First thing in the morning spit into a glass of water, if after several hours the spittle remains in a blob floating on top then you almost certainly  yeast/candida free, if it produces long tendrils this indicates  yeast/candida infections.

Research and Self Testing for quite a few years with generally noticeable and positive results.

Foods and amount consumed had been gently shifting over time.......

‘97:

Heard about MSM in Combination with Vitamin C:

1 to 1 ratio

And about 8 Grams each per day

Split into 4 morning, 4 afternoonish.......

(Grams sounds like a lot but reflect on Linus Pauling’s Mega C research.......).

Judas Priest !!!

Literally overnight, cravings vanished.

[Had been eating ‘healthy’ for a number of years with a daily regime of Vitamins, etc. (as noted)].

Before, there were typically cookies or the like around.......

After beginning the MSM gig, Ya just plain didn’t want the stuff anymore - No ‘will power’ involved.

Also, where face packing had been potential, now eating remained enjoyable but at a genuine sated point, consumption would just stop.

After a few months, the 8 daily was reduced to 4 daily, mostly on General Principles.

This use and the results have remained constant to date.

Vitamin Cottage here in Colorado carries both C and MSM in bulk powdered form so it’s very inexpensive.

* Note: Individual Results Will Vary - Check Internal Results For Details.

Also gave sprouting a try. Tried wheat berries and lentils. Wheat was mediocre. But lentils came out zesty and crisp. Mung and adzuki beans are the most popular for sprouting. Sprouts are highly nutritious, full of life-force, and have their own active enzymes to assist digestion. They grow well indoors and are a source of live food during winter months. Maybe they are alkalizing too...  They go well into sandwiches, atop fried rice, on salads, into stir fry, or just with salad dressing. Probably one of the most efficient foods.

Ditto on the sprouting tip.

Try almond sprouts/soaks if you haven't.  I've found those to be amazingly yummy!  Boiling them for 30s and then rinsing them in cold water helps to get the skins off, but may destroy beneficial enzymes.  That's the only tradeoff I see.  They also make a good milk substitute when blended with water.  I remember there used to be a recipes thread on here somewhere.  I'll add the almond milk recipe if I get the time. 

mmmm... almond milk smoothie...

It's funny, but I was thinking about how the whole "going to get a cup of coffee or tea" (and snack) in the kitchen at work is a nice time filler sort of thing for a lot of people....it's "something to do."  And a the sugar itself creates that pleasant feeling that everything's okay.  Take that away and all of a sudden you've got somebody with nothing left to do and who knows that things AREN'T okay, and starts feeling really really grumpy!  haha

Congrats on your sugar-free week, Lyra, it is not easy! We are still pretty hooked on "desserts" but we like to use alternative sweeteners instead of white or brown sugar. Our favorite is Lundberg brown rice syrup, it is like a cross between honey and a thick caramel, and much less sweet than regular sugar... it is a different kind of sugar, like maltose instead of sucrose... I can't remember specifically, but it is significantly healthier and we do not get bloodsugar crashes from it. Here is a list of alternative sweeteners:

http://www.truestarhealth.com/Notes/1841005.html

If you ever encounter Amazake at a health food store, try it out, it is amazing (but pricey).. creamy and sweet like a delicious smoothy, but no sugar, all the sweetness comes from the rice.

I second Montalk's suggestion for Stevia, we bought a small dropper-bottle of liquid Stevia probably at least six months ago and we are only half through it. Just two or three drops in a cup of coffee/tea makes it very pleasantly sweet. A little too much tastes a bit like a strong vanilla extract flavor.

I had to kick coffee because it got to the point where if I drank a cup I would have a headache within an hour, no exception. But now we use two coffee alternatives: Caffix and Roma. They are made from malted barley and chicory and some other things. We add a little scoop of raw carob powder for a hot chocolate-y drink (but not chocolate, total headache food for me as well). A little shot of rice milk and I feel like I'm back at Starbucks. :) So maybe if you substitute a different hot drink for your ritual coffee time, you can fulfill the same need for hot dark sweet beverage but stay caffeine free. And, if I recall correctly, malted barley et al have an alkalizing effect on the body! You can't lose!

Here's a good list of coffee alternatives:
http://www.pkdiet.com/coffeealternatives.htm
(ooh, Teeccino is GREAT but I haven't seen it in the shops up here since we moved, great flavors like mint coffee!)

