How much does sugar affect you?

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I wanted to find this out so I gave up sugar for a while. It just happened to be just in time for lent, even though I didn't plan it that way. I feel like it's affected me in a good way. This is random, but I have the urge to talk to people more on facebook. Also, I'm talking to people I don't usually talk to which is different for me. It may because I'm thinking that no sugar= better behavior, since that's what I've heard about autism. So with that in mind, It might be all in my head, or it might be that I'm actually doing better without sugar. I don't know. Has anyone else tried this? How do you all think sugar affects you?

Someone else told me about this recently. (I think it was in the context of my ADHD.) I would like to find out more, because giving up sugar is extremely difficult for me and I need to have good and convincing motivation. Could you explain how you feel your behaviour has improved?

Without sugar my body just shuts down. I find when I feel run down a bit of sugar is just the kick I need.
When I started dieting I made the mistake of going off sugar. I could have fainted. Bad idea. The body requires a little sugar to function, about 25g. And the natural kind, not the refined stuff found it practically every piece of junk food and soft drink.

usually i cut down in sugar like i have NO sugar in my coffee or tea at breakfast, only time i have sugar on food is on 4-6 weetbix usually put honey on top of it which is good.

Well, I'm a type one diabetic, so eating too much sugar wouldn't be too good for me

I need at least 2 cups of coffee with 2 lump of sugar every day or I become even less productive.

I crave refined sugar ever since I stopped drinking. I even go through some of the same behaviors I had with drinking. When I was drinking the idea of a candy bar was repulsive to me . People have told me that my body is craving the sugar I no longer get from alcohol but it's been 10 years, you think that would have leveled off. Anyway if anyone has any tips on how to overcome it I'd be glad to hear it. It may be like alcohol, I can't control it if I start so I just can't have any .

I don't eat any sugar other than what's in the blueberries or oranges / pink grapefruit I eat. Sometimes, I also have a little dark chocolate. Giving me any more sugar that that is a really bad idea. Really throws me off.

~Equiis

I find that cutting down on sugar makes my body shut down. I need some sugar, during the day.

it keeps me awake <3 go pepsi and cola

Sugar is calories. I.e., fuel. I don't get a high from it and I don't get why other people think sugar is such a big deal. When I'm very hungry, though, I consciously seek out high-sugar foods because I know my body can convert that to fuel faster than protein or fat--bananas, if I can get them, since they are quite filling.

Sugar in all of its guises (carbohydrates/beer/cookies/ice cream etc) makes me quite hyper AND is often what I turn to when I am feeling stressed.

I KNOW that I am better off with less sugar.

You're probably better off with less easily-accessible sugar than cutting it out entirely. Sugar itself is useful, and a good source of energy.

The "slow-release" sort you find in most carbohydrates (breads), and the smaller amounts you find in fruit (for example--120 calories worth in a banana, versus the 300 in a candy bar), are generally the best sorts. I call the carbohydrates in bread "slow-release" sugar simply because they aren't sugar until your body actually takes apart the bigger carbohydrates, so you don't get the quick spike that messes with your blood sugar so much.

People who tend towards hypoglycemia are the ones who need to watch sugar intake the most (well, except for diabetics, naturally), because if you've got a tendency towards dysregulation of your blood sugar, you just don't want to give your body any surprises. Gradual influx of sugar into the bloodstream messes with your system the least. Of course, you get about the same amount and type of sugar from eating an apple that you do from eating a quarter of a candy bar; but chances are, you wouldn't just eat a quarter of a candy bar, right? You'd eat the whole thing. You're unlikely to eat four apples one after the other. That's why the refined sugar is a problem--it's not because it's "artificial" or anything like that; it's just that it's too much, too fast, and it can set some people's systems out of balance.