The prominence of sugar as an added ingredient in foods is eerie. Especially when recent studies have shown that sugar is more addictive than cocaine or heroin. Aside from the the known detriment of sugar (increased fat, links to cancer, general poor health) is something else. Sugar is known the calcify the pineal gland.
The pineal glad is located in between the two brain hemispheres and is often referred to as the "seat of consciousness." Why might it be called that? Well, other studies have shown that the pineal gland is responsible for the natural production of DMT, sometimes referred to as the "spirit molecule."
DMT is associated with out-of-body experiences. But out-of-body experiences are not necessarily as extreme as one might imagine. Through focused practices (such as yoga, meditation, etc.) a person comes to realize that Who You Are is separate from the physical self. That realization and experience, practiced over time, can be considered an out-of-body experience. My guess is that the focus these practices require triggers the pineal gland to produce DMT.
A natural question that follows might be, "are we meant to experience the effects o DMT?" Well, consider the following. If we can experience any effect from a chemical (whether produced locally or internally), that means we naturally have a receptor for it. If we naturally have a receptor for it, it is logical to conclude that we naturally produce that chemical. Listen to this podcast for more information.
When the pineal gland becomes calcified through increased sugar consumption (as well as other factors (e.g. fluroide intake, DMT production decreases significantly. My conclusion is that removing sugar (and other pineal gland calcifiers) from one's diet can increase the pineal gland's natural production of DMT.
From personal experience, the the mild out-of-body experiences focused practice induces (meditation, bass practice) has led me to realize the abundance of the present moment. I don't need to participate in a consumer society because I have everything I need right here and now.
Note: nothing against simple sugars like those found in apples, grapes, etc. I've not done the research but I imagine that naturally occurring sugars would not be detrimental as refined processed sugar.
I went full Keto about three years ago. There are obvious reasons to do this, and some that required thought and refection. First off, my blood sugar is never above 100, the American average. I've not had a blood test above 100 since I started Keto; it was a 210 number on my blood sugar level results that made me drop sugar and carbs in the first place. Second, my blood pressure is something that makes my doctor go nuts. My resting BP is usually 100 over 60, I've had it checked in his office at 90/60 with a pulse in the low 70's. This is on the very low end of normal. I've lost a very significant amount of weight; over 1/2 my body size. Also, my cholesterol levels hover around 180. Yea, my fat ass has low cholesterol levels. The HDL number, the one that is the 'good' number should be above 40 and mine hits 60 two out of three times. The LDL number has not been above 150 in two years. When I started there was talk of putting me on meds to lower my cholesterol; that talk is done and over with now. These changes happened before I got more serious about exercise mainly with the diet change alone. The other major change is that I have not had any gout attacks or joint problems in over two years. I don't credit keto for this but instead the weight loss. Before I got serious I would have a joint issue at least once every two months. That is the obvious stuff. Now I am never hungry. I have to stop and think about if and when I ate today more often than not. If I go out and eat a starchy dinner I'm fine; but that next morning I am craving sugars and sweets. I guess that I am one of the people for whom sugar has the same reaction as a drug and admitting that I have an addiction and fighting it face on made me a better person out of it. Then there is the insulin spikes. Intake a ton of sugar and you get an insulin spike and crash that makes a guy like me very lethargic. I have a constant energy level all day now, even if I only get to eat once during the day. Caffeine has a calming and mellowing impact on my whole body now. Before Keto, if I had any soda or coffee in the afternoon, my sleep would be impossible. I can drink a pot of coffee, be focused and awake, and go to bed two hours later and get a good night's sleep. Speaking of sleep? Sleep is deeper, better, I go to sleep faster and wake up refreshed unless I cheated and ate a bunch of stuff that is not good for me (Chocolates are my poison and I regret nothing). Sweets and candies are near inedible for me now. Candy is so sweet it is almost painful to eat. I had a cake with frosting for a party at work and it nearly made me sick it was so sweet. And since this is a keto post, the pee sticks and all that measuring stuff you get in a