The Blood Sugar Solution (and TBSS Cookbook)

Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food. Hippocrates

I have read both of these books (including the many recipes) written by Dr. Hyman and it confirms what J. J. Virgin recommends via her sensitivity diet plan while also tracking other healthy eating plans such as the Mediterranean, the Paleo and the Daniel diet noted in the Bible.

As Dinner Diva Leanne Ely said on one of her recipe videos (see her website at SavingDinner.com), no one yet knows even 20 percent about our whole foods--veggies, fruits, spices, herbs. We have uncovered very little knowledge regarding all their ingredients, all their medicinal values. As evolved as we are in many ways, our knowledge base here is stunted.

But we don't need to know how they work to make use of them in our bodies, in our lives. Just like electricity, computers, cars, indoor plumbing.

So here is one tip for you as I begin the preparatory phase of this Blood Sugar Solution reset plan. I eat three whole walnuts in the morning while I'm waiting on my (now decaf) coffee. First, the author recommends we break our fast within an hour of waking. Not sure this snack counts, as I figure he means a meal, but there you go.

The reason I start my day with walnuts is because I have been experiencing nighttime leg cramps. They are not fun and the known magnesium in walnuts is the cure in my short experience. And since it is working, I'll continue with my walnut therapy.

The next thing I'm tackling is my nighttime congestion problem. Something about becoming horizontal stops up my nose and throat. I'm hoping removal of diary products will stop that. I'll let you know. If three days can confirm a food sensitivity (see Dr. Hyman's books for the particulars), then I'm hoping within three days of being fully off dairy in all its (sometimes hidden) forms, will lessen my overnight "sinusitis."

Of course, the main agenda for the two books, as well as the titles of each, focuses on our abuse of sugar in its many forms (actual sugars, then of course pastas, breads, grains, white potatoes, other starchy veggies, etc.). The doctor compares our ancestors' consumption of sugar to our present-day figures and it is a showstopper.

The Paleos of old ate 22 teaspoons of sugar a year (truly treating it as a spice not as a meal) to our present-day addiction of 150–180 pounds a year.

That's per person, folks.

Which means a minimum of thirty of those five-pound bags over a year or 1.7 each week. Granted we eat sugar is many forms, but I think this visual helps us all to see the folly of this continued practice.

To further add perspective, for example, take one 16.9 ounce Coke with its 55g of sugar or ~14 teaspoons (4g = 1 tsp) or 4.66 tablespoons (3 tsps = 1 T) or more than 1/4th cup (4 Ts = 1/4 c)! Comparing Red Diamond Sweet Tea, one 8-oz serving has 17g of sugar, or 34g if the serving size is doubled to 16 oz. to be closer to the Coke serving mentioned above.

If you can't go cold turkey off ALL sugars, as Dr. Hyman advises, then I would suggest cutting back. Instead of Coke, drink sweet tea, which would save you 21g for every 16 ounces. Then as you make your own sweet tea at home, keep reducing the sugar you add until you wean yourself off the sweetened variety and enjoy it unsweetened. In my mind, it is about finding better substitutions.

Of course, high fructose corn syrup should never be allowed into anyone's diet. Read labels. You'll be amazed where HFCS has been added.

I was surprised to find that Dr. Hyman didn't allow Stevia (an all-natural sugar) in his program. Although, after the initial reset program, 70 percent chocolate and honey are allowed in moderation. Even the Bible speaks of not eating too much honey, yet this is good food for us. In fact, the manna God made and gave to the Hebrews for decades in the wilderness was probably made of honey.

Proverbs 24:13 My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.

Proverbs 25:16 If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, lest you be sated with it and vomit it.

Proverbs 25:27 It is not good to eat much honey, so be sparing of complimentary words.

Exodus 16:31 Now the house of Israel called its name manna; it was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

Exodus 16:35 And the people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land; they ate the manna, till they came to the border of the land of Canaan.

But a small amount of fruit is allowed on this program, so that was a huge selling point for me.

There is a sage saying about a mind newly stretched by a fresh idea, a novel thought, can never resume its old size and shape.

