I read this article the other day, and it’s worth a share. There’s so much crappy information and conjecture going around at the moment on this topic and in the frustration some commentators are blurting defensive, misinformed stuff to their followers. Granted, though, it’s a damn confusing topic and the latest science not only goes against what nutritionists learned at uni howevermanyyearsago, it also goes against the simplistic thinking (calories in = calories out; eat fat = get fat) that we’ve all been exposed to (an equation that has suited the low-fat movement for years).
This explanation is very cleverly done, with the information sourced from Gary Taubes of “Is Sugar Toxic” and “Why we Get Fat“. Get informed!
How good is this: people I’ve never met join me in quitting sugar via I Quit Sugar, and then get in touch to share some very pretty recipes that they’ve adapted or made up from scratch. Feeling the love much? I did. It’s V-day, so I’m paying it forward. Let me know if you get inspired to make one of these for a loved one?
ricotta with raspberries, lavender and coconut
Recipe from Maria at EcoNest [love the image and serving jar – Sarah]
Mix together:
Three heaped tablespoons of fresh ricotta (I used ricotta from a local farmer who uses biodynamic milk, but will be having a shot at making my own soon!)
Today I’m keeping it simple and just giving a bit of an update on things…and answering a few questions ahead of tonight’s webinar (where we can chat in more depth about all things sugar).
Illo by Owen Davey via advice to sink in slowly
So some news and housekeeping
The IQS webinar is on tonight, at 6pm. Sign up here. Some of you have requested a later timeslot…duly noted. My next webinar will be at 8pm (date TBC). But remember, you can also access the webinars afterwards, on my Ustream channel. I will also post a link on the IQS facebook page.
A quick little giveaway… register for the webinar, and then post a question on the IQS facebook page. (You’ll need to “like” it first). We’ll pick three great questions, and the winners will each receive
a pack of three tins of Aphroditea – Clarity, Vitality and Tranquility worth $66.
You can post a question any time before 6pm.
Big news. I’m the keynote speaker at The Conscious Club gathering in Sydney February 22. I talk about Stuff I Learned From Chats with The Dalai Lama, Sir Richard Branson et al, we meditate, chat and then eat food by Madam Char Char. Basically, it’s about doing something a bit different…and consciously so. I’ve written about it here…please do join us! PS. A great outing idea for anyone doing Febfast this year.
When: Wednesday 22nd February Time: 6pm sharp Venue: Bondi Pavillion Theatre Room (upstairs) Cost: $40 before. $45 at the door.
Speaking of which (Febfast…). Giving is good. I’ll make it easy for you: click here and you can simply donate a small amount to the charity (team password is sarahw).
your questions answered
This week naturopath Angela Hywood, nutritionist Lola Berry, and my good self have answered some of your questions.
Eskimojo says: I quit sugar about ten months ago but occasionally now will have 1 – 2 sugar treats a day. But I find after a few days I develop really bad gas. Like, have to leave the room bad. It stops once I cut sugar out again, so it’s obviously related?
Sarah: Yep. Understand. And, yep, sugar…and the stuff you eat with sugar (this is important)… is probably causing it.
Sometimes you go and go and go. And then you stop and look up and think, I need to stand back and check in with other humans. See where everyone’s at. Today it’s time to check in. Turn around. See if everyone’s looking in the same direction as I am. So. Are we? I write … Read more
Have you seen this? A call to action by The Holstee Manifesto, originally a side project selling shirts, that’s since turned into a “message” (can you become a message? I reckon you can) that’s been viewed over 60 million times online. I like this:
When they quit their jobs to form Holstee, the three founders – Mike, Fabian and Dave – wrote down exactly what was on their minds and the tips of their tongues. It wasn’t about shirts. It was about what they wanted from life, and how to create a company that breathes that passion into the world everyday. It was a reminder of what we live for, and the result became known as the Holstee Manifesto.
I like this clip, even if the obviousness of the little mantras make me feel a little awkward. But I guess it’s the obviousness that works – what we need to remind ourselves of is so stupidly, cringe-ely simple and when we have it delivered to us in an everyday way it grips the heart. No?
Do what you love. Do what you love. Do what you love.
I have this thing at the moment…
Every time I feel the “uggghhhs” – you know that feeling that takes over from the inside out, a bit like a shiver, a bit like a gut clench, when you’re doing something that grates against your being – I stop and question whether I really need to do it. Do I love it? Does it nourish me? Can I learn to view it as something I love, and not resent?
