Top 10 Reasons to Avoid Sugar with Hepatitis C
Top 10 Reasons to Avoid Sugar with Hepatitis C – I hate to 
be the bearer of bad news. There is definitely a connection between Hepatitis C and refined sugar. We know that our liver has a hard time processing everything when it is inflamed or damaged with cirrhosis. Sugar is one of the hardest hitting items. Don’t shoot the messenger. Right now, she’s been down in the bed all day. I am sure there is a connection between what I ate yesterday and how I feel today. Here is what happened.
Yesterday my grandkiddos came over. We set about to make fresh squeezed lemonade and limeade. They had never done it before! I got out grandma’s old glass juicer, my plastic one, and the lime squeezer I use for making guacamole. We rolled our limes and lemons on the counter to loosen up the juice. I let them use the big knife to carefully cut the fruit in half. Then we all took turns with each juicer. The fragrance was tangy and fresh. Harry Nilsson’s Lime in the Coconut was playing on my iphone. We sang and laughed for an hour.
I put 2 cups of water into my pyrex measuring cup and let it get good and hot. Then I let the little one measure 1 cup of white refined sugar in and whisk it until dissolved. It was waay more than a cup. We mixed their juice with the simple sugar mixture in pitchers by adding cold water. (This is not an official recipe) The kids were in charge. I poured some out for me before they mixed it with sugar. But I DID add some and did not measure how much. Bad news and good news.
The Good News: It was delicious. They experimented by mixing lemon with lime and crushed the ice and acted like it was the biggest thing. “Better than Sonic” they said. It was! A lot of puckering and picture taking went on. We ended the day at McD’s for a soft serve ice cream cone, which is a special treat for this End Stage Liver Girl. I had them home right on time and pretty high on sugar.
The Bad News: Then I came home. I was like Mighty Mouse. I was zooming around and cleaning and sorting and sweeping the porch. All of a sudden I was overcome with fatigue. My blood sugar had dropped. By 8:00 P.M. I hit the bed like a ton of bricks. When morning rolled around my body felt like I had been beaten with a ton of bricks. I slept off and on all day. I kept trying to write, but my brain fog was awful.
I planned on researching sugar and glucose tolerance. I tried to read about hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia. No way. I drank huge amounts of water like I did on Hepatitis C Treatment. I thought it would help flush all the sugar out. Then my belly got swollen and I went to look at my research on ascites again. That depressed me. So I went back to bed. It is supper time now and a degree of normalcy is finally coming back.
This is possibly the shortest blog I have written. I will research sugar for you all when my brain fog lifts. But honestly? We all know that refined sugar is hard on our bodies anyway.
Just off the top of my head I can say these things about refined sugar:
1. Sugar is proven to cause low levels of inflammation, which explains why my joints hurt today.
2. It is as bad for your liver, or worse, than alcohol. I read a post on FB recently that said a can of Coca Cola was worse than a can of beer as far as your liver goes.
3. It causes high blood pressure, and portal hypertension is no fun.
4. Every bit of fructose you consume has to be converted by your liver.
5. Every bit that is not used is stored as fat. It is the number one cause of fatty liver disease and diabetes!
6. Sugar is addicting and your body will build up a resistance to it much like a drug.
7. It reduces vitamin and mineral absorption.
8. Sugar can cause hyperactivity and/or brain fog.
9. It increases water retention. Uh oh. Ascites Alert!
10 It will send you to hell. Haha. NOT.
I do not even keep white sugar in the house. I had to go buy some to make our lemonade and limeade. I ended up using it to make a mixture for the humming bird feeder. They’re zipping around here like crazy now. 
I wonder if they will end up crashing in a tiny little nest somewhere later? I do not think that Hepatitis C and refined sugar are something they have to worry about. Now you can learn from my experience the Top 10 Reasons to Avoid Sugar with Hepatitis C. Forget that last one. I am going to chalk that up to residual sugar brain.
Maybe I should start a Sugar Anonymous Club. I’m feeling kind of twitchy. I am your Best Friend who loves her Pop Tarts. I refuse to give them up. Karen:)
pics via Karen Hoyt’s kitchen and tin barn.
Blog posts by Karen Hoyt are written from a Best Friend’s view point. I always advise you to talk with your doctor about any changes you make regarding your health care.
13 thoughts on “Top 10 Reasons to Avoid Sugar with Hepatitis C”
Hi Karen,
Your sugar blog grabbed my attention partly because I have a bit over a week till I start a 28 day alcohol rehabilitation clinic and I have always noticed a major link between sugar and drinking. Basically I am almost repulsed by sugar when I am drinking, and on the rare moments over the years when i am not I immediately develop a sweet tooth.
The more important thing i noticed was the comparison between sugary/ acidic drinks and alcohol. It reminded me of visit I made to a naturopath in Queensland a few years ago. He was reassuring me of my bodies amazing recuperative abilities. He made a point about the ridiculous amount of sugar and toxic oils in the average western diet and said that in the future they would cause more liver disease than alcohol. The science behind it was that over-refined sugars and oils had created a new by-product called polyliposaccharides as in many sugars and fats. The reason this is such a problem is because these molecules have evolved faster than our bodies ability to process them meaning they move from stage 1 liver processing to stage 2 liver processing. Unfortunately the gall bladder cant help to break down the molecular chain either so it ends up on a liver destroying, gall badder clogging, free radical spawning mission of destruction.