There are many mind-stretching statements made in Dr. Hyman's books, but here's two I leave with you. First, even if you don't see a corresponding weight loss in the first three days, your body is already being greatly changed (my paraphrase here). Second, 80 percent of the people who follow Dr. Hyman's plan can reset their bodies within six weeks. (The other 20 percent may need another six-week session, or maybe three months. The more stubborn cases require a health care practitioner.)

With my many thanks to Dr. Hyman, let's see now about reshaping the body....
 

Denise Barker, author + blogger + copy editor

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Further Update on J. J. Virgin Elimination Diet

Lost another couple pounds this week--hooray!  I owe it to adding fiber-rich beans to at least one of my meals in a day.  The other trick may have been eating cottage cheese.  With a hectic schedule, it is a boon.

I have found eating dairy gives me a stopped-up nose during the night, causing me to sleep with my mouth open and wake up with the temporary sore throat and dry mouth because of all that.  I can still have some dairy, but it needs to be minimal amounts.  I choose between cheese on my meatless taco salad (with garbanzos) or cream in my coffee, for instance.  The taco salad is good even without the cheese.

On the coffee note, I can still have my cold coffee drink first thing in the morning using up yesterday's leftover brew.  I cannot find unsweetened Coconut Creme in my local markets, but I dilute it with unsweetened Almond milk--with a ratio usually a little heavier on the CC side than the AM portion, say three-fifths CC to two-fifths AM.  Just to get it to that certain caramel-like coloring.  I have a particular glass I drink it from so the proportions work when I fill in the rest with yesterday's coffee and add ice.

I even have a couple cups of hot coffee with one scant teaspoon of real cream in it.

So I'm happy.  But the elimination diet version you will need is as different as you and I are.  So experiment.

I am avoiding processed foods as much as possible as well as white foods--although I think rice is exempt.  I prefer Jasmine and had it a couple times this week with my Crock-Pot chicken dish and still saw the old numbers on the scale go down.

But it is a balancing act and a substitution process--taking out the bad carbs and replacing with the good.  For example, if I am craving old-fashioned potato chips, I can usually talk myself out of it with either ten-to-twelve smoked almonds or a whole avocado.  If it is sweets that I'm craving, I look first to a drink:  adding Stevia to my coffee or brewing some mint tea with honey or having some of the uberperfect Good Earth Sweet & Spicy Tea & Herb Blend just as is--no sugar needed, but I do add in an extra tea bag to make it good and strong and sweeter.

If I need something sugary-tasting to chew, I can have old-fashioned oatmeal with real maple syrup or a tablespoon of almond butter mixed with a little bit of honey.  Or I indulge in raw dark-chocolate chunks where one equals a carb and I can enjoy three to five.

I now automatically rethink dessert recipes to take out the crust for fruit pies and cobblers and such, doing without the pastry altogether or adding an oatmeal-based crumble along with almond flour and Stevia.

And the best part is:  It's working!

Denise Barker, author + blogger +

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Deep-Dish Fruit Pizza from The Pioneer Woman

Here's her link:  http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2012/01/fruit-pizza/ for the basic recipe.

Note:  Allow three hours from start to finish on this one.  There's the one-hour-in-the-fridge time and then the cool-off-the-cookie-crust-before-frosting-it time.

My taste test of the raw cookie dough (yes, I know) and the icing each passed my muster.  Meanwhile, my baked cookie crust is cooling.

Since I'm now post-28-Day-Break-Free Plan of JJ Virgin's, I did some substitutions.  After you go "Break-Free," you cannot turn it off.  It's like copyediting.  Once that spotlight is turned on, I find mistakes everywhere--in my pleasure reading, in professional blogs, in TV show headers (like telling us the time, date and/or place), even in freelance contracts.  Now I have that same attention to detail with my meals, snacks and desserts.

Since I was playing around big time with substitution of ingredients, per JJ Virgin's list of seven food items most likely to upset our system, I cut the original recipe in half.  This is my first day reintroducing elements back into my diet and I didn't want to overstress my body with the shock of corn (oil), sugar, eggs, butter, milk and gluten.

So, here's what I did to Ree's original recipe (which I have never tried before but I'm sure was wonderful, as is).  I used coconut oil instead of butter (one less possible food sensitivity to ponder).  I bought organic sugar specifically for use in this dessert but I went with Stevia to avoid the "sugar" element.  After all, I made oatmeal raisin cookies with Stevia per the recipe on the package and Stevia survives the oven.