The latter, by the way, is a good challenge. A switch in view can often see something “uggghhhy” reposition as something really quite lovely. And sometimes we just have to do this, to get something that has to be done, done.
If the answer, however, is still no, I abort. My life, my well being is worth more. Since I started doing this I’ve become aware of just how much doesn’t have to done, followed up, completed. I trap myself into thinking that because I’ve been asked for something, or offered something, or because it’s on my to do list, or because “it’s the way I’ve always done it”…I have to do it.
But if I feel the uggghhhs, I pull back now. Do I really have to see that person, go out tonight, respond to that email? Do YOU really have to?
I’m on a mission to find the most nurturing techniques for healing autoimmune disease conditions. As I keep saying: anyone who doesn’t have an AI will find these posts just as helpful because they’re all about moving towards maximum wellness. As in, effortless, kind, bountiful wellness. This post I’m sharing the sweet joys that are the SCENAR.
Photo by Gabriele Rigon
I first encountered the SCENAR via James Korber of Straighten Up. He’d treated me with the Atlas correction technique and at the end of the session pulled out this funny little device, about the size of a TV remote, and started running it up and down my neck.
Oh my.
I can’t begin to tell you the effect this contraption can have. Instantly. After borrowing James’ (and getting some little tutorials from him…if you’re in Byron, Newcastle or Sydney, he does SCENAR treatments in your home) I got my own. I apply it to painful, inflamed parts of my body, it zaps its thing and I get relief.
I’m guessing you need some more info…yes?
OK.
What is this thing you speak of?
SCENAR is an acronym for ‘Self Controlled Energo-Neuro Adaptive Regulator’. It’s an electro- bio-controlled device initially developed for astronauts for managing pain and overall health while in space. It uses a harmless (unless you get a little bit addicted to the pain, as I do) electric impulse that stimulates the body’s own adaptive mechanisms, via a biofeedback process. The effect of SCENAR is based on electric impulses of a specific shape – patterned from natural nervous discharges in the human body. Former USSR nations have approved the SCENAR on the national health care system and the US FDA acknowledges the technology as a viable method of pain management. Here in Australia some health funds also recognise it.
I’m not vegan. Nor vegetarian. But I eat a heavily plant-based diet. AND I get a lot of requests from vegos/vegans for non-dairy, non-meat, non-egg sugar-free eating. So it was that I noticed Maria at Scandi foodie had done a 21 day sugar free vegan challenge after doing my I Quit Sugar program a few months back so I invited her to share her 5 favourite recipes from the challenge. Go to her site for more ideas and recipes…so clever and pretty!
amaranth and quinoa stuffed capsicums
Maria says:
At the start of the New Year, I set myself a little challenge. What if I go vegan for 21 days?
My goal with this challenge is simply to inspire and raise awareness. I encourage you to give vegan cooking a go, even if it means just adding one or two extra vegan meals in your weekly menu. Here are some of my favourite recipes from the challenge to get you started….
amaranth and quinoa stuffed capsicums
This recipe is one of my favourites and a perfect dish to impress vegans and non-vegans alike!
4 red capsicums (bell peppers) *
1/2 cup black quinoa, rinsed
1/2 cup amaranth
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup edamame, thawed
1 carrot, grated
2 shallots/green onions, finely chopped
2 tbl sesame seeds, lightly toasted
2 tbl brown rice vinegar
pinch of sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
*I used 3 capsicums, but the filling makes enough for 4 medium sized ones. Any leftovers can be served as a salad the next day.
Place the quinoa and amaranth in a saucepan and cover with one and a half cups of water. Bring to boil and let simmer for about 12 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover and let sit for 5 more minutes. Fluff with a fork.
Six weeks in, some of you might have sugar out of your system. Some of you won’t, though. The cravings might still be there. What are you feeling? Are you feeling like you’d like to continue. To keep sugar out longer? Not in a draconian-I-must-be-vigilant way, but in a let’s just see how it goes for a bit longer way. Read on…
image via Unruly Things
Some housekeeping:
My second IQS webinar will be on Monday 13th Feb – next Monday at 6pm. You can sign up here. Click ‘join crowd’ to be signed up for my webinars, and hit ‘attend’ on next Monday’s event to receive a reminder email. Got it?
If you’re interested, 180 nutrition (a sugar-free, “clean” protein powder…great in your coconut smoothies) has a 15% discount on at the moment, for any readers of this blog. Simply click here for more info.
