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Just wondering if I was the only one who had this problem, my joints ache when I cheat with sugar. I am not sure why. Any theories?

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6 Answers

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This happens to me too, tho i can't say i'm absolutely sure it's the sugar, it may be the medium (i never eat straight sugar, natch). I do reckon it's an inflammatory response, as others have mentioned. I wonder about the mechanism, and if it depends on the sugar type, i.e. fructose vs glucose. I currently avoid sugar, even fruit. sigh.

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I ate ice cream. The other stuff is pretty much daily fare- cream eggs and coco powder. Thus my guess that it was the sucrose. But it could have also been the corn chips... I guess I will try just corn next week and see if I hurt a LOT 24 hours later. – Vrimj Jun 13 2011 at 15:08
yeah, mighta been the corn chips! i have to be pretty vigilant with with fried stuff... y'know, the oils and all. :/ – g. Jun 13 2011 at 15:16
Well I had corn and fried food and it seemed to just be too much sugar. Weird that it effects me so strongly. – Vrimj Jun 20 2011 at 1:35
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It sounds like it's inflammation. I don't have it happen with sugar, but it does happen when I eat wheat. Even just a slice of pizza and all of my gluten symptoms (and related pain in the joints) come back.

I know that improper omega 6/3 ratios cause inflammation, as well as obesity, certain foods (allergies) or just stuff that your body doesn't like. Which can cause pain in joints, and other issues that you might not even pay attention to. All of my allergies/stuffed up throat went away by getting rid of the grains and sugar.

Chris Kresser goes into inflammation here...and the end result: http://thehealthyskeptic.org/the-autoimmune-inflammatory-model-of-diabesity

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2 
 I agree that it's probably inflammation. My RA joint pain improved so much going from VLC to ZC (and didn't improve at all on VLC from the SAD), that I had to start looking for other explanations besides just "carbs," and I'm really thinking inflammation is the bottom line. Furthermore, I think different substances are going to be inflammatory in different people, rather like allergens. There'll be some common ones, but probably few universals, and many oddballs. Sugar's probably a fairly common one. All of this is just armchair theorizing on my part, but it's what I'm running with these days. – Rose Jun 13 2011 at 3:44
Hum, I don't do wheat at all, but I did have corn as well as sugar, and the pain was about 24 hours later, second week in a row that has happened. I cheat Saturday and Sunday everything hurts! – Vrimj Jun 13 2011 at 15:06
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 I wanted to add that I like the link! The graphic was easy to follow and the paper included as a reference was one of the clearest things I have ever read on the issue of metabolic syndrome! – Vrimj Jun 13 2011 at 15:17
@vrimj - watch your omegas on cheat days - maybe you'll be able to pull 'em off. For me, too much O-6, even without sugar or gluten can be practically immobilizing. – g. Jun 13 2011 at 15:23
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My wife and I both notice joint pain related to eating bread, however, sugar (and fake sweeteners) mainly give us headaches.

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 I have the same symptoms as you after eating bread (wheat) and sugar. – Ali Jun 13 2011 at 13:44
I can't do artificial sweeteners at all - sometimes its headaches but mostly it is that they taste terrible to me. – Vrimj Jun 13 2011 at 15:06
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I have terrible arthritis in my neck which causes quite debilitating headaches. A few weeks ago I decided to give up wheat, coffee, sugar and dairy in an effort to detox and lose weight. The weight has dropped off with remarkable speed however as a consequence I am simply amazed at the reduction in neck pain and I haven't had a single headache for over 3 weeks (they used to be a daily occurrence). So with regard to the placebo effect I think I can say that my new found health is down to my dietary changes and not placebo as I hadn't even considered the pain aspect when I went on the diet. What disturbs me is that for years I have been under Drs such as Neurologists and Orthopaedic specialists and tried a number of different meds (some of which caused awful side effects!) but not once has a Dr suggested I give up sugar, wheat etc. That could have saved me years of pain.

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 Congratulations, Marcus, that's really inspiring. And someday, doctors will catch up with their (smarter) patients. – Rose Jun 15 2011 at 5:59
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I had such pain for so long - went on disability - I occasionally have about 1/2 tsp honey on top of fruit w coconut milk for dessert - about twice a wk - seems I can tolerate it - as for sugar - NEVER!!!!!! I do have an 85-90% dark choc bar once a wk - but as for the sweets - I don't want to go back!!! I don't have the urge to do so either - somehow I'll opt for a tsp of almond butter, or 1/2 avocado to snack on instead!! (and I was a choc haagendaaz fanatic!!)

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0

Sorry, but most likely it's in your head. You are predisposed to thinking that something bad will happen to you when you eat sugar and then you assume if anything does go wrong, it's due to the sugar.

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 Lots of evidence that sugar causes inflammation and thus joint pain, sorry. – UncleLongHair Jun 13 2011 at 14:42
That is a fair thing to guess. My other guess as to mechanism is that my family has a strong history of body pain with depression so it is totally possible that the eventual sugar is causing some depression which I am feeling as joint pain. – Vrimj Jun 13 2011 at 15:10
Wonder why I got downvoted. After all, Vrimj asked for theories (not certainties), and, right or wrong, I gave him mine. Interesting! – Thomas Seay Jun 13 2011 at 16:28
Sorry about that Thomas, I did what I could to correct it. I think mind-body issues are always a possibility and that mean nocebo effects are something we have to watch out for. – Vrimj Jun 13 2011 at 17:38
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 Hey, no problem. A downvote never killed anybody :) – Thomas Seay Jun 14 2011 at 14:25
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