Now, I did use less Stevia than the sugar listed.  That works sometimes.  A half recipe calls for 3/4 c. sugar and I used 1/2 c. Stevia.  [Okay.  I stopped to put it all together and have a piece.  I couldn't wait.]  Even for me, with my sugar cravings under control, I'd use the full 3/4 c. for a half recipe next time.  I wanted the iced sugar cookie experience, not really a cheesecake one.  At this time.

I didn't have an orange, so I used lemon zest.

I used one regular egg (not organic).  Should have gone organic.  I maintain an underlining assumption--if I am to eat one of the seven "sensitive" foods--that going organic's gotta help, along with four-day-apart spacing, if and when needed.  Maybe next time I'll spring for the free-range versions.

Instead of whole milk, I used cream.  After all, I had some in my fridge and needed to use it up.

I replaced all the flour with gluten-free.  I used Hodgson Mill's Gluten-free All Purpose Baking Flour.  It is pure white and light.  Beautiful.  This was my first voyage with this flour and it rates five stars, in my book.  (I am not getting paid by any of these brands to promote them.)

I forgot to halve the 3 tsp. baking powder but wasn't worried about it too much.  Sometimes with these "other" flours, you need the extra leavening added in.  Not here though.  I ended up with a crumb crust texture, instead of a solid cookie.  Now I know for next time.

Onto the icing part.  I realize this may come as a shock to many of you, but yesterday was the first day I ever bought marshmallow creme.  Weird, right?  I don't like my chocolate fudge diluted.  Although I do like that Mississippi Mud cake with the layer of marshmallows or the creme between the cake and the icing.  Yum.

Boy was I surprised to find out that marshmallow creme is just seven-minute frosting in a can, IMO.  So next time I make this recipe, I'll do my own icing, maybe even from Stevia.  Who knows?  It might work.  If not, I'll try it with the organic sugar I bought.  In fact, I think the icing alone will serve me, sans the cream cheese.

I topped my dessert pizza with all strawberries as they were the oldest fruit in my fridge and needed to be eaten soon.

Oh, and my raw cookie dough was pressed directly into the 9x9 pan I both chilled it in for an hour and thereafter baked it in.  I did grease the pan with 1 T. coconut oil (great oil for moisturizing your face as well as high-heat frying, with no odor, thus better for desserts than olive oil).

I cooked the crust at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Maybe my crust was thicker than intended.  Plus my oven cooks a little hot so I like to start off 25 degrees lower.  I can always brown at a higher temp at the end.

My stomach was all aflutter (and not the good kind) with the influx of "new" foods, having denied myself sugar/marshmallow creme, eggs and dairy cream for almost a month.  All from a single 1/12th square from a 9x9 pan.  I was actually having a sugar high for about ten minutes, but it has since calmed down.  Now I'm left with a too-full feeling and I'm trying to aid that with drinking a lot of water.  Maybe following up with a cup or two of some hot peppermint tea will cure what ails me.

Before JJ Virgin's elimination diet, I had no discipline when it came to serving size.  Boy, has that changed.  I note my stomach's reception of each meal now.  I stop to decide what to eat with great care, making wiser choices.  Thank you, JJ!

Denise Barker, author
Good Ole Boys, a love story
Professional Freelance Copy Editor

Day 28 of J. J. Virgin's 28-Day Break Free Diet

This diet eliminates seven food items (gluten, peanuts, soy, dairy, eggs, sugar and corn) that most people have sensitivities to and therefore their bodies attack them like toxins, all of which may cause weight retention.

It's call "break free" because we may be addicted to foods bad for our particular systems.

It is Day 28 for me.  I made it!  Me, a girl who can eat three meals a day of sugar.  But I had been slowly making better choices here and there which prepared me for J. J. Virgin's "total fast" from foods that taste good but maybe which weren't.  And I made it without cream in my coffee and bread!

From what I understand from the free literature on J. J. Virgin's site, this routine is meant to reset our bodies and now we add back in one element, test for any adverse reactions.  Mine will be the fruit dessert pizza on The Pioneer Woman's website.  Tomorrow!  Can't wait.

