Monday, November 08, 2010

Transformations #37: Movember, Cancer, & Sugar

Day 9 for the Flavour Saver
I'm officially going ahead with it.  The results of my poll came back with about 2/3 of votes for the moustache.

By the way, what's up with the weird American spelling of moustache?  They spell it m-u-s-t-a-c-h-e, without the "o".  We Canadians spell it the proper way, just like harbour, neighbour, colour, and splendour.  But on those words, the Yankees dropped the "u."  Why the "o" this time?  Just trying to mix it up a little?

The Movember initiative is designed to help awareness of prostate cancer, as well as funds for research.

From what I've seen & read though, the need for more research is minimal, as existing studies are very clear.  All cancers thrive on sugar, especially refined sugars present in processed foods and drinks.  Remove the sugar from your diet, and your risk of cancer plummets.  Additionally, your body can start to heal any cancerous growths already present.

The typical Western diet is full of sugar.  It's no coincidence that cancer rates have skyrocketed as our diets have changed over the decades.  So instead of raising funds for research, I'll be trying to promote awareness in a different way.  I'm removing sugar from my diet.  And before anyone thinks I'm insensitive towards cancer victims, know that I, like most people, have lost dear friends and family members to this disease.  My hope and prayer is that society can grasp the hard lessons out there and end this disease once and for all.  I firmly believe that the long term solution to cancer will not be found in drug or chemical treatments, but in lifestyle choices.

I should note, in all fairness, that this change in my diet was my wife's idea and her one condition of me growing the moustache.  She also has a vested interest in seeing me lose a few pounds.

It's amazing how many items have sugar in them.  If you didn't know, any of the additives on an ingredient list that end in "ose" are refined sugar - dextrose, sucrose, glucose - and it's hidden under other names too.  I've really got to have a keen eye to catch them all.  It's much easier just to eat nuts, sauce-less meats, lots of vegetables, and hunks of cheese.

The transformative part of this experience for me is the self control it takes to avoid the chocolate bars and chips - especially in a house crammed full of Halloween candy.  Right now I'm snacking on almonds as I write this. My wife made me a blueberry smoothie for an after-supper snack, including yogurt, coconut milk, and avocado.  Delicious, and without a molecule of refined sugar.  The body, I'm told, takes about a week to restructure its digestive processes to burn fats instead of sugar.  So far I've doing this for five days (I got a head start with the moustache).  I can feel my body craving the other stuff I used to eat, and I'm amazed how easy it has been so far to resist.

Stick around - I'll post more Movember pics, and will give updates from time to time on how the sugar purge is going.

Nov 30 UPDATE: I compiled a video of the photos I took throughout the month:



The sugarless diet is going really well.  My wife is incredibly supportive and has kept me well fed with lots of healthy food, and I'm definitely noticing an increase in my energy level.  I want to keep eating like this; it tastes better and I don't feel guilty about what I eat.  It's more difficult, yes, but ultimately it's more rewarding.

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