At the end of March, I’m still sticking to my totally sugar-free plan. I don’t dream about sugar any more and my appetite’s well controlled.

During a recent trip to visit family, I noticed a surprising sense of calm and relaxation, despite crowded airplanes and the anticipation of a potentially tense family situation. Was this related to giving up sugar? 

Maybe. In an article entitled “4 Ways Sugar Could Be Harming Your Mental Health,” Psychology Today reports, “Research has established a correlation between sugar intake and anxiety. In a 2008 study, rats that binged on sugar and then fasted displayed anxiety, and in a 2009 study rats fed sucrose compared to high-antioxidant honey were more likely to suffer anxiety.”

Another challenge in March was the flu. It started with nausea and a sore throat, followed by fever, a cough, and general aches. My husband and I lay side by side in bed all day. We had 2 modes of activity: either sleeping, or being forced awake by painful coughing fits. It felt like a huge victory if we were fever-free long enough to to blearily watch an episode of our favourite “Midsomer Murders”. Neither of us had much appetite.

I staggered to the drugstore at one point, looking for something to get rid of the lump of phlegm in my throat (overshare – sorry!). My only sugar-free choice was the expensive “Mucinex” ($25.98 on sale). The store’s house brand was only $10.99, but it contained an artificial sweetener. Darn. Sometimes this whole sugar-free thing is a nuisance (and expensive). I was glad I was able to stick to my plan, though.

Still on the flu front, I used plain ginger tea for the nausea where I normally would have used Pepto-Bismol, and cobbled together a cold medicine approximating the normal sickly sweet decongestant syrup by combining several unsweetened medicaments that contained the same ingredients.

All in all, a challenging but successful month on the sugar-free front.