Managing Pain - Part 1
Sugar & Pain
Here’s a frustrating chicken/egg situation – Pain triggers sugar cravings…and refined sugar triggers pain.
Why do we crave what causes pain? Well…it’s all about serotonin.
Chronic pain uses up a lot of serotonin and a sweet burst of sugar in our bloodstream shoots serotonin straight into our brain, giving us momentary relief.
Now, why refined sugar triggers pain is a bit of a mystery. Yes, a big sugary treat will trigger inflammation, but I’ve noticed even the smallest amount of sugar, not enough to trigger inflammation, can trigger pain.
I’ve been telling people about the sugar & pain connection for almost 10 years, and over a hundred people have tried it. The feedback I’ve received says that it has worked in all but a handful of cases…so it’s worth a try.
AND! It only takes 4 – 5 days to find out if it’ll work for you. So, it could be a big reward for a relatively small effort.
It’s only refined sugar that triggers pain, so you can keep honey, real maple syrup, fruit, dates, etc in your diet. You only have to remove sugar.
…but, refined sugar hides in MANY foods you wouldn’t expect to find it, like yogurt, ketchup, tomato sauce, and even most commercially-made bread.
How to:
For 1 week, remove ALL traces of refined sugar (check the ingredients for anything that ends with -ose…sugar can be sneaky!).
After 1 week, how do you feel? Have some of your favourite sweets for 1 day and see if there’s any change in your pain level.
If you notice that sugar triggers pain, then scour your diet of any refined sugar. Today (happily) there’s a non-refined sugar alternative for pretty much everything. Struggling to find one? Post it in our Facebook Group and I’ll help you out :)
Click here for a guide to healthy sugars vs. refined sugar.
If you have any questions, jump to our private Facebook Group or the Ask Lisa page :)