Fibromyalgia Diet - Why choose Stevia or over Sugar or Honey

“The devil has put a penalty on all things we enjoy in life. Either we suffer in health or we suffer in soul or we get fat.” –Albert Einstein

We Americans are eating an average of 153 pounds of sugar a year. Refined white sugar makes it more difficult for your body to absorb vitamins and minerals, a major contributor to the cause of autoimmunity. Sugar also suppresses immune function, leaving us open to infection. Just eight tablespoons of sugar, which is the equivalent to the sugar in less than one 12-ounce can of soda, can reduce the ability of your immune system to kill germs by up to 40%.

Like table salt, sugar is dehydrating to the body. Dehydration increases histamine, which can worsen asthma and any other autoimmune disease because histamine inflammation. As recommend by the National Fibromyalgia Association (NFA), sugars should be avoided because they can worsen the condition. Eating sugar also causes an insulin surge, which contributes to chronic inflammation.

Honey is sugar. It may be “all natural”, but it is still sugar. It is higher in calories than table sugar and can be contaminated by pesticides. Consuming “all natural” delicious tasting pesticides is not what you want to be doing.

A good non-toxic substitute for sugar is the nutritional supplement stevia. Stevia has been used by millions of people without reported side effects. In Japan, stevia sweetened products represent 41% of the market share of sweet substances consumed.

Stevia is an herb originally from Paraguay. South Americans use it as a sweetener and also for medicinal purposes. This herb is anywhere from 30 to 100 times sweeter than sugar. Stevia does not affect the blood sugar levels of most diabetics. Stevia also does not feed fungus in the intestines like sugars do.

Stevia has a strong, sweet flavor that can overwhelm a recipe, so it should be used sparingly. Because you only use such a small amount at a time, recipes must be adjusted for the lack of bulk. Stevia can often be purchased with helpful inulin added to it for bulk. Also, cakes and cookies sweetened with stevia do not brown as much as their sugar-sweetened counterparts.

Stevia cannot be sold as a sweetener in the USA. Stevia is, however, available as a dietary supplement.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and nothing that I say should be taken as medical advice, nor has it been evaluated by the FDA.

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