But I'm also "craving" bread and the aforesaid cream in my coffee.  "Craving" may be the wrong word because it does not contain the force and power of my previous cravings.  So I am able to choose one out of the others to indulge in.

Then four days later (time to watch for any sensitivities reactions), I'll switch from my sugar-cookie-with-fruit "pizza" to cream in my coffee.  Then maybe I'll have some really good homemade bread next.

I've also learned to substitute.  Instead of brown sugar in my oatmeal, I opted for maple syrup.  No sugar listed in the ingredients.  But sometimes substitutions don't work.

Usually I can swap out one-half cup Stevia in the Raw for one full cup of white granulated sugar.  It works for my tea.  And the oatmeal raisin cookies recipe on the Stevia package is really good.

But I can tell you firsthand, when I tried the powdery Stevia atop French toast (pre-elimination diet), it does not work.  For me.  If I indulge in French toast, it will be with real powdered sugar atop.

Butter (the Dairy element).  I cannot imagine a baked potato without it.  Yet, I made French fries from scratch and fried them in coconut oil while on J.J.'s plan.  How can an eating regimen be called a "diet" with French fries on it?  Yum, yum.

While I prefer bacon drippings to season my green beans and other dried bean varieties, I prefer butter for my other veggies:  broccoli, cauliflower, green peas, corn, carrots, etc.  And I haven't come up with a viable alternative.

In the grand scheme of things, cream rises to the top of milk and requires no real processing, so I'm hoping my body is not "allergic" to it.  Then butter is just the cream churned.  No chemicals necessary.  I'm hopeful my body has no reaction to it, either.  I'll reintroduce them into my eating separately just to be sure.

Breads.  I love good bread.  I can forgo the sandwich variety to have some artisan sourdough.  I've enjoyed BLT salads so much I don't see me wanting a BLT sandwich.  However, at some point, I will desire occasionally a real roast beef sandwich, complete with mayo and onions and lettuce.

While pizza never really calls my name (unless it has a white sauce), I can gladly give it up.  YET, at the grocery story the other day, I saw a specialty bread stuffed with pepperoni and cheese.  Depending on the presence of red sauce (or the quantity), I could get into that!

And the zero-carb pizza crust--that you heat up in a skillet with some Parmesan cheese and almond flour (1:1) or add 1-3 T. water and make a sticky roll that you pat out into your favorite shaped pan and bake--I've been craving that.  But mine would have no sauce whatsoever, just a drizzle of olive oil and some choice herbs and spices, some tomato slices with basil and fresh mozzarella or sauteed mushrooms, black olives and caramelized onions.

Maybe I should have done this post tomorrow.  You know, after my Day 28 was over and done with.

What have I found out?  That I can go seven hours without getting hungry some times.  That oatmeal and maple syrup are a nice snack.  That I will make better choices.  I'm eating as close to what God made as possible.  I can now "deny" myself things I love as long as I can have them four days later.  It's a process, so I have to experiment as I go.

And it's been a really good experiment.

Now, I'm off to see if I have all the ingredients to make that dessert pizza . . . ha!

Copy editor disclaimer: Per CMS(15) Rule 8.6, initials have periods (and spaces when used with the whole last name like "J. J. Virgin" or no spaces when just the first two initials like "J.J." or no periods at all when three initials, like JJV or JFK or LBJ). Which explains what I've done above.  However, J.J.'s preference is no periods, no spaces, as in "JJ" per her own site. FYI.  

Denise Barker, author
Good Ole Boys, a love story
Professional Freelance Copy Editor

Update re J. J. Virgin Elimination Diet

It is Day 16 for me of the 28-day program outlined by J. J. Virgin.  I've done amazingly well giving up all sugar, all fake sugars, all corn (no matter how disguised in foods), all gluten, all dairy (a tough one), eggs (but what do I eat for breakfast?), peanuts (easy), soy (easy, but watch out for it appears in almost everything).

Since I'm going from free info gathered off the Net, I'm not sure about her take on Stevia in the Raw and/or fruit.  But in my book, both are allowed.

My cravings are gone.  Already.

