Sugars and Flours: How They Make Us Crazy, Sick and Fat, and What to Do About It

Reactive foods are any foods that create an adverse reaction in the body. Industrialized countries consume them in horrific quantities. This book focuses on refined carbohydrates, specifically sugars and flours. But reactive foods also include allergenic foods, foods that result in malnutrition, and foods like red food dye and asparteme that are simply toxic. They also include foods that create adverse reactions when over-consumed. In this latter category, you will read about wheat and dairy in particular.

Refined carbohydrates such as sugars and flours are the most prevalent reactive foods. (Honey is included because it acts on the system like a refined carbohydrate, even though it is not one.) Sugars and flours are manufacturered under a great variety of names. The following list of names for sugars, flours was developed by an organization dedicated to helping people escape the addictive power of sugars and flours. Food Addicts in Recovery (FAIR), is a successor group to Recovery from Food Addiction and Food Addicts Anonymous. These are the substances that they believe cause the body to react negatively.

THE NAMES FOR SUGARS, FLOURS, AND WHEAT

Refined carbohydrates include all substances with any of the following words in their names: sugar, molasses, syrup, caramel, concentrated juice, sweetener (except pure saccharine), dextrose, saccharide, honey, fructose, alcohol, galactose, glucose, Jaggery, lactose, levulose, malt, manitol, nectars, ribose, sorbitol, succanat, wine, and sucrose. The flours include any product with the word 'flour' in it, as well as corn meal.1 Wheat, one of the most common allergic foods, is also called couscous and bulgur. Buckwheat is NOT wheat, so it is OK. Tortilla chips and tortillas have corn flour in them, even though it does not say so on the package. Breakfast cereals are also made from flour.

I recommend adding saccharine and aspartame to FAIR's list for reasons I will explain presently. Like FAIR, this book considers wheat products to be a common reactive food. All flours, including 'whole grain' flours, are considered reactive because research has shown that they all create a brain chemical response in the form of increased serotonin levels. This serotonin 'high' is thought to contribute to the creation of refined carbohydrate addiction.

Other common reactive foods are corn, coffee, beef, pork, yeast, dairy products, eggs, yeast, and food additives. This book will address how to identify if you have a problem with these common allergic foods, but they are not necessarily eliminated from recipes and suggestions.

The reason FAIR does not have saccharine on its list is that when the first support group for refined carbohydrate addiction was formed, it was believed that saccharine did not cause a reaction like refined carbohydrates. Specifically, it was believed that it did not trigger the pancreas to release insulin because saccharin does not convert to glucose in the bloodstream. However, Dr. Nancy Appleton, a prominent nutritionist, has a different view:

'In a number of laboratory tests, rats were given saccharin. Their bodies were fooled into thinking the sweetener was sugar, and they produced a boost of insulin. This is one reason why artificial sweeteners are poor aids for weight watchers and sugarholics; they are not good substitutes for sugar.'2

Saccharin is used by people in recovery from refined carbohydrate addiction. Later in the book we will discuss how you can tell if its usage is appropriate for you.

In addition to the arguments against artificial sweeteners in general, the case against aspartame contains more serious elements: '...the methanol in aspartame may be dehydrogenated by fermentation into formaldehyde (embalming fluid) and attaches itself to protein. It can thus destroy the myelin around the nerve cells.'3 Dr. Doris Rapp, leading allergist writes that 'some investigations indicate that aspartame can damage the nervous system or brain, not only in rats but also in humans. It is said to cause mood and behavioral changes, epileptic like seizures, insomnia, depression, headache, and even menstrual disorders. The use of this substance during pregnancy is questioned.'4 Since 1980, when the FDA set up its Adverse Reactions Monitoring System, 72% of problems reported concerned aspartame. The complaints are of headaches, dizziness, and vomiting. Need I say more?

Are there any sweeteners which can safely be used by a person wishing to recover from the devastation of refined carbohydrates? Some researchers feel that any sweetener can trigger a pancreas which has been sensitized thorugh prolonged use of refined carbohydrates. The release of insulin is the beginning of the devastation caused by refined carbohydrates and it must be avoided at all costs by the recovering refined carbohydrate user. For the most sensitive, the answer may be that no sweetener can be used safely. For people who have been in recovery from some time, the pancreas may be somewhat desensitized and a substitute sweetener may be considered. However, never again can a refined carbohydrate be used because the presence of glucose in the system always triggers the pancreas. We will come back to this topic when we discuss how to shop for non-reative foods.

You may be thinking at this moment that the list of substances to be avoided is long. But hold on. We are coming to an even longer list: the list of benefits that come from removing reactive substances from the diet. Can you do this food plan? Yes. I know you can. Will you reap the benefits? Yes. In some way, shape, or form your life will change significally for the better. Discovering the array of positive results that will accrue to you specifically are part of the joy and surprise of eliminating reactive foods.

1 Food Addicts in Recovery, 'A List of Names for Sugar, Flour, and Wheat' (Houston: Food Addicts in Recovery, 1998).

2 Appleton, Nancy, Ph. D., Lick the Sugar Habit. (Garden City Park, NY: Avery Publishing Group.1996) 178.

3 Smith, Lendon, H. M.D., Feed Your Body Right. (New York: M. Evans and Company. 1994) 186.

4 Rapp, Doris, M.D. Is This Your Child? (New York: William Morrow. 1991) 573.