer regarding how my stomach was feeling. Even though I wasn’t sure how much of a role processed sugar played into any of this stuff, I was willing to cut it out to try and see how I felt. If I know it has all the negative effects that it does, why would I continue to indulge in it and knowingly harm my body? When you know better, hopefully you can choose better options for yourself.
WHAT IS PROCESSED SUGAR?
So, why is white sugar and brown sugar really that bad for you? You say you eat natural sugars, but aren’t they natural? Don’t they both come from sugar beets or sugar cane – a plant? Yes! They do. But it’s not whether they are natural or not that matters, it’s the level of processing. White and brown sugar (cane sugar, high fructose corn syrup, etc.) are highly processed; whereas, some of the replacement options that I will describe below are less processed, if not at all! When foods are processed, that means that they have been “cooked, frozen, packaged or changed in nutritional composition”. White sugar, for example, goes through a process of soaking, filtering, washing, drying, and cooling before it hits the shelf as the tiny, sweet white crystals that we enjoy. By the end of all of the processing, it has been stripped of all valuable nutrients. What is left is a refined carbohydrate, which is something that your body cannot easily use. There is no value to your body for eating refined sugar. The ONLY benefit is that it tastes good! The rest of the side effects are negative.
For more information on processed/refined sugar, check out this website.
HEALTHY REPLACEMENTS TO PROCESSED SUGAR
Below I have created a list of healthy replacements to processed sugar. I use these replacements in my baking, cooking and as a part of healthy snacks! Remember, even though these are good things for your body, too much of anything can become harmful. Consuming these in moderation is key! Okay, let’s talk replacements.
Honey: Ah, the sweet nectar of bees! Honey contains amino acids, vitamins, minerals, iron, zinc and antioxidants. The best kind of honey to consume is unfiltered, unheated, and unpasteurized so as to keep all of these natural vitamins. Besides it’s delicious sweet taste, it’s beneficial to your body.
Stevia: Not to be confused with Splenda! Splenda contains stevia, but its main ingredient is Sucralose, a type of artificial sugar that is indigestible by our bodies. So . . . not good! Stevia, on the other hand, is a plant (stevia rebaudiana). The leaves of the plant are sweet and can be picked and added straight to teas or other drinks. You can also find Stevia in the grocery store in either a powder or a liquid form. Liquid Stevia is made by letting the chopped leaves soak in water. This (along with using the leaves) is the healthiest and least processed way to use this natural sweetener. I don’t use Stevia in baking, however I do use a few drops here and there to sweeten drinks or salad dressings.
Coconut sugar: It looks a lot like brown sugar, but is made from the sap of the flowers from coconut palm trees. Once the liquid sap is collected from the flowers, it is placed under heat until the water is evaporated. Wa-lah! The end product is brown and granulated. I am always amazed by the amount of healthy foods that coconuts (and their trees!) give us (coconut milk, water, cream, flour, butter and sugar – to name a few!). Coconut sugar contains iron, zinc, calcium and potassium as well as antioxidants. Again, delicious and healthy when consumed in moderation!
Maple Syrup: You are probably familiar with this delicious syrup because you pour it over top your stack of pancakes! Did you know that you can use this in baking too? Maple syrup comes from extracting the sap from a maple tree and then boiling it until most of the water evaporates. Maple syrup contains calcium, potassium, iron, zinc and manganese as well as (you guessed it!) antioxidants. Make sure that you check the labels of the maple syrup you buy to see that it is made of only 100% pure. Honey and maple syrup are the two most commonly used white sugar replacements in baking. Give it a try!
There are a lot of people who will figure out how to substitute these natural, nutrient filled sugars into the recipes that they currently use. However, often you cannot replace these sugars as a 1:1 in your baking for white or brown sugar. Not only do you have to add a different amount (often because most of these are liquid and white sugar is not!), but you then have to change some of the amounts of the other ingredients as well. I have not mastered this! I prefer to find recipes that specifically use these types of healthy sugars as sweeteners in baking rather than trying to figure out the ratios myself.
Let me provide two places here that will give you some awesome starting points on recipes without processed sugar.
- Check out my Pinterest page! On my “food” board I have around 300 recipes (both baking and cooking recipes) that do not include processed sugar. Check them out and give them a try! I recommend the “Soft Pumpkin Cookies” and the “Peanut Butter Cookies.”
- Danielle Walker has some of the BEST recipes out there (for both gluten free and refined sugar free). I have her cookbook Against All Grain. All her ingredients are super accessible (unlike some of the healthy eating cookbooks out there that want you to use random ingredients that you can’t find at your local grocery store). Also, each recipe that I have tried has worked! She has a few other cookbooks as well. I don’t have her other cookbooks, but I plan to one day. You can check out some recipes on her website here.
WHAT’S BEEN THE HARDEST PART OF THIS JOURNEY?
