Lifestyle Changes

I was at my doctor's office

a few years ago

and he told me to stay away from



SUGAR.

"Pfph!!!"

and

"Ya Right!!!"

is what I said to him.

He told me that sugar is really

bad for those who are depressed.

I asked him, "Why then do I crave

Sugar

when I am depressed?"

It seems my body has this defense mechanism

when I feel depressed

where I crave foods such as

candy

or carbs

that gives me a mood "boost."
But I am also really, really irritable.

And THEN...

I crash,

and feel depressed all over again.

So I tried to completely go off sugar

and succeeded for about three weeks.

It's amazing when you try this and

find out that you don't crave those

things anymore.

But...

that approach isn't really practical

is it?

So over the past six months I have learned to replace those refined, over processed and unhealthy sugars with ingredients like:

honey, dark agave, 100% pure maple syrup, sucanat & coconut sugar.

A really good place to read more about why refined sugars are so unhealthy can be found on a blog http://www.simplehealthytasty.com/2008/04/ingredients-what-to-look-for-when.html

So I haven't given up treats, I just buy or make ones that are "healthified."

In order to get well, I have needed to make lifestyle changes which has included my diet. I will write more about this later in a following post. All I have to say is that my mood is so much better. I have more energy and I get depressed less often.

**As a side note: 

(Coconut sugar has a low glycemic index like that of an apple. I buy it from the grocery section on Amazon.com for a decent price and the sucanat I have bought from http://www.azurestandard.com/ I buy the agave and maple syrup from Costco or Sam's Club. I buy my honey from beekeepers in my hometown.)