Thinking I was unable to have sugar of any kind, I've been satisfying my sweet tooth with some alternatives:

• Honey
• Agave Nectar
• Maple Syrup
• Stevia (Truvia is a newer brand that has come out. It is also of the Rubenia plant but manufactured differently)
• Fructose

Stevia is by far my least favourite.  It works, but sometimes it has a strange aftertaste.  I haven't tried Truvia as I don't think it is for sale in Canada just yet.

The only Fructose I have found is derived from Corn which is unfortunate because there are probably stray corn plant proteins.  So I only use this one for baking and hope the heat denatures some of the proteins. 

Remember when you use fructose that it is about 30-40% sweeter than regular sugar.  So decrease the amount of sugar in your recipes accordingly.

Some baking recipes I've found call for Molasses.  Most molasses on the shelf is either Blackstrap or Fancy and both tend to come from Sugar Cane.  This is probably extremely frustrating for people with food allergies or sensitivities to Sugar Cane.

I've read that some molasses comes from Sugar Beets, but I have NEVER seen it on the shelf, nor have I found it online.  I suspect that some Blackstrap and Fancy will use it, but it is not labeled.  (Since the products that produce white granulated sugar are priced differently throughout the season, I suspect that companies that sell molasses use the cheapest at that point in time).

That is why I'd like to see the FDA enforce labelling of ingredients to include where they ingredients came from (or at least make this information publicly available). 

People allergic to corn have been lobbying this for quite some time.  Corn is in SOOOO many products.  To learn more, check out this great Corn Allergy website.

Now back to mollases.  While maple syrup can also be used as an alternative to molasses, I came across a recipe for Pomegranate Molasses.  It's expensive, but it seems to be a reasonable option as it mimicks the properties of molasses more than maple syrup. 

You can find pomegranate mollases recipes online.  Generally you slowly heat 100% pomegranate juice and it will to 75% of the volume.  Your wallet may say ouch, but your tastebuds will thank you.

Be careful when you buy Pomegranate Juice.  Some, actually most, juices I find on the shelf contain mostly apple juice and/or other fruit juice.

I've been doing much better these past couple months.  I sleep well and seem to have energy each day.  There are just a couple lingering symptoms - dry eyes and slightly stuffy nose/congestion. 

I reintroduced my +1 sensitive foods a number of months back.  I had no adverse reactions to Rice or Wheat.  I was worried about Wheat because I've been on an almost gluten-free diet, but it turned out okay.

Sugar was another that I introduced, and at first I'd be tired for 2 days afterwards.  But I think this was becuase my diet was virtually sugar free.  The sudden rush of sugars probably shocked my system a bit.

So here is the kicker, folks.  Because I keep track of the foods I eat each day, I've discovered a pattern.  That pattern is that my symptoms have NOTHING to do with the TYPE of food. 

Yup, that's right.  I've come to the realization that the ELISA blood test is sketchy.  I don't think scientists have it down to a complete science.  There is probably some truth to it, but it's not a precise test.

I'll agree that food sensitivities may have contributed to my unhealthy state, but they were not the cause of my unhealthy state. 

I even just finished going on vacation for 5 weeks and I decided my diet would go on vacation too.  Everything was fine. 

When I think back on before I got sick, I was living on adrenaline, junk food, little exercise and 4 to 5 hours of sleep per night.  This was going on for months.  When I look back on it, I could see my personality becoming more volatile such that situations I encountered during the day were treated as personal attacks and I would react.  It's no wonder my body crashed - it was under constant duress.  It may also explain why soooo many foods showed up on my ELISA test.

Would I say the ELISA test and doing all this food sensitivity research was a waste of time?  Not at all!  I learned a lot about foods and began to watch what I ate.  I haven't had heartburn since I started the new diet.  And who's to say that the food sensitivies didn't contribute to lowering my immune system or ability to handle stress?

Certainly for some people, food sensitivities may cause certain specific symptoms.  But while on this journey I've met a significant number of people who say it didn't help them at all.  I think the real answer is somewhere in between.

In the end, one of the biggest lessons I've learned is one my Doctor has been telling me all along. "People need 3 things for physical health: sleep, a wholesome diet, and exercise."

So finally I thought I found some chocolate I can eat.  As I have to avoid sugar (cane sugar) in my diet, most candy is out of the question.  GuyLian makes some chocolate with "No sugar added". Instead, it uses Maltitol, a common alcohol sugar.  

Annoyingly, Maltitol comes from wheat or corn - both of which I am sensitive to.  I tell you, it's tough to avoid food derivatives of foods you are sensitive or allergic to.

I know there is chocolate for diabetics out there, but I haven't really researched it yet.  However, I did find some chocolate which uses Beet sugar which I might be able to have.

There was an issue about Food Sensitivities that was really nagging me.  First, some background - I am sensitive to Sugar Cane but not to Beets.  Beets come from the Amaranth family which is something I am non-reactive to. 

What is nagging me is the issue of food derivatives.  I am supposed to avoid foods that come from foods I am sensitive to.  But sugar is such a refined thing that there can't be any of the parent food left in it, can there?  The answer is Yes and No.  Yes, the chemical make-up between Sugar Cane sugar and Sugar Beet sugar is identical (or 99.95% identical), but according to the Doctor at Immunolabs where my ELISA test was done, stray proteins of the parent plant can get mixed in during manufacturing - THAT'S what the issue is. 

"Jared,

Your blood is reactive to the protein component in the sugar cane and not the sucrose or sugar component. If table sugar was made from pure sucrose you would be fine eating it because it does not contain any protein. The problem is that in manufacturing parts of the whole plant get mixed with the sugar and leave a protein that your body can forma reaction to."

-Immunolabs Doctor

So it's not that I can't have sugar, it's more of an issue similar to cross-contamination. Granted, the amount of proteins is probably not in a concentration high enough to affect me as I only have a low sensitivity to it, but it's better to be safe than sorry. So I contacted Rogers Sugar to ask them how to tell which bags of sugar are from Sugar Beets and which are from Sugar Cane.

Rogers has 2 factories in Canada.  The first is in British Columbia, where they produce sugar from Sugar Cane.  The second is in Alberta, where they produce sugar from Sugar Beets.  To check which sugar you are buying, look for the product code somewhere on the bag - if it starts with an A, it is Beet Sugar from Alberta.  If it starts with a B, it is Cane Sugar from British Columbia.

You may have to shop around to find them.  At Superstore, all I could find was Sugar Cane sugar.  But Safeway had both.  Granted I had to check almost all the bags before I found it.