Monday July 4 2016  TOO MUCH SUGAR!

Whoa!  I had way too much sugar today.  I didn’t plan to eat the home made peach pie but one finger pinch test and I was hooked.  And, I had one scoop of ice cream to go with it.  Not a good choice for me.  Then, on the way home Dave saw two little girls selling cookies and asked if I wanted a cookie.  I said no, but then thought perhaps he wanted one so I said okay.  Dave even doubled backed around the block so we had a place to pull over.  I dutifully got out of the car, crossed the street and purchased two sugar spice cookies.  I offered Dave a cookie but he declined and said they were for me.  I pinched off a small taste test and it was very good.  And pinch by pinch both were soon gone.  And then I crashed.  Almost as if I was drunk.  My words slurred, and I could not gather my thoughts.

My confession may illicit comments from my sister, so let me say it ahead of time, “I know I shouldn’t have done it”.  But I did and must now live with the consequences.  I had actually forgotten how bad I feel when I eat sugar.  I’m going to let this July 4^th lesson be a reminder to me for a long, long time.  It is not worth it.  All I want to do now is sleep.

Years ago, about 1993, I had to quit drinking any kind of soda (I was addicted to diet coke), coffee (which I had everyday), and tea (which was also my daily routine).  I quit cold turkey.  My kidneys were in bad shape due to a strep infection that caused a sepsis to damage my kidneys.  I don’t remember ever being so sick.  Since all of my above vices were removed at once, I had a headache that lasted over two weeks.  Since that time I have not imbibed in any of the above, EXCEPT a non caffeinated herbal tea I drink on occasion.  Since I do not imbibe anything with caffeine and hardly ever have processed sugar, I rarely  experience any kind of highs or lows in energy, temperament, or brain function throughout my day.  I wake up full of energy, go all day, and only after days of intense labor and not enough sleep does my body fatigue like it did recently due to the garage sale.  The fatigue I feel after working hard is so different than the exciteotoxin fatigue I experience when eating foods with additives or sugar.  Exciteotoxins, the misfiring of the synapses in the brain, happen to me after I have anything processed (like store bought cookies) or excessive sugar.  And today I had both. 

At the end of the blog I have included some information gleaned from the web to allow you to read for yourself what science has discovered.  Read at your discretion.  Today was a good reminder for me as to why I am so diligent in what I eat.  I guess I just like feeling good.

 

SO MANY CHOICES

By Kathleen Martens

July 4, 2016

 

So many choices

To make every day,

From what goes in my mouth,

To the words I say.

 

I must be diligent

And thus decide first,

Do I want to feel good?

Or just feel worse?

 

But sometimes I stumble

And seem to be wooed

By eating too much

Of the wrong kind of food.

 

But it is so good

As it goes down.

It is only afterward

Is causes a frown.

 

And that’s what I did

On this celebration day,

I had so much fun

As I partied and played.

 

What’s happened has happened

And now I must suffer.

And tomorrow morning

I’ll be a bit puffier.

 

But I thoroughly enjoyed

Each and every bite.

And perhaps being tired

Is worth the fight.

 

And so I get up,

Dust off my regret,

And just ask God to help me,

That I no longer fret.

 

It is not healthy

To berate myself,

Or take remorse

Off the shelf.

 

But rather enjoy

A day blessed with new friends,

And cherish this moment,

For time never lends.

 

Thank You God for allowing me to learn from my mistakes.

Thank You God for the enjoyment of this day.

Thank You Lord for the bounty of Your everlasting love.

Thank You God that I arrived home safely on this holiday weekend.

Thank You God for creating dogs.

 

GOD BLESS YOU ON THIS DAY OF CELEBRATING OUR COUNTRY’S 240^TH ANNIVERSARY.

 

The following information was taken in part from the website:  https://experiencelife.com

 

Excitotoxins

“What is an EXCITOTOXIN?

Excitotoxins are a class of chemicals (usually amino acids) that over stimulate neuron receptors. Neuron receptors allow brain cells to communicate with each other, but when they’re exposed to excitotoxins, they fire impulses at such a rapid rate that they become exhausted.

Fair warning: If you are drinking a diet drink, munching on chicken-flavored crackers or enjoying a fast-food lunch while you’re reading this, odds are good that you’ll toss them out by the time you finish the article. Why? Because many low-calorie sodas, highly flavored snacks and processed foods of all kinds contain substances known as excitotoxins – substances that could very well be doing a serious number on your health.

Excitotoxins are a class of chemicals (usually amino acids) that over stimulate neuron receptors. Neuron receptors allow brain cells to communicate with each other, but when they’re exposed to excitotoxins, they fire impulses at such a rapid rate that they become exhausted. Several hours later, these depleted neurons die. Scientists have noted this effect particularly in the hypothalamus and temporal lobes – the parts of the brain that control behavior, emotions, onset of puberty, sleep cycles, and immunity.

But brain cells aren’t the only parts of our bodies that are being revved up. Excitotoxins also do a very good job of exciting our taste buds. And that makes them very attractive to the food industry. The chemicals in excitotoxins stimulate the taste cells in the tongue, causing the flavor of the foods we eat to be greatly enhanced. Soups, snacks, sauces, gravies, many low-fat and vegetarian processed foods – manufacturers often pack them with “flavor enhancers” in an effort to make them taste irresistible.

Although excitotoxin poisoning has gotten much of its recent publicity under the rather misleading title, “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome,” the fact is, American processed foods – from McDonald’s to Weight Watchers to Campbell’s soup – are just as likely to contain excitotoxins like mono-sodium glutamate (MSG) and aspartame (NutraSweet® or Equal®). And according to many experts, these same foods are just as often to blame for the headaches, water retention, skin problems and other health complaints that some consumers experience.

One such consumer is Tom Kleffman. A graphic artist who lives in Navarre, Minn., Kleffman was in college when he ate a piece of cheddarwurst that made him sick. Hoping to make him feel better, his roommate fixed a bowl of ramen noodles. Soon after, Kleffman’s heart rate spiked to 220. He passed out and was rushed to the emergency room, where he was referred to a food allergist who diagnosed him with a reaction to MSG.

At the time, Kleffman didn’t understand how much his sensitivity was going to change the way he lived. In addition to avoiding the offending cheddarwurst and ramen noodles, Kleffman now eats no processed or prepared foods and rarely dines at restaurants because so many of them use MSG. “I had to learn how to cook,” says Kleffman, who now subsists on a much healthier diet of fresh foods.

Most people aren’t nearly as sensitive to excitotoxins as Kleffman, but many people do experience headaches (including migraines), rashes and “hangover” symptoms after consuming foods that contain them.

The problem is that if you regularly eat at restaurants, munch on chips, or toss back diet drinks and other commercial sugar-free treats, it’s quite likely that you regularly consume significant quantities of these substances, so you may not be aware of which specific foods or drinks are causing your reactions. The other problem is, excitotoxins are so prevalent in modern industrial foods they’re almost impossible to avoid.”

I included the above article to simply inform those who may be unaware of what happens in the brain due to what we eat.  In no way do I pass judgment on what other’s eat.  I have noticed the older I become the less tolerant my body is to processed foods and just thought I’d pass the information along.