drugstore is crap. If you are going to do any measuring, which I did with my doctor, the only thing that matters is blood work. The pee sticks are good only to tell you if you are drinking enough water. Those sticks have any purple at all on them? Drink more water. Also, eat your protein budget, fill the rest of your calorie budget with fats and deal with minimal carbs and sugars. If this is something that you are going to do, track everything that you eat for at least 4-5 months. Have a bad day and feel like crap? What did you eat the night before? Tracking that data really woke me up to how I eat and how it impacts my day. I'm exercising again, this time with a plan and a ton of spreadsheets, intermediate goals, action items the whole thing. I'm worried about all the loose skin that comes with weight loss, but if I had to stop and think about it, everything is really starting to "tighten up" and get less "jiggle-jiggle" for lack of a better word. I still have a ways to go to where I want to be, but my GP is speechless that I have done what I have with not a lot more than "Fuck sugar" as my plan. Which brings me to the big BIG change. I am much more aware of my food now. What I eat, how often, ingredients all of it. I think about what I eat, and what is in the stuff I consume. And I spend less on food a month that before keto. Mainly due to eating out less, no processed stuff, cooking at home, and yes, eating less. 2000 calories is a LOT of food and it shocks me that a big salad and a 12 oz steak is only 800 calories, or about five 12oz soda's worth of nutrition. Is a low carb/no carb diet for everyone? NO. And don't do this unless you know exactly what you are going to get into. Fat is bad is ingrained in people (although why that happened in the 60's is an interesting post on its own) and you will get shit on by just about everyone why will give you free advise on why you are wrong. Yet the number don't lie and my doctor is trying this out on some of his other obese patients (he told me this but I cannot verify so take that with a massive pile of salt). You need to be able to stick with a plan, not cheat, and most importantly in the first few months, kick the habit of eating junk foods.
Beautiful, thank you for sharing. I have an idea of what Keto is, but would you mind sharing more specifically? I really like the idea of tracking what I eat. I certainly have been more aware of what is in the food I've been eating and I've really really decreased how much I eat out (which my and my fiance's wallets approve of). I haven't been eating too well for the past couple months. All AmeriCorps volunteers are on food stamps and it's tough at times, ESPECIALLY living in a rural town where there's only one grocery store and the prices are sky high, to buy good healthy food and not run out of money. But it's a continual work in progress. I've been buying food in bulk whenever I head into Portland and that's certainly been saving me some money. I'd like to keep in touch about how you're doing and maybe bounce some idea off of you. Part of the reason I quit sugar was to take a vow against something I knew I wanted to avoid for a while. I was reading the Ghandi autobiography and he spoke very strongly about taking vows, so I did it. I can only imagine the positive results I'll experience.
Keto is a diet that has been around a while, 1940's or so. The basics are you figure out how much protein you body needs to live and eat that every day. This is roughly 1/3 gram per pound of lean body weight. There are tons of calculators out there to determine that, but a doctor visit is the best way. Next, you eat fats to meat you caloric intake requirements. For most of us, that is 2000 calories a day. When I started I was hitting 1200-1500 a day and was not hungry at all; my doc said at the time that I was converting stored fat to energy, and this is when I lost the most weight per month. Then you eat very few carbs. Carbs are starches like you find in breads, grains, root veggies (Potatoes, turnips carrots etc) sugars of all types and if you are a purist, artificial sweeteners. You get you micro nutrients from dark greens like Romain, spinach, broccoli etc, and I eat a TON of olive oil to increase my fat macro ratios. I dropped soda for coffee and feel better, but I was never one of those people who had bad reactions to the diet sodas I drank. Coffee is cheaper as well so there is that. Rural food in the US, well it sucks. I'm right there with you. I learned to love the omelet and consider myself a master at them now. Eggs are cheap and east to change around (Hard boiled so you can eat them quickly if you get hungry for example.) Find a butcher and see if you can get cheap bacon, or sausages, and cheaper cuts of beef. The cheaper cuts tend to have more fat on them, and the extra bonus of working well in a crock-pot so you can make a big pot of food and utilize leftovers to save money. The short easy answer is that if it comes in an individual serving