Tim

Hey Lyra

Good on ya for the diet change! If you can manage about three weeks without sugar my bet is that your craving for it will completely vanish, maybe even much sooner.

I've mentioned this here once before but I did a 30 day detox back in year 2000 and before that I used to put a lot of sugar in tea and coffee and eat a lot of sugary foods. And when I started my detox the thing that I missed the most was sugar and I was really craving it at times but never succomed to it.

Anyway, after about 3 weeks my craving just vanished and then once my 30 day detox was over I never went back to eating sugary foods or putting my sugar in my tea. In fact I gave up coffee almost completely (have it once in awhile), and I rarely drink normal tea either. Just herbal mainly, particularly green tea which I absolutely love.

So yeah, I totally understand about you feeling irritable about it, I did too for a few weeks, but if you can completely resist it for about 2 or 3 weeks then I reckon you'll never go back to it, or miss it! It's a tough job but I'm sure you'll do it! Good luck!

Andy

Thanks Andy.....I definitely do remember your story, and actually, I've been keeping that in mind as I do this.    Specifically I had been thinking about how you mentioned that the sugar cravings do go away after a month.  Also, how you were big time into sweets and coffee, (think you had mentioned eating a chocolate bar every day?) and drinking coffee every day, etc.   So I was thinking Hey, if Andy could do it, I can do it.   

The cravings havn't been as bad as it's been in the past.....but it has its moments of creeping in.  Like, we were at Whole Foods last night, and as I'm passing by sweet treats, shelves of wine, etc. and so on I felt a craving for sugar welling up inside.  "Do it!  Do it!  Buy it!  Buy it!"   Plus, I'm getting natural sugar in the way of bananas, apples, the raisins in my muesli cereal, and so on.  That probably helps.   

It's not a full on detox like what you probably did, (not sure to what level you took yours....if you eliminated even natural sugar for a period of time) and I'm still getting a bit of dairy as I finish up a box of mashed potatoes that requires me to use the half and half and butter I still had on hand.  But once that's used up the potatoes will be replaced with brown rice.   Then it's down to no milk sugar either.   dunn dunnnnnn DUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNN!   haha   

____

The first week grumpies thing also only seems to apply at work.  Not at home.   Imagine that.    Work, making people grumpy when they don't have their caffeine to boost them along and sugar/seratonin connection??   Noooo!    haha   Every phone call irks me.   It's all I can do to not let out a huge "SIGH!" every time it rings.   Now I think I understand why I was chugging so much caffeine and sugar while working before. 

Also gave sprouting a try. Tried wheat berries and lentils. Wheat was mediocre. But lentils came out zesty and crisp. Mung and adzuki beans are the most popular for sprouting. Sprouts are highly nutritious, full of life-force, and have their own active enzymes to assist digestion. They grow well indoors and are a source of live food during winter months. Maybe they are alkalizing too...  They go well into sandwiches, atop fried rice, on salads, into stir fry, or just with salad dressing. Probably one of the most efficient foods.

Good on ya for the diet change! If you can manage about three weeks without sugar my bet is that your craving for it will completely vanish, maybe even much sooner.

I've mentioned this here once before but I did a 30 day detox back in year 2000 and before that I used to put a lot of sugar in tea and coffee and eat a lot of sugary foods. And when I started my detox the thing that I missed the most was sugar and I was really craving it at times but never succomed to it.

Anyway, after about 3 weeks my craving just vanished and then once my 30 day detox was over I never went back to eating sugary foods or putting my sugar in my tea. In fact I gave up coffee almost completely (have it once in awhile), and I rarely drink normal tea either. Just herbal mainly, particularly green tea which I absolutely love.

So yeah, I totally understand about you feeling irritable about it, I did too for a few weeks, but if you can completely resist it for about 2 or 3 weeks then I reckon you'll never go back to it, or miss it! It's a tough job but I'm sure you'll do it! Good luck!

Andy

Congratulations, Lyra. $10 says you'll feel great!

Thanks Thook.    I have the "first week grumpies" though.  (just made that name up on the spot, haha)  But at work I've been irritable without my cup of sugary tea, or sugary snack to munch on.  As healthy and nutritious as bananas, apples and avocados are to snack on, they're not the same. 

