Dietary health question.

[Judge]

I always fall into the sugar rut or the caffeine rut. I always battle a demon, caffeine, sugar or carb rush. I don't know if it's because l am autistic, and very sensitive to what l put in my body.

Every time I cut back on either, I feel it almost immediately.

Forcing me to regulate my intake, apart from avoiding synergistic effects caused by other things like concentrated sugar. Drinking a large glass or more of Coca Cola not good. Much worse, having had a chocolate bar within the same 12 hours.

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

Francis Moore Lappe made her name with a book about how to combine different vegan proteins to get a lot more benefit from them, such as beans with grains. Then she reported that after more study, she had decided that it was only important for people on a severe calorie restriction who were eating much less total food. Meat was the health food of the Stone Age, before we had trade and preservation for a healthy vegan diet. Vegetarians are over-represented at the Olympics, and under-represented in hospitals and morgues.
Be sure that you have replaced those six cans of soda with at least six cans of water. I have far more energy if I drink two litres early in the day and another one well before bed time. Waiting to be thirsty or to see much colour in my urine leaves me depressed and listless. 80% of the people in Emergency rooms are clinically dehydrated.

Legumes are especially good at providing protein and carbs and because the carbs are bound to protein they are slowly released for good blood sugar control.

 

[Aneka]

A couple of weeks ago, I made a major lifestyle change. I stopped drinking soda of any kind and switched to a low-sugar, high-fiber diet.

I feel fatigued quite often now. As if a can of Mountain Dew is what I need to kickstart my heart.

How long can I expect this withdrawal phase to last?

Quite a few people don't take well to high-fiber diet. It's not good for the inner layer of your intestines either. It's a little like sandpaper.

 

[blitzkrieg]

As unhealthy as they are overall, I find a caffeine and/or a sugar fix to be helpful for energy levels.

 

[stevens]

Mountain Dew has a horrendous amount of caffeine. Scary stuff I only used medicinally at work when I needed a boost.

In the old days (say, late 80's early 90's) the standard at-the-desk beverage was the 2-liter bottle of Diet Coke. Now, with all this progress the same amount of caffeine can fit in a convenient little can...

 

[Masked Man]

You are likely going through a caffeine withdrawal. Those are horrible.

I would actually recommend you not cut it out cold turkey. Maybe go from six to drinking maybe 3. Do that for a week or two. Then cut it to 2. Then cut to one.

I made that mistake by cutting 100% of caffeine and I had the worst headaches of my life. So now I still do drink caffeine, but I have only 1 coffee in the morning and maybe one diet coke in the afternoon. I do fine with this. No headaches and I don't feel drained.

 

[Masked Man]

Also - be careful by going high fiber too quickly as this can cause really horrible constipation if you don't drink enough water. Maybe make small changes over a month or two to let your body get acclimated. Remember, it's not a sprint, it's a marathon.