Let’s Talk Sugar & Sweeteners

After getting my diabetes totally in line with non-diabetics, my endocrinologist wanted to increase statin dose as LDL-C was slowly but consistently increasing every visit so I set on a campaign to get LDL-C under control naturally.

I have unknowingly been a sugar addict all my life. For the past few decades, insulin was masking my addiction and keeping my BG and A1C stable where my endocrinologist wanted it. I had no idea there was any correlation between diabetes and cholesterol with the common link being sugar (glucose). Even getting LDL-C under control, my LDL-P peak size was too small, my LDL small was at moderate risk, and my HDL Large also at moderate risk making me an LDL B pattern phenotype instead of being the ideal A pattern.

This problem was exacerbated by spikes in Glucose as many of the small size LDL-P just float around in blood looking for Glucose to capture and end up as plaque in arteries. So, where was the sugar (glucose root cause) coming from? It was an accumulation from hundreds of hidden sources I never thought about.

Sugar substitutes were messing with my brain and begging me to consume more sugar, prodding along chocoholic and other tendencies. I started the day with 2 large glasses of water followed by a large can of diet coke. Another diet coke for lunch and one or 2 more in the afternoon. I went cold turkey giving up the diet coke about 9 weeks ago and recently came into the office on a very hot day and the only non-sugar drink in our snack machine was diet coke so I took it and boy did it taste disgusting. In my youth, I enjoyed the acquired taste of Campari, and diet coke is an acquired taste as well which was easy to give up.

Next realized how sweet the Powerade Zero Sugar tasted that I was drinking for electrolytes, so reading down in the very fine print at the bottom of the label I find Sucralose and Acesulfame K realizing I have to get past the large hype on the food and drink labels and really read every single small print ingredient.

OK, so 1 by 1 I am finishing my stock of items that contain any form of sugar or sugar substitute, that encourages my brain to seek out foods with sugar and blood sugar and cholesterol numbers keep improving. Here is my initial OMG shortlist. I am nonplused at how fast it has grown in just the past few weeks and I am sure you all can add many more.
The answer always ends up STAY AWAY FROM PROCESSED FOODS AND DRINKS as much as possible even when in good control.

SugarNamesAll.xlsx (12.5 KB)

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I gave up on artificial sweetners a long time ago.
A lot of what you say is true. Artificial sweeteners make your body think it’s about to get a surge in sugar but the it does not. Then your body thinks it’s starving and hunger increases and metabolic rate decreases.
I love coffee. And I just weened myself off. I switched to one teaspoon of sugar then I used less and less. Now sweetened coffee tastes horrible to me.
It’s really just comes down to habit. I also switched to yogurt with no sweetener. You really get a appreciation for the taste of food when it’s not diluted with sugar or artificial sugar.
It’s not even a diabetic issue. It’s unhealthy for everyone.

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