I'm jumping the gun here because I don't do Session 5 until next week, but so what?

I know that sugar and all refined carbohydrates that cause your blood sugar to spike are not good for you in many ways, but do they really cause you to be anxious? I'll find out what the AA&D program says about this next week. For now I want to know what is your own personal experience with these foods?

I'm a sugar junkie so maybe I'm looking for excuses not to give it up, but I really have never noticed a connection between these kinds of foods and my anxiety. There may be one, but it's just not obvious to me.

Thanks,
~ Jeff

I'm a sugar junkie to a point also. Some days are much worse. Now that I work at a bakery it's hard. It definitely affects me with anxiety but maybe more depression. I cry more and also become very lethargic the next day. Need to sleep it off like an alcoholic. It still amazes me how something that tastes so good can end up being so bad. I also get irritable from too much. Needless to say I just ate a cherry flip. I had something healthier, a carrot muffin with raisin..yuc, took only 2 bites and ate the flip. You'd think I'd learn. Then I rationalize but eating a bunch of veggies. Guess it's better than fried foods and sweets. In the beginning I listened to #5 a lot. It's still a matter of choice. I make the wrong choices and then pay for it. Pay attention or write down how much sugar and the days you have less. Chart your moods and anxiety. You won't know till you do. Good luck! Happy healthy eating.

The FDA should have regulations against putting raisins in food. Bleech!

hey there jeff, i haven't ate sugar for a long time. i'm still anxious,but a lot healthier.lost a few lbs.i eas eating ice cream 1/2 gallen at one sitting. i had diabetes and thought i would go in a coma. i swiched to fruit. fresh or frozen with splenda and skim milk. peace, dude anita

Hey Jeff
20/20 with John Stossel did a segment on this a few months ago. They (20/20) claimed that it had no real effect on people as far as being hyper/high energy. I beg to differ, but then who am I? I do notice that I get edgy and crankie within a few hours of high doses of sugar. I don't think that it contributes to my anxiety all that much. Reason I say this, is that some of my great days have been sugar filled. Just an opinion here. I know things effect us all differently. My only real input here would be to say, cut down if you can. Couldn't be good for us. This I know. I have a mouth full of cavities to prove it. I use to eat it morning, noon, and night. Since cutting it out or at the least back, I have noticed I don't miss it that much. I just reserve it for sat. and sunday night desserts.

Christine

there are lots of studies about the way it effects children. i guess everyone's different. but if you can't imagine you're life w/o it--i think that's a sign.

(i'm big into dark chocolate , the %60 cocoa or more,on average a couple of bars a week. and i give myself permission for dessert when i've been cravin' for awhile--usually all natural, like Breyers all natural ice cream or something).

otherwise i feel gross. my body got used to a moderate sugar diet and all natural foods --even some organic food. not that all of that stuff is good -- some of that can be way high in sugar.

one last thing--watch out for dyes. at least some artificial coloring can really cause mood swings . . . . all in moderation, i say!

and, hey, stop skippin' ahead, silly!

I also love dark chocolate. My husband and I get a big bar about once a month and will eat a square of it before we go to bed at night. YUM!

There are alot of studies that say that sugar has no effect and then some that say it does. I personally think it is the person. Too much sugar makes me draggy, almost like I am drugged about 2 hours after I eat it. I sure feel good for the first hour though!

There was a bunch of folks in the Army stationed in Germany in 1975 that were wondering why all of the kids were so active, but having problems in school. For a month, they did away with all of the Koolaide type drinks. No sodas either. They said that the difference in the kids was AMAZING! At that time, they didn't know if it was the sugar or the artifical coloring or flavorings in the drinks, but the kids were still active, but able to concentrate, did much better on tests, slept better, were more disaplined and when the study was over, alot of the kids didn't want to go back to the stuff that they had been drinking, which I thought was amazing. The sodas and koolaide type drinks that they had daily were suddenly only for special occasions.

I know that there is a lot of stuff in our food and drinks that doesn't need to be there.

By the way, dark chocolate has caffiene, but it also has a lot of other stuff that is good for you!

Smiles, DEB

Thanks everybody. Sounds like there's no clear cut connection between sugar and anxiety, at least not for everybody. There are plenty of other reasons to give it up of course, so I'll just have to concentrate on those.

My frustration with not being able to do anything with my free time other than watch TV and eat junk is a large part of the reason I'm here. I'm convinced this behavior is one of my ways of coping with anxiety.

