Twins' Mom, I hope the WW foray is all positive for you!
Congratulations, Kathryn! I don't know advice on the long periods. I kinda went the other way when I was changing. But I'm glad you no longer have the discomfort and know that's not a problem.
Today was trivia in PWYC and I also had one for here:
Trivia learned at my house this past weekend was the difference between sugar and high fructose corn syrup.
Beet sugar and cane sugar, though from very different plants, are composed of the same molecule. 80 percent is transformed into blood glucose (energy now) within 25 minutes of eating/drinking. About 20 percent goes to the liver, which stores it as glycogen (short-term energy for later). It suppresses ghrelin, the hunger hormone, like other foods.
High fructose corn syrup, invented in 1966, is a different molecule, not found in US diets until after 1975. It does not suppress ghrelin. I00 percent goes to the liver to be processed into triglicerides and adipose tissue, within 60 minutes of eating/drinking.
This came about because of discussions with dsonil, who has to learn a lot about sweeteners because his family has a high rate of type-2 diabetes. Also because the waste product of the liver's processing of high fructose corn syrup is uric acid, which causes gout, so obviously HRH was interested, too. That could be why he will have a gout attack even when he can't find a food in his diet to blame. I was also interested, because often I'll have a bad bloodwork number ("interior" problem, lol) of triglicerides when other things are okay. And my "exterior" problem is definitely adipose tissue!!!
Of course, when I was young and decided I LOVED colas, I was drinking cane sugar. But they've been mostly high fructose corn syrup since I was in my early 20s. It's the largest source of calories in the average US diet now. I avoid soda most days now, but for instance at the Highland Games, it was one of few choices and the most convenient there by far.