Some extra soundbites for you
Many of you liked the elevator pitch statements from last week’s newsletter. Here are a few little soundbites to fire off when those around you want to know more about your IQS excursioning, but don’t want to get freaked out. As I say over and over in the ebook: it’s worth being careful that you don’t get too draconian or bozzy or holier-than-thou with this no-sugar business. It’s a crook look. And it puts people off. Go gentle. Suggest some starting points. I’ve found this top 4 list of things to look out for gets interest going:
* Fruit juice.
There’s 8-12 teaspoons in a small bottle/glass. And, yes, freshly squeezed is the same as packaged. Fructose is fructose. Besides, it’s expensive. And a waste of packaging.
* Low fat dairy.
When fat’s taken out of, for example, yoghurt, it’s replaced with sugar to achieve the same fullness of flavour as full-fat. A small individual serve of low fat PLAIN yoghurt can contain 6 teaspoons of sugar.
* Sauces.
Some pasta sauces have more sugar than chocolate topping. Barbecue sauce…oh, you all know the drill.
* Muesli.
Unless it’s a sugar-free (fruit free) version. A lot of muesli contain more sugar than Coco Pops.
A thought on adding sugar back in:
This week in the program you add some sweetness in. I get asked this a lot: will it upset the apple cart just to experience sweetness – even if it’s fructose free? Will it tip dominoes
Yes and no. As always, you need to feel what your body can cope with. Hopefully after six weeks your body can answer this for you. That’s the whole point.
Yes, it will upset things if you head off to back dextrose cakes every day and particularly if your attachment to sugar tends to be emotionally based.
And remember this from the book:
No, however, everything’s cool if you’re playing with a few new flavours and allowing some treats into your life so you don’t feel you’re missing out. This is not a mean diet. It’s an experiment.
Happy first-Friday-of-February! To continue our Friday giveaways, this week I’m giving away 5 x 150g bags (a month’s supply) of RioLife organic freeze dried acai Our last Acai giveaway proved very popular, and the generous RioLife team have offered to share a little more. Each serve of acai berries is equivalent in antioxidant levels to … Read more
You might have followed all the chatter yesterday – sugar as toxic as alcohol…should be banned…oh, hang on, no, it’s harmless. Etc. Etc. Wendy Harmer buzzed and asked me to provide this comment for TheHoopla. I’d spent the day chatting about it today on radio (and I think I shocked a few jocks into putting down their Boost).
Thought you might like to read my thoughts…
It’s a year to the week that I quit sugar.
And because I’m about to bang on about the need for more transparency in this world, some disclosure: I wrote an ebook about it. So it could be said I have a vested interest in this topic.
Anyone who’s quit sugar would know what I mean when I say that the most challenging-slash-intriguing part of quitting is The Resistance. People get affronted. Angry.
It’s funny. If I told people I no longer ate frozen peas, no-one would care. I wouldn’t get the outrage. The anger.
But sugar? Well…
Earlier today it was revealed a team of scientists from the University of California has called for sugar to be treated as a poison, in much the same ways as alcohol and nicotine. They’ve suggested sugar, too, be taxed heavily and come with warnings, better labelling and education campaigns.
In an article published in science journal Nature they argued sugar isn’t just a bunch of naughty, empty calories. It’s making us fat and killing us. Sugary food, they say, is responsible for 35 million annual deaths worldwide.
They point out that, at the levels consumed in the West, sugar alters metabolism, raises blood pressure, disrupts hormone signalling and causes significant damage to the liver that is still not fully understood, leading to heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
Surely none of them think sugar is good for us? Or would disagree with the claim that we’re consuming too much of it? Why not push for better labelling?
As one of the article’s authors said, “We’re not talking prohibition. We’re not advocating a major imposition of the Government into people’s lives. We’re talking about gentle ways to make sugar consumption slightly less convenient, thereby moving people away from the concentrated dose.”
Some of these experts are arguing sugar is entirely avoidable. No it’s not!
Have you been to a supermarket or food court lately? Sugar’s in everything, and insidiously so. It’s so well hidden it shocks when I tell people that barbecue sauce is 50 percent sugar, that pasta sauces can contain more sugar than chocolate topping.
This explanation is very cleverly done, with the information sourced from Gary Taubes of “Is Sugar Toxic” and “Why we Get Fat“. Get informed!
