An experiment . . . the sugar connection

A few weeks ago, I tried an experiment, and I'd like to share the results with you. 

Although I consider myself very healthy for my age . . . well, for any age, really . . . I do have occasional aches and pains.  A couple of months ago, though, occasional had become constant.  I was very stiff in the morning when I got up -- I actually found it difficult to get out of bed sometimes, and the stiffness would persist well into the morning.  My fingers ached and were so stiff that I often couldn't tie the bags when I filled them with produce at the grocery store.  My wrists lost strength and were unreliable for lifting even a single pan off the burner.  I was beginning to worry that perhaps I had not arthritis, as both parents do, but rheumatoid arthritis, as my maternal grandmother had.

I don't want to start with medications or aspirin, but I had a hunch...something I wanted to try.  I have always limited my sugar intake -- except when I don't.  I'm one of those people who can't stop eating those wonderful sweets once I get started.  I realized that I had kind of slipped off the no-sugar wagon in recent months and on a hunch, decided to eliminate sugar from my diet -- added sugars, that is.  And of course, anything made with white flour goes right along with the sugar since it turns so quickly to sugar.  Really, it was just a matter of getting myself back on the path I've always followed with regard to eating: only whole grains and limited or no added sugar. 

And here's the news: after just one week, my aches and pains disappeared and with them my worries about RA!  I mean, really and truly -- and completely -- disappeared.  I can get out of bed easily in the morning.  I can tie the grocery bags.  I can flip omelets!  Hooray!

There's a logic in this, I believe.  Sugar is inflammatory.  Sugar, both cane sugar and the sugar additives we don't even recognize in processed foods -- has been linked to so many inflammatory conditions: diabetes, of course; cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's, and more.  If sugar is implicated in one kind of inflammation, why not in others?  I would be curious for someone to test the connection between sugar and arthritis. 

In any case, I continue to stay away from sugar, and I continue to be pretty much pain- and ache- free.  I shared this information with others, and at least one other person has tried this experiment and had good results. So simple . . . and so effective. 

I plan to stay off the sugar and white flour -- and am happily contemplating all the other good things it will do for my body!