Days 5 and 7 were filled with extra bathroom trips.  Don't know why.  But instead of what were the normal hourly interruptions due to the intake of eighty or more ounces of water on top of my coffee addiction, it seemed to recur every twenty minutes.  Probably not that often, as I wasn't timing it, but still . . . it was A LOT.  Thankfully that has toned down ever since.

Day 14 and I woke to a flatter belly.  Overnight.  Weird, but much appreciated.

I've lost about 3.5 inches total from various points on my body since beginning this program.  Nice--and seems to be continuing.

I've also shed about 10 pounds (I understand that's the equivalent of one dress size--Wahoo!), but with my old-timey scale on a not-so-flat surface and starting off heavy with the needle between 3 and 5 instead of 0, who really knows the exact amount?

This is without the aid of exercise although, now that it is spring, I am doing yard work.  Still I hope to add in some aerobics on an every-other-day schedule, once my current writing project settles down a bit.

Anyway, I'm just happy to see downward movement on inches and pounds.

Unhappily, temptation arose in the form of a fruit pizza recipe today.  Grrr.  But nothing will deter me from completing the full 28-day cycle to rid my body of toxins.  Then I understand I add back in one element at a time to see if my body reacts with allergic sensitivities.

My only decision at this time is:  Should I start with cream in my coffee again or go straight to the dessert pizza?  Ha!

P.S. Copy editor disclaimer: Per CMS(15) Rule 8.6, initials have periods (and spaces when used with the whole last name like "J. J. Virgin" or no spaces when just the first two initials like "J.J." or no periods at all when three initials, like JJV or JFK or LBJ). Which explains what I've done above.  However, J.J.'s preference is no periods, no spaces, as in "JJ" per her own site. FYI. 

J. J. Virgin, CNS, CHFS re Food Sensitivities

This is so in line with my immediately previous post, about being healthy in body, mind and soul, that it was a natural segue.  NOTE:  I am a lay person.  No degrees.  Just intensely interested in fitness, health.

J. J. Virgin's bio states she is a member of Mensa, plus has taken many, many doctorate classes from multiple universities.  The CNS stands for Certified Nutrition Specialist and the CHFS as Certified Health Fitness Specialist.

I think her body type is the perfect specimen of health and beauty for women.

Check out her YouTube video re food sensitivities at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p4nR0ivmPc.  Go to her website at http://jjvirgin.com/ to preview her video about seven hurtful foods in our diet.  Sign up to get instant access to 7 Foods, 7 Days, 7 Pounds.

It is so very interesting.  To paraphrase J.J., anything you love, you crave, you are probably "sensitive" to.  J.J. used to test her clients to see what foods were sabotaging their health.  Then it became evident that the same seven kept showing up.  Here's the list:

1. Dairy
2. Eggs
3. Sugar and Artificial Sweeteners
4. Gluten
5. Peanuts
6. Soy
7. Corn

And, once you start checking "Ingredients" labels, you will find them in the most absurd places.  Did you know your sunflower kernels contain sugar, MSG, corn syrup solids, soy proteins plus other stuff?  Also "May contain:  milk, wheat."  Even my in-the-shell sunflower seeds "may contain peanuts, tree nuts, milk, soy and wheat."  And my "beef" hot dogs contain corn.

So once you get the above list of seven memorized, you'll be amazed at where they are hidden in our food.  [Here's my mnemonic device = DES (the dangerous pesticide supposedly no longer on the market) + GPS (which we already know) + C--the best I could do, and not needed for long to remember the seven.]

I'm beginning day three as we start off this Sunday and here's my overview of these initial days.

First, a little backstory.  I'm embracing the carb-conscious lifestyle and cutting out carbs all over.  Quite a shock to my digestive system, but wow!  I'm too embarrassed to tell you how many bad carbs I cut from my day.

Shortly thereafter, I went gluten-free, although I get bread cravings and sometimes give in to them.  Like having been totally gluten-free for about a month, followed by a week of eating a delicious artisan "everything" French bread.  But one hundred times better than eating gluten at every meal.

In an earlier post, I documented recently going cream-free with my coffee.  Not a pretty story.