I've tried my whole adult life (30+ years) to overcome this and haven't been able to. I now think I have to fix the anxiety first and the eating problems later. But the AA&D program says if you really want to fix your anxiety you have to stop eating junk. It seems to be a catch-22 for people who habitually eat crap to alieviate their anxiety.

This is going to be interesting. I tried to do the AA&D program more that 10 years ago and never got past this lesson, so it has me worried. Gotta go write some positive stuff in my notebook now.

~ Jeff

did someone say chocolate. lol love itttt.. and dr peppe as well. in moderation.if you eat to much or drink to much sodas you pay for it.take care and GOD BLESS...
don

Read the book "Sugar Shock".
Just google it. Sugar is not your fried when it comes to anxiety.

Hi! I felt the same way when I first read that I was supposed to give up sugar. I didn't think that there was any way I could live without it. Especially when I had to cut out my iced tea and Dr. Pepper, too. I thought "end of the world." But, even though I haven't totally given up sugar, I have cut it down tremendously. I have very little sugar now and I limit my caffiene to a miniscule amount each day. Along with all of the other help from the Program, I have seen a major change in myself. I feel a whole lot better. My anxiety and depression is pretty well under control. Very rarely do I have problems with either. Thank Goodness!

What I would recommend, is just keep working on the Program, adjusting things at a pace that works for you. I went through the Program three times plus. Each time, I made further adjustments and it helped more each time. So, hang in there. Don't get discouraged. Think positive!

Take care.

You are your best lab rat. Realize that each of us know what our bodies can take or not take by trial and error. We just have to choose the outcome.

Hi Jeff and everyone on the post,

Let me tell you what SUGAR did to me! For years I LOVED DESSERTS, ICE-CREAM, CAKES, PIES, COOKIES, AND ALL THOSE WONDERFUL THINGS YOU CAN ENJOY THAT IS MADE WITH SUGAR. Your body does not need sugar to live. In all of your vegetables and fruits there are sugars some are more higher than others.

Your fruit juices, sodas, cereals, even canned items are all loaded with added sugar, READ YOUR LABELS when you go grocery shopping. You will be amazed with all the sugar you are putting in your body. THEN DON'T FORGET ABOUT YOUR BAD CARBOHYDRATES these include refined sugar, brown sugar, corn sugar (and syrup), white rice, white breads, white pastas and other white flour products. When you eat these SIMPLE CARBS, they're converted into glucose very rapidly.

Although, you may get a quick "pick-up" and feel more energetic when you eat sweets, this BURST OF ENERGY DOES NOT LAST LONG. And before you know it you become jittery, and suffer a let down. When you eat a lot of sugar-containing foods, your pancreas tends to OVERREACT and you put out too much insulin. This causes your blood glucose to drop rapidly- often lower than it was before you ate anything. When this happens, you are apt to feel NERVOUS, TIRED AND HUNGRY. So the cycle continues and your apt to crave sweets.

AMERICA LIVES ON TOO TOO MUCH SUGAR in their diets. Then you develop conditions as being overweight, diabetes, candida (overgrowth of yeast), and a host of other health related problems.

GET OFF OF SUGAR (like I did) AND EXPERIENCE HOW FANTASTIC YOU WILL FEEL! I use Stevia you can get this product in your health food stores. It's natual and tastes great. GET OFF OF SUGAR BEFORE YOU HAVE MAJOR HEALTH PROBLEMS.

To your success,

Dona Dry

Yes Dona I agree but it's easier said than done. I work at a bakery (tg only part time)but I give in every time. Now I do good if I have just one but since eating more veg. and fruit, I can tell the differnce even more. I ache so bad from the sugar. Lately every night my toes are really aching. I keep thinking it's in my head since my natural Dr. asked me if I want to lose an eye or have my foot amputated. That was enough to scare me at first but to eat only salads every day gets old plus it takes so much time to cut everything up. When I take time to bring veggies and fruit to work it usually helps. Once I take even a bite of a donut it sets the whole craving thing in motion like you said.

Hi Barb,

Working in a Bakery is a real challenge but for me I had a lot of digestive problems and IBS for 25 years. Through a holistic doctor and a bowel test I found out I had a severe case of CANDIDA (overgrowth of yeast) in my system that was causing me a host of symptoms.

When you have a CANDIDA problem you have to eliminate all sugars and be on a special diet to keep in under control. I have tried in the past to try some of the foods I was avoiding I got sick and had to go back to my diet again. So now, I just stay on my diet use stevia as my sweetner and I feel great.

When you are forced to give up sugar you will in order to feel better. Now when I go out and look at all those delicious cookies, cakes and pies I just look and walk AWAY BEING THIN!!!

Dona Dry