I quit sugar, now I can walk!
After altering her diet, 25-year-old Renee has changed her life for good
Amazing read
Renee Eliades loves nothing more than going shopping, but with her energy levels dropping very quickly and her being in a wheelchair, it was always difficult – until she quit sugar. Now she’s living her life as the vivacious 25-year-old she really is. “I used to be breathless after just a few steps,” says Renee, who has a rare condition called geleophysic dysplasia, which also affects her growth. “I’d struggle just getting around the house, and used a wheelchair most of the time. “But now I can walk and not get breathless, my blood levels are better than ever and my heart is much stronger. I can go to the shopping centre and walk for ages!” Renee’s condition affects many parts of her body, including her bones, joints and heart, and is characterised by short stature. She is an adult with the body of a two-year-old. “With that there are other complications. It’s led to kidney failure, heart failures and lung problems. I’ve had it all. I go to hospital every week to have blood tests, and will do for the rest of my life,” she says. Despite already living what she thought was a healthy lifestyle, Renee still suffered from severe bloating, a lack of energy and shortness of breath. “I was always getting sick, over and over again. I just thought it
wasas part ofmof my condition” condition,” she explains. “But a few years ago I had a really bad chest infection. It took me a long time to recover and I just thought I had to try something else.”
It was a friend who suggested she quit sugar, and she threw herself into learning everything she could about doing so healthily.
“I was on a mission,” says Renee, smiling. “I learned so much… who knew low-fat yoghurt was bad for you?”
Eventually Renee discovered her body had been reacting badly to fructose and, after just a few weeks of being sugar-free, she was feeling better than ever – and she was up and out of her wheelchair!
“My immune system had been struggling and I could have gotten sicker if I kept going the way I was,” explains Renee. “My doctors were amazed – they couldn’t believe the change.”
Renee was so blown away by the results, she convinced her mum Mary, 54, who had high cholesterol, to quit sugar, too. Within four weeks Mary’s cholesterol dropped, and she’d lost an incredible 17kg.
“She’s done amazingly!” says a proud Renee. “Mum has always been there for me – she’s my rock. I don’t know what I’d do without her.
“I feel so amazing,” Renee adds. “Quitting sugar has changed my life completely, both physically and mentally.”
‘My doctors were amazed – they couldn’t believe the change’