Today marks the debut of a new feature, which I'm dubbing, "Kick-Sugar Success Story." The idea of this Q & A is to offer you some inspiring, motivating, possibly mind-boggling, real-life tales of people, who have achieved remarkable transformations in their lives just by kicking their habit.
To be interviewed for a Kick-Sugar Success Story, you need to have either completely cut out or heavily curtailed your sugar consumption and achieved wonderful results. Now, bear in mind that your transformation from stopping sugar could involve many different components. It might be the obvious, which is that you've lost weight. But I'm also particularly interested in telling your tale if you've found that properly maintaining your blood sugar and eliminating or reducing sugar gave you better moods, improved your concentration, or almost did away with your insulin resistance. Or perhaps confronting your quickie-carb consumption sent your severe PMS packing. Or maybe taking control of your sugar habit increased your sagging libido.
Now, I invite you to read this fascinating Q & A with the articulate, dynamic, personable, now-healthy, glowing Jaime Jackson, who I had the pleasure of meeting while we both attended the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.
Kick-Sugar Success Story: Jaime Jackson, New York, New York
Occupation: Attorney and Holistic Health Counselor, Website: www.TheNourishingBalance.com
Hobbies: Reading, playing with my dogs, outdoor activities
Age: 33; Weight Now: 124
Benefits From Kicking Sweets & Refined Carbs: Energy and overall wellness
Connie: What was your rock-bottom moment before you decided you needed to change your diet?
Jaime: When I had arthritis that no one could successfully diagnose and I became tired of taking drugs for an unexplained ailment. After doing my own research, I found a disorder called bacterial dysbiosis, which is a gastrointestinal disorder often caused by too much sugar in the diet. The sugar provides the perfect environment for the growth of bad bacteria in the intestines, which crowd out the good bacteria. The result is a gastrointestinal system that no longer functions properly: it doesn't properly remove toxins, it doesn't properly digest food, and it doesn't properly utilize nutrients in the food one eats.
Connie: Just how bad were you feeling? What ailments did you have? Please be specific.
Jaime: I could never get enough sleep. I would get 12 hours of sleep and still be exhausted. My body just ached liked I'd been working out hard for days on end. I felt nauseated almost all the time and had serious acid reflux. And I developed arthritis, starting first in my pinky finger on my left hand. Within a month, I found it difficult to write and to walk, with arthritis affecting my hands, feet, hips, shoulders, and back.
Connie: Describe any pivotal moments in a doctor's office, an embarrassing event that made you decide to tackle your sugar habit, etc.
Jaime: My internist told me to cut out all foods that were "hard to digest." She suggested that I NOT eat whole grains or leafy green vegetables! I practically ran out of her office, and I've never been back. That was the most ridiculous thing I'd ever heard, even though I didn't really know why it was ridiculous at the time.
Unlike my internist, my first rheumatologist did not see a connection between any of my symptoms and my diet. When I suggested that perhaps my arthritis was connected to my sugar consumption (which was a connection I was beginning to make), he merely rolled his eyes and told me the two "were not related." His solution: "Take this Vioxx twice a day."
My second rheumatologist was not much better. She did make a concerted effort to try to diagnose my arthritis, but when she could find no diagnosis other than "unspecified arthritis." She prescribed an even more serious arthritis drug: Enbrel, a drug that is given by injection. Enbrel is what my mother takes -- she has had crippling rheumatoid arthritis for the past 45 years.
Today marks the debut of a new feature, which I'm dubbing, "Kick-Sugar Success Story." The idea of this Q & A is to offer you some inspiring, motivating, possibly mind-boggling, real-life tales of people, who have achieved remarkable transformations in their lives just by kicking their habit.
To be interviewed for a Kick-Sugar Success Story, you need to have either completely cut out or heavily curtailed your sugar consumption and achieved wonderful results. Now, bear in mind that your transformation from stopping sugar could involve many different components. It might be the obvious, which is that you've lost weight. But I'm also particularly interested in telling your tale if you've found that properly maintaining your blood sugar and eliminating or reducing sugar gave you better moods, improved your concentration, or almost did away with your insulin resistance. Or perhaps confronting your quickie-carb consumption sent your severe PMS packing. Or maybe taking control of your sugar habit increased your sagging libido.
Now, I invite you to read this fascinating Q & A with the articulate, dynamic, personable, now-healthy, glowing Jaime Jackson, who I had the pleasure of meeting while we both attended the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.
Kick-Sugar Success Story: Jaime Jackson, New York, New York
Occupation: Attorney and Holistic Health Counselor, Website: www.TheNourishingBalance.com
Hobbies: Reading, playing with my dogs, outdoor activities
Age: 33; Weight Now: 124
Benefits From Kicking Sweets & Refined Carbs: Energy and overall wellness
Jaime: When I had arthritis that no one could successfully diagnose and I became tired of taking drugs for an unexplained ailment. After doing my own research, I found a disorder called bacterial dysbiosis, which is a gastrointestinal disorder often caused by too much sugar in the diet. The sugar provides the perfect environment for the growth of bad bacteria in the intestines, which crowd out the good bacteria. The result is a gastrointestinal system that no longer functions properly: it doesn't properly remove toxins, it doesn't properly digest food, and it doesn't properly utilize nutrients in the food one eats.
Connie: Just how bad were you feeling? What ailments did you have? Please be specific.
Jaime: I could never get enough sleep. I would get 12 hours of sleep and still be exhausted. My body just ached liked I'd been working out hard for days on end. I felt nauseated almost all the time and had serious acid reflux. And I developed arthritis, starting first in my pinky finger on my left hand. Within a month, I found it difficult to write and to walk, with arthritis affecting my hands, feet, hips, shoulders, and back.
Connie: Describe any pivotal moments in a doctor's office, an embarrassing event that made you decide to tackle your sugar habit, etc.
Jaime: My internist told me to cut out all foods that were "hard to digest." She suggested that I NOT eat whole grains or leafy green vegetables! I practically ran out of her office, and I've never been back. That was the most ridiculous thing I'd ever heard, even though I didn't really know why it was ridiculous at the time.
Unlike my internist, my first rheumatologist did not see a connection between any of my symptoms and my diet. When I suggested that perhaps my arthritis was connected to my sugar consumption (which was a connection I was beginning to make), he merely rolled his eyes and told me the two "were not related." His solution: "Take this Vioxx twice a day."
My second rheumatologist was not much better. She did make a concerted effort to try to diagnose my arthritis, but when she could find no diagnosis other than "unspecified arthritis." She prescribed an even more serious arthritis drug: Enbrel, a drug that is given by injection. Enbrel is what my mother takes -- she has had crippling rheumatoid arthritis for the past 45 years.