The Minnesota Farm Woman

If I were to tell you that I ate a dinner of fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, creamed corn, and apple pie with ice cream, you would most likely applaud my delicious choices, except for the creamed corn part, of course. Yet if I were to tell you that I gave up sugar, all grains, and most fruits, your eyes would bulge out of your head and you would incredulously say “WHAT?? You don’t eat SUGAR?” No, I don’t eat sugar. “You don’t eat FRUIT?? You don’t drink MILK?? That’s not healthy!” I do eat fruit in small amounts, and it is usually berries. I don’t eat potatoes, either, **GASP** and I survived. Potatoes used to be my favorite food. In fact, I’m very healthy, but thank you for worrying about me. I gave up sugar and most carbohydrates (foods that convert to sugar in our bodies) one year ago, to fight an autoimmune disease called Rheumatoid Arthritis. I won’t go into the gory details, but let me just say that RA is NOT your grandmother’s arthritis. At first, I thought I would try this way of eating for three months to see if it helped, and here I am a year later, not feeling perfect, but feeling better. Was it easy? Oh, heck no. It was every bit as hard as when I gave up smoking 13 years ago. Maybe even harder, as nicotine is not found in almost everything we eat, but sugar is. Sugar is very addicting and tastes good, which is why the food manufacturers add it to their products. They’re tricky with those additives, too. They don’t usually call it sugar. They call it dextrose, maltose, glucose, fructose, or any of those big -ose words. They may call it dehydrated cane juice, maltodextrin, corn syrup, turbinado, or sorghum. Even something that sounds healthy, such as fruit juice concentrate or organic honey is just another sugar. I always read food labels, mainly for the fat, sodium, and calorie content, but used to pay little attention to anything else. I was surprised, to say the least, at what I saw. I now mainly shop the perimeters of the grocery store, getting fresh meats, cheese, and lower carb veggies. I try to get local foods, but that can be difficult in northern Minnesota in the winter. I eat out of my garden and enjoy the eggs from my chickens. I learned that fats are not the evil things we once thought they were, and I now have a splash of cream in my coffee and eat bacon and eggs for breakfast a couple of times a week without guilt. The FDA hasn’t quite caught up with this, but I’ve learned not to pay attention to the FDA any more. They’re the ones who told me to eat less fat and more carbs. I’ve been able to cut back on medications and have lost weight. I’m not hungry and best of all, I lost my cravings for sweets. If you happen to see me in the grocery store, (and I know you are looking in my cart and see those chips), please be aware that HE and I make different food choices without judgement toward each other. Don’t ask me what shake or diet pill I’m selling, because I’m not selling or taking either one. I’m not telling this story because I am the Pied Piper of Farm Women and expect to have you follow everything I do. Follow your health practitioner’s suggestions. Make the food choices that are right for you. Eat all the sugar you want, but before you speak out loud about what someone else is eating, be aware that everyone has their own battles to fight and their own choices to make. Keep your eyes on your own plate. I won’t judge you for eating creamed corn if you don’t judge me for my divorce from sugar and my new true love: Bacon.