Now that I have found alternatives to using processed sugar in my baking (because I have a huge sweet tooth – so finding these alternatives was a must!), I honestly got over the feeling of ‘missing out.’ Yes, there have been times where I wished that I could have that doughnut. But, I remind myself how I will feel if I do and then I find a recipe to make my own, healthier version! There is a certain amount of pride gleaned from being able to do these things yourself. Yes, they don’t ever taste 100% like the original version, but, they taste great! And you can eat it and feel good about what you’re putting into your body. For example, my husband and I just bought an ice cream maker so that we could have ice cream again! That has been a fun (and delicious!) journey of trying recipes and eating all the healthy ice cream over this hot, hot summer.
To be honest, the hardest and most difficult part of this journey has been other people. Other people who don’t understand all that has brought me here to this place in my journey and so they make judgments or comments based on what THEY think. I remember one gathering I was at, someone had brought a doughnut for each person there (I know, here we go with doughnuts again . . . ). It was really thoughtful! As they were passing them out, I politely declined. It became the biggest deal. So much so that I had to take the doughnut (because no one would let it go and it was getting super embarrassing!). I took it, excused myself to the bathroom and threw it in the garbage. It shouldn’t have to be this way though! I am not judging you for eating the doughnut, so don’t judge me for choosing not to.
WHAT’S BEEN THE BEST PART OF THIS JOURNEY?
Becoming an advocate for my health by being mindful of what I am putting in my body has been incredibly empowering! And with that, I have seen a ton of improvements to my health. Since getting rid of refined sugar, I have had an increase in energy, I haven’t experienced brain fog (which used to happen to me quite a bit before!), my acne cleared up, I lost weight (which was never the original intention, but a great benefit!), my oral health has been great (seriously, I haven’t had any cavities and my last dentist appointment was only 25 minutes long! There was almost no plaque on my teeth which amazed both my dentist and hygienist because I rarely floss . . .), I rarely get headaches, and my stomach gets upset less often. It has been totally worth the journey and it’s why, this month I can say that it has been two years since processed sugar was a regular part of my diet.
Besides, all of the positive health effects that I mentioned above (because that has truly been the best!), people have also been the best part of this journey. Isn’t that usually how it works? What’s the best can sometimes simultaneously be the worst. When people have invited us over for lunch or dinner, we always tell them what we don’t eat and they have been super respectful and accommodating! I have appreciated all of the questions and text messages that people send to make sure that they are making something that I can eat. That kind of willingness to learn and that kind of respect has been a huge encouragement to me.
My group of friends has even joined in on parts of this journey as well. During the month of June, all five of us did the Daniel Plan Detox. For the whole month we meal planned healthy, whole food meals and snacks, we food prepped and then encouraged each other on that month long journey of healing our bodies. It was hard, but it was great to do together. They understand how important eating this way is to me, and they learn alongside me (and often join in too)!
Our families have also been incredibly understanding. They always make sure to make foods that we can eat and to ask questions when they aren’t sure. At Christmas time, I bring a bunch of my own baking to share (that is refined sugar free). Then, I don’t feel too much like I’m missing out on all the other baking that is brought, but I can eat my own cookies, fudge and bars. My baking gets eaten just as quickly by our families as does the other baking . . . so that hopefully gives you some inclination as to how it tastes!
CONFESSION TIME
I can’t say that I haven’t had processed sugar at all in the past two years because then I would be lying. But I can tell you that life without it is better, and each time I have some, the delicious pleasure of the taste of it in the moment is not worth the crazy amount of side effects. Just the other night I decided to have some chips that had processed sugar in them. I woke up the next day with two new painful zits above my lip, bloating, a sluggish feeling, and sore teeth. Was that time of indulgence worth the results? Nope! It’s the remembering how good I feel when I don’t choose to eat processed sugar that honestly keeps me going and makes me choose better options.
YOUR TURN!
If you are not feeling 100%, or you know in your heart that you could be feeling better, it is time to start being an advocate for your own health. In order to feel better sometimes we have to make sacrifices. Getting rid of processed sugar seems like a really big deal – and honestly, it is! Most of the world just eats whatever they want and whatever they feel like. This kind of attitude can lead to lots of problems over time. But if we are willing to advocate for ourselves and to make better choices it will lead to better results. We will reap what we sow. Do your own research and figure what WORKS for YOU! Not eating processed sugar really works for me and my body – and it might just also work for you. I wanted to share my journey here in case you have been feeling like your health is not as great as you would like it to be . . . or if there are areas you feel like your body is struggling. Everything from inflammation and pain to obesity, energy and mood could be because of all of the processed sugar you are consuming. I’m not saying that’s the reason (or even solely the reason) – I’m just saying that it could be. And the amount of sugar you intake is something you have control over.
So why not give it up and see if there are any improvements?
“Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”
Romans 12:1-2
Written by: Justine Joy
Refined Joy 