Before both of those food restrictions, I cut out packaged sugars.  I decided if I wanted brownies, it was better to make them myself from scratch at home than to buy them ready made or in a box.  I cut out sodas.  But I was having diet versions as I craved them.  Still, I was doing one thousand times better than previous days.

Also, I'm of the mind that God made perfect foods, not man.  So I stick to the outer perimeter of the grocery store for eighty to ninety percent of my purchases anyway.  I used to go partially organic as my previous career earnings allowed.  Now that I'm freelancing, not so much.  But I'll get back there and beyond.  And soon.  I predict it.

So, up to the present now.  I haven't experienced headaches yet (like I did with my cream withdrawal reaction on the second/third days).  I was a bit sluggish both prior days as my body was probably in shock with all the additional fiber.  My body felt "overly full" because of it too and I'm assuming will recalibrate.  Thank God it was somewhat used to fruits and veggies and beans or this could have been very unpleasant.

That first night, my bladder woke me up four times--four!  I am happy to report that the second night did not repeat this.

As for J.J.'s list, I had already given up soy as there is conflicting info on it and female hormones.  Yet, there it was as I read "Ingredients" labels, still in my foods.  I prefer almonds to peanuts so that was a foregone decision for me (yet again is on the "Ingredients" labels of items I eat).  We've already discussed the gluten and sugar issues.

As for artificial sweeteners, they are cancer-forming, IMO.  There are natural sugars in moderation that don't produce cancer (my opinion here, folks):  Stevia, honey, Xylitol, Somersweet.  Maybe Agave--my jury's still out on that one.  My top two personal favorites are Stevia and honey.

Not sure if J.J. would find the use of Stevia and honey to be by the rules of her seven-foods-to-yank-out-of-our-eating lifestyle.  But, by a literal reading, they are not sugar and are not artificial, so I've got them in my daily repertoire.

Dairy.  My nemesis.  My love.  I'm addicted to all its forms--except milk.  Milk can never be cold enough for me to stomach it.  Unless it is chocolate milk, or strawberry milk or eggnog.  Ha!  So, if you read my earlier posts about my supposed cream allergy, you know I cut back on cheese to indulge in cream in my coffee.  Then cut out the cream for three whole days (misery!) to have it infrequently thereafter.

As a carb counter, we reach for that string cheese instead of chips or bread or doughnuts.  I had done a switch earlier from string cheese to beef hotdogs for snacking (cold, plain, straight out of the refrigerator) and saving those precious dairy servings for my coffee.  So when J.J. said cut the dairy, I realized the full import of that.  Includes butter, right?  My first real acknowledgment of that relationship.  And there goes the cream in my coffee. Again.

Yet this time was easier.  Probably because last time was so recent and much harder.

It was the eggs that got me, though.  As a carb-counter, my breakfast consisted routinely of bacon and eggs.  If I took out the eggs, what was I supposed to replace them with?  Can't use string cheese.  Can't use toast and sugary jam.  Can't have grits or biscuits or even think about Krispy Kreme.  After the initial frantic response, I found several good replacements.

For my new, improved breakfasts, I'm still eating bacon, but now it resembles more of a salad.  A BLT salad (bacon, tomato on a bed of lettuce) or a BLTA salad (a breadless BLT with an avocado).

Or another favorite is the wilted lettuce salad (pouring a warm dressing consisting of bacon fat, vinegar and a touch of Stevia over your greens) with crispy bacon atop.

Also oatmeal is allowed--yippee!  Oatmeal is not a wheat nor does it contain gluten (if my quick internet search is accurate).  So I can have that with Stevia and cinnamon and cloves.

Lunch/Dinner is another salad with tuna (no mayo, as it contains both milk and eggs).  Or sardines on a gluten-free cracker.  Or blackened chicken/fish.  Or a hamburger patty on a bed of lettuce. Side dishes are raw veggies: sliced cukes, wedges of red bell pepper, sliced tomatoes, mushrooms or cooked ones: bok choy, mushrooms, yellow squashes, zucchini, etc.

For snacks, I'm hitting fat-heavy natural foods to help satiate me:  black olives and avocados.  I love 'em both so it works for me.  Find yours.

Again, not sure fruit is allowed on the J.J. seven-foods-restriction diet, but since they are not "sugar" per se, I'm sticking to the berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries) as they are the lowest in glycemic count.