size, or is an "Instant" food, it is not low carb. If you have to eat at a hamburger place, don't eat the bun, no fries, etc. Condiments like the mustard and ketchup are loaded with corn syrups and sugars. If you can find a mustard with no added sugar get some and you will not regret it. (Yea I hate telling people to buy stuff, sorry but hopefully if/when you do buy things they will be worth it) And watch the salads; Apple-bee's puts a crap ton of sugar in all its salads. I'm at the point that I can't eat them, so those few times I go out I get the deep fried cheese stick, then eat a salad with olive oil at home to balance it out. The only fast food place that I like anymore is Whataburger and Steak and Shake. Both places have "not expensive" food and Whataburger will let you do bunless as an ordering option. If you can swing a book, either library or Amazon, this is where i suggest you start.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1400033462/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_9XI.ub1YHHVC6 I'm a lot better with things once I know and understand the WHY components of what I am doing. There are people out there saying that sugar causes Alzheimer's and cancer and crazy stuff, but I don't buy it myself. Sugar makes us fat, and that is fairly well established at this point. Budgeting is hard. been there, done the whole live in shitty apartments paycheck to paycheck thing. MyFitnessPal is free and I've used that in the past (I now use a google docs spreadsheet). You live in a rural area, so find the farmer's market. Go near the time it ends and don't be afraid to haggle. Make friends with the farmers, even if only to say hello to them. Farmer's markets out here do EFT and Food Stamps now, so check that out as well. Good luck and don't be afraid to ask questions.
Thank you very much for taking to time to explain it all so thoroughly. I don't know, at least for now, that I'm looking to really really give that much attention to my diet. As I said, I felt that I should avoid sugar and decided to take a vow against it. I do eat a lot of potatoes. I like them and their substantial. I'm unaware though of negative consequences, should there be any. Eating meat isn't really too much of an option. I'll have it every now and again, but only under certain specifications. I'm in Central Oregon so there actually isn't too much farming going on. The majority of what's going on is cattle ranching. But when I go into Portland I make sure to bring back some good produce. Being in AmeriCorp we do get food stamps, so that's nice. But still, it gets pretty tight. I admire you for being so particular and aware of your diet. We are what we eat, and it's something I'll get progressively better at. Stepping away from sugar is a step in that direction, but also a step in developing integrity.
I agree with these specifically: On "Processed" foods in general: basically nonexistent in my current diet. An interesting experiment for people to try who'd like to eat better: Before you buy anything, read the ingredients. If there are ingredients that you have no understanding of, don't purchase the product. This eliminates a lot of "foods" we probably shouldnt be ingesting with regularity anyway.But out-of-body experiences are not necessarily as extreme as one might imagine. Through focused practices (such as yoga, meditation, etc.) a person comes to realize that Who You Are is separate from the physical self. That realization and experience, practiced over time, can be considered an out-of-body experience.
From personal experience, the the mild out-of-body experiences focused practice induces (meditation, bass practice) has led me to realize the abundance of the present moment. I don't need to participate in a consumer society because I have everything I need right here and now.
I don't necessarily agree with your last point because things like this can happen: I live by more of a "if I don't understand it then I'll research it" perspective. Obviously, for foods like this you're right, but as a blanket statement I'm not so sure.
For my POV, an item like a banana is something I already recognize as such. In that situation I'd be more interested in origin. Still, your point is completely valid.
Once in a while, this discussion comes up on my Facebook feed. Well, its usually not a discussion but more of a circle jerk of a group of people I met at various Goa/Psytrance festivals and raves. This video kept popping up a while ago on my feed. I even wrote an answer to everything that this girl was talking about, can't find it though. So I decided to check everything myself. I will keep this post as a sticky and look into that subject and report back. But from what I found the last time, it is a bunch of pseudoscience. But I will give it a go. Btw, two of your links are not working...
Please let me know what you discover. Regardless, I took a vow with myself to not have sugar as an added ingredient for a year. We'll see what the results are.