Sugar After a Week Without

Breaking addictions to sugar is a key part of the Kaufmann 1 diet. Parasitic fungi, once on board, can alter your biochemistry to crave what they crave. And what is fungi’s food of choice? If you guessed sugar, you’d be correct. Unfortunately, sugar comes in a variety of packages, including but not limited to grains, sugar cane, alcohol and starch. Taking these foods out of your diet usually results in a Herxheimer reaction, which can make the initial week pretty terrible. But, it does get better, I promise.

The week after I started the Kaufmann 1 diet, I turned 25. It was probably an ill-advised time to start a diet. Birthdays are notoriously unhealthy when it comes to the fare served, and I should have known that when my aunt asked my brother and me over to dinner at her house, it wasn’t going to be easy turn away what she cooked. It turned out to be impossible – she’s one of the best cooks in the world. She’d whipped up a generous portion of homemade macaroni and cheese, rolls, and apple cake. It was a site to behold.

Now, I was passed the point that sugar, or carbohydrate laden foods were a temptation. And I had been very good all week. I thought, well, it is my birthday, this is my wonderful aunt who makes the best food in the world, and it is just one meal. What the heck! I dug in.

Friends, I did not sleep that night. The entire night. After an evening of jitters, racing thoughts, and restlessness, I finally fell asleep around 5:30AM. When I woke up 6 hours later, I almost felt hungover, and I hadn’t had a drop of alcohol! I felt foggy for the whole next day.

I think the interesting part of this experience is this; I didn’t eat in a way that was uncharacteristic for how many people eat every single day. Mac & cheese, rolls, and even cake are all part of what most people would call a normal dinner. Obviously, your body builds up tolerances for certain things. But sugar has been shown in many studies to be a stressor on the body. Many people routinely put their body through this much stress, and sometimes it isn’t until you stop for a while and try it again that you see how much stress your’e putting yourself through.

Kyle had an excellent article in one of the last newsletters that was titled something to the effect of “Why Achieving Real Health in America Anymore is a Miracle.” He couldn’t be more spot on; when people eat the way that I did on my birthday, they are stressing their body, exposing themselves to mycotoxins, and feeding any parasitic fungi. I think we can all agree that this is one ingredient we are better off without.