One other treat that may not be kosher per J.J. is two tablespoons of organic almond butter mixed with one tablespoon honey.  Yum!  BUT if you read the "Ingredients" list on the almond butter, there may be peanuts and soy, plus it has organic unrefined cane sugar (I'm stepping over the line here, I know.  Still, it is ORGANIC and UNREFINED sugar so I'm hoping that makes it a lesser evil).  And today, I'm gonna try to skip my treat.  Fingers crossed!

Thank goodness J.J. didn't say "no coffee" or I wouldn't be in as good a mood as I am now.  I'm back on track with three days of decaf followed by one day of the fully leaded version (my fave!).  I have gotten to where I am loving black coffee again (you have to start with a good bean, though).  And of course, if you read the "Ingredients" labels on your powdered "non-dairy" creamer or your liquid version, both of mine here at home contain milk, soy and corn syrup solids!  Who knew?

My new love--coconut creme "creamer"--contains sugar, milk and soy.  Great for making cold coffee drinks with my leftover coffee from the day before.  I use two tablespoons of the coconut creme (10 carbs) plus five tablespoons of the liquid "non-dairy" creamer (another 10 carbs) and two to three times the coffee to get the right color of lightness.  No sugar needed with the coconut creme.  But, for some reason, I'm okay with not having that for now.

J.J. says to keep this up for twenty-eight days to rid our bodies of these items that it may consider as "toxic" thus attacking with vengeance--resulting in myriad symptoms:  gas, bloating, joint pain, skin problems (even dandruff), mood disorders, weight gain, fatigue, cravings, big appetites.

She also says our cravings will be G-O-N-E.

Leaky gut.  Ever heard of it?  My most recent ND mentioned it, and so had one before.  I can't explain it, but if you are interested, Google it and read all about this subject.

J.J.'s avoid-seven-foods regimen fixes leaky gut.  Resets our body's resistance and tolerance.  I'm not privy to J.J.'s tactics post-twenty-eight days, but I've gleaned a little tidbit here and there.  We slowly reintroduce the "possibly offending" food (for our particular body) and see if any of the symptoms listed above recur. 

However, if our cravings are gone (like my new palate re sugar), it should be easy to incorporate our now refined tastes, so hopefully fewer things eek back in our eating habits--or with less repetition.

Like fresh corn on the cob.  How can that possibly be bad for us?  (In its pure unadulterated form.)  This is spring, after all, with a bountiful crop of luscious foods about to be harvested.  Armed with J.J.'s insight, I will just have it infrequently, but once every four days at the most (as any food allergists would tell you anyway).

BTW, J.J. says a true food allergy is bad--from a facial rash to throat-closing, life-threatening.  A food sensitivity, like we are discussing here, is just too much of a good thing (my parlance).  We need to have more variety in our foodstuffs.

My local Farmers Market opens in May.  Can't wait!  So what if I didn't inherit Daddy's green thumb (sob, sob).  I can take advantage of those nearby who do have the gift.  The Farmers Market is cheaper than organic and better than what is trucked from all over (not fresh) and pesticide riddled (chemicals are not healthy). 

I have not missed my daily dark chocolate fix.  Weird, right?  I've not really missed my doctored-up coffee (as long as I don't look at my three different creamers in my fridge).  I'm enjoying four strawberries for dessert.  Or almond butter with honey for a treat.  Or flavorings in my coffee:  cherry, raspberry, coconut, vanilla.  Without Stevia even.

Additionally, this morning's breakfast salad (the BLTA) was suddenly too big.  I couldn't eat it all.  I snacked on it hours later.  I'm still full as I add in this edit at 1:40 p.m.  Amazing!

So, my preliminary opinion on this particular test of my willpower?  Good to go.  And instead of opting out at the end of the first week, I may go the whole twenty-eight days.  Wow!  What a revelation.

Wish me luck.

P.S. Copy editor disclaimer: Per CMS(15) Rule 8.6, initials have periods (and spaces when used with the whole last name, or no periods at all when three initials, like JFK and LBJ). Which explains what I've done above.  However, J.J.'s preference is no periods, no spaces. FYI.