It's funny, but I was thinking about how the whole "going to get a cup of coffee or tea" (and snack) in the kitchen at work is a nice time filler sort of thing for a lot of people....it's "something to do."  And a the sugar itself creates that pleasant feeling that everything's okay.  Take that away and all of a sudden you've got somebody with nothing left to do and who knows that things AREN'T okay, and starts feeling really really grumpy!  haha

- No caffeine
- No processed foods
- Minimal to almost no dairy

and Day 5 of:

- No caffeine
- No alcohol
- No refined sugar
- No processed foods
- Minimal to almost no dairy

!!!!!!!!!!  It's kind of exciting.  I just might be able to pull this off.   But there wasn't a day that was going by where I wasn't consuming several cups of caffeinated tea and coffee, with sugar, and those junk snacks that they give away for free at my job, and maybe wine with my dinner, (and big piles of jellied/whole cranberry sauce that has like 10 pounds of sugar in it too...) and eating out a lot, getting pizza, bagels with cream cheese, just whatever I felt like, and whatever additional junk in general.  I'd so fallen off the wagon of healthy eating it's not even funny.  But for the last six days it's been a huge salad of raw veggies every night, fish, chicken, avocados, bananas, apples, muesli cereal...nothing but real food.  And no caffeine, refined sugar, or alcohol.  I even turned down attending the company Christmas party at my temp job, which is going to be held at some fancy schmancy Virginia Inn, you know, one of those old 1800's mansion houses that are now converted into a hotel, which would have had things like prime rib in red wine sauce, cream brulet and a full open free bar.   Not to sound like an alchy, but I mean seriously...who can resist a free open bar, you know?    haha And I had the chance for a free bottle of Merlot wine today...and said no.   Have had all kinds of free holiday junk snacks waved in my face since last week from companies that send tins and baskets full of junk for the Holidays...said no.  And said no to the office birthday thing last Friday where they had Ben and Jerry's ice cream cake.  It's not that I don't still want these things....Ben and Jerry's ice cream cake??  Yum!  But I just keep remembering everything I've read recently, and can't do it anymore.

I wanted to wait until I've made it a full week, because otherwise maybe I'm jumping the gun, but, we'll see.  So far it looks pretty good.............Let's hear it for Tim O'Shea and his big kick in the pants website! 

Now, here's the kicker though, back to the cattle farm stats you were relaying, and avoiding meat because the world has become unbalanced.............all those cows aren't just going into hamburger and prime rib.  They're going into the bezillion products that people are using everyday. !!!  The obvious one, "leather" aside, there's Kodak film to face cream to who knows what else.  Products that you yourself may be using. 

They've basically got the cow thing rigged so that there's almost no escaping products that have cow in it, some way, some how, from ground hooves to the organs, etc.   I read an article about this several years ago in Discover Magazine, and even saved the issue for that reason, feeling like it might come in handy some day to know which common every day products utilize which particular cow parts, as a useful "FYI."  I'll see if I still have this issue laying around....

YES, that is a very good point! Even things such as building supplies, stuff that your house is made of, can be composed of cow/animal by-products! It is basically impossible to actually avoid.

It becomes very tricky. Is it important to have "vegan" shoes? For some people it is. But is it even possible to have, for example, a vegan car? A vegan house? Who among us is not dependent on DuPont or whatever other company for all the wires, cabling, pipes, etc in all the buildings we inhabit that incorporate animal products? Even Kodak film, that is kind of amazing, I mean who would associate "animal products" with camera film?

That would be an interesting article to read. I remember when I first learned about all the animal by-products that go into construction materials, I just thought "Man, they have made it *impossible* not to be dependent!"

Tim

thr33tim3 wrote:

Many people dismiss all vegans as snotty and cranky, and never bother thinking about changes they could make in their own eating/health.

Well, don't assume I haven't thought about making changes...I have.   

But moving on!

Hey Lyra, just for the record, I was totally not even referring to YOU when I wrote "many people". I'm quite sure you've put a lot of thought into your own health, its clear from all the stuff you've posted! Anyway, so I hadn't assumed YOU, Lyra, had not thought about making changes. I was more thinking of my girlfriend's mom.

It is frustrating to try to express oneself in print, it is really tricky!

Tim