Thanks for the reminder.
Hope you recovered ok from the grandkids cordial experiment. Lucky their presence is healing.
Take care, Guido
Thanks for giving us some great info Guido. I did some research and you are right on all counts! I want to look more into the molecular evolution. It just makes sense, doesn’t it? Yes, the kiddos are great and bring so much joy. It is a relief to be alive and able to spend time with them. I hope your week is awesome my friend. xo Karen:)
I’m glad the info was helpful. The same naturopath had some interesting dietary recommendations, Apart from the more well known suggestions such as organic food(expensive), juicing, high sulfur foods (brassicas) and more, it was his ideas on sourcing proteins that was really different. His point was that although the liver is an incredible cell regenerator, when it is severely damaged the new cells actually need the external skeleton of the liver to give them a form to organize into. This skeleton requires proteins that are more similar to cartilage and other slow growing connective tissues in the body. Eating animal proteins that are built from similar amino chains makes them more available to a compromised digestive system – not always more appealing to the appetite. He recommended broths with, well lots of connective tissue. He also said that many of these proteins liquify and give the broth its gelatinous consistency but if I could manage, then eating the slow boiled gristle, marrow and sinewy parts of the meat could only add to the healing properties.
My apologies to vegetarians and vegans if you read this but each to their own. Especially in uncertain times. No offence intended.
Food for thought anyway. Pun intended.
Cheers, Guido
Again, new information is always welcome. If it hits me too hard, my body lets me know quickly. I actually do a lot of cooking with broths from my own crockpot. I freeze it and cook rice or quinoa with it quite a bit. It has a lot of gelatin.
As far as vegan, my doctor actually encourages a wide variety of protein sources including lean red meat. I have a source for Piedmontese beef, which has low fat. I think the benefits of beef are there without the high caloric fatty content. I’m a researching… Thank you!
I developed diabetes while on my first treatment for hep. c. 10 years ago. The doctor told me my blood sugar was 500… Can’t say the treatment “interferon , ribavaren” tipped the scales on my overworked liver but seems likely. Watching what you eat I’m sure will help.
I always looked at the hyperglycemic and hypoglycemic websites before being diagnosed with Hep C. I knew there had to be a connection because of the fluctuations in my energy and mental alertness. We’ll watch it together.. K
I was so glad to hear from you. Congratulations on making it through the first 12 weeks! And what about the no side effects? Way to go Don! xo Karen:)
My dad is from northern Italy, so I learned to cook by helping make beef and chicken stocks since I was small – and I got into trouble if I was to fussy with the weird looking bits.
Its still one of my favourite meals to make a tasty beef broth, drain it and put some fine pasta in the clear soup then follow that up with the warm meat with vinegar and a radicchio(chicory Salad).
The same naturopath (I swear he’s real) told me I was fine to eat Italian made whole durum pasta, within reason, if I promised not to eat the over bred Australian version of the same wheat. You only have to look at the protein % on the packet to see why.
Anyway all that wisdom wont go far if I dont do the do at the alcohol recovery program which I am eagerly waiting for – 6 more days.
Love and soup, Guido
Woohoo for you! 6 more days!
You know what? I have just been looking at the benefits of the clear broth from Piedmontese beeg. It turns to gelatin when it cools and I’m scooping up info about the protein benefits. Thinking fibrosis reversal – good protein – and low fat meat. I’m with you man, the soup can really be a starting point for healthy liver loving meals! xo K
Yeah Lovely Karen,
Chicken soup for the soul and when the kids have colds – or just because its awesome. Hearty beef for frazzled livers. I’m Australian of Italian/Irish bloodstock so never forget the Irish stew – we do have a lot of sheep here, and the rumors aren’t true. I am pretty much counting on scar reversal to get me over the line. Enough really well educated (mind, body &soul educated) plus the piece of paper! have me pretty confident that if I do the hard yards, mentally and physically, I will be rewarded with a second chance.
Peace love and positivity to all
Guido
You crazy guy. I have a friend on a fibrosis reversal med? Can’t wait to hear how it goes. We’ve got this…
All my thanks to you for checkin in on me. Karen:)
so, I am reducing sugar and sodium. Did I already ask you if its fine to use Stevia? Is it sugar? does it metabolize in the same way as refined sugars? I also use monk fruit liquid.
Stevia is the artificial sweetener of choice for everyone! Did you know that Stevia is so much sweeter than sugar you can use a teeny tiny bit? I use it when baking with doc approval. You have to change up your recipe a bit.
It is not actually metabolized like a sugar is. Of course with advanced liver disease, the less you use any refined sugar, the better. But there have been controversy for those with liver disease. I hope some real studies on how it affects the liver come out soon. Lots of speculation.
My personal op? I use it sparingly since I am decompensated. I also use agave, honey, and coconut sugar. The key is moderation, don’t you agree Frannie?
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