No-Sugar No Carb Diet : How to Do It Successfully

The drawbacks of consuming too much sugar can have a negative impact on your physical and mental health.

For some people, quitting sugar can be very difficult and exhausting, but it’s not impossible.

In this article, we’ll look at the detrimental effects of sugar and explore the steps that you can take to start an effective no sugar diet plan.

What is a No Sugar Diet?

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Sugar is the most pervasive food additive that has ever existed.

It’s in everything, from your morning oatmeal to your after-dinner treat. And, while it’s added to foods to make them taste better, sugar can harm your health, affect your mood and potentially cause unwanted weight gain.

A no-sugar diet, also known as a sugar free diet, gets at the root of the problem. With a zero-sugar diet, all sources of added sugar are removed from your daily food intake.

This includes the obvious ones, such as the masses of sugar that make ice cream so delicious, but also takes on the hidden sugars that are prevalent in many processed foods.

For some people, a sugar-free or low-sugar diet includes cutting out foods that contain natural sugars, such as fruits and grains.

But this is more related to a complete sugar detox and isn’t necessarily a fit for every person interested in cutting back on sugar.

The degree to which a person cuts out sugars is similar to the various options available to a person who decides to become a vegetarian.

Depending on their preferences, they may go vegan, lacto, ovo or something else entirely. Choosing one lifestyle over the other doesn’t make a person any less of a vegetarian.

Rather, they simply exist at different points along a spectrum, and this same concept applies to a no-sugar diet.

Whether you decide to eliminate added processed sugar sources or go a step further and remove natural sugars as well is a personal decision.

Like any decision, however, it should be based on accurate knowledge. To help you make an informed decision about which type of sugar free diet is best for you, let’s delve into some sugar basics.

For our ancestors, sugar came in one form — it occurred naturally in foods such as fruit, vegetables and honey.

These foods were both nutrient-dense and limited in their availability by season and geography, so people back then didn’t consume very much sugar throughout the course of their day.

Now, the situation is radically different and people are gorging themselves on sugar with dire consequences. Today, a whole new type of sugar exists, known as refined sugar.

Natural Versus Refined

So, what’s the difference between natural and refined sugar?

At the simplest level, sugar is sugar. Sugar molecules are basically the same whether they come from a banana or a cupcake.

Refined sugar has been extracted from plants – mainly sugar cane and sugar beets – and processed prior to being added to food products in order to improve their taste.

Natural sugars are those that occur in whole foods, including fruits, vegetables and dairy products. While the sugars in these foods are no different from those in processed foods, the other nutrients in whole foods — vitamins, minerals and fiber — are much better for you.

In addition to providing the fuel that your body needs to function well, these nutrients also slow down the digestion of glucose, which is what sugar breaks down into when it enters the body.

This helps to prevent the insulin spikes which occur when you eat a lot of sugar.

Different Types of Sugar

All sugars are forms of carbohydrates. There are two basic categories of carbs — digestible and indigestible. They are also sometimes referred to as available and unavailable.

Unavailable carbs, better known as fiber, pass directly through the body unchanged. Available carbs are made up of sugars and starches.

Both of them have basic units called monosaccharides, which are sugars made up of a single unit. The most common monosaccharides are glucose, fructose and galactose.

Glucose is the first product of photosynthesis in plants and is the main source of energy for plants and animals.

Fructose, together with some glucose and sucrose, is found in fruits. Galactose occurs only in the animal kingdom, as part of milk sugar, which is called lactose.

Starch, which occurs as a store of energy in plants, consists of a large number of glucose units joined together. Starchy carbs are in such foods as potatoes, yams and grains like rice.

The type of sugar that is extracted from plants and then refined to be used in processed foods is called sucrose.

21 Ways to Say Sugar

If you see any of these names on ingredient lists, read it as sugar and be wary:

Agave Nectar	Barley Malt Syrup	Beet Sugar
Brown Rice Syrup	Corn Sweetwater	Corn Syrup
Dextran	Fructose	Honey
Maltodextrin	Maple Syrup	Invert sugar
Palm Sugar	Rice Syrup	Molasses
Sorghum	Sucrose	Saccharose
Syrup	Treacle	Xylose

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)

High fructose corn syrup is one of the most common forms of sugar.

The average American consumes about 35 pounds of it each year.

In high fructose corn syrup, fructose and glucose are not chemically attached. The fructose is immediately delivered to your liver, and it turns on a fat production mechanism that can lead to fatty liver.

It’s also linked to the same negative health effects as all forms of sugar, such as heart disease, cancer, dementia and diabetes. There can also be chemical contaminants in high fructose corn syrup.

For example, high fructose corn syrup is commonly made using mercury cell chlor-alkali products, which can leave residual mercury in it.

With the average person consuming some 20 teaspoons a day of high fructose corn syrup, this can lead to a dangerous buildup of mercury in your system.

High fructose corn syrup is a signal that a food is low-quality and ultra-processed.

Why Is Sugar Bad for You?

Although sugar is a tasty additive that can liven up your foods and desserts, too much of it can lead to serious health problems or addiction.

If you’re wary about starting a sugar free diet, check out these dangerous effects of sugar to make a more confident decision.

There is no human nutritional need that is met by sugar. It is not a food group or really even food at all. Sugar is a chemical (sucrose) that has been extracted from plants and it contains absolutely no nutritional value.

That is why the calories that you get from sugar are referred to as “empty calories”.

The only thing that sugar has going for it is that it makes your food taste better, but that enhanced flavor comes at a massive cost. Let’s consider what refined sugar actually does to your body.

Addiction

Every single taste bud in your mouth has a special sweetness receptor, and they are also connected to the brain’s pleasure center.

In effect, they receive a reward for satisfying the body’s sugar fix. But, the craving isn’t just in your taste buds.

Recent research has discovered that sugar taste receptors are also located in the stomach, esophagus and even the pancreas. All of them are linked to your appetite.

When it comes to addiction, cocaine’s got nothing on sugar.

Here’s what Dr. Pamela Peeke, author of The Hunger Fix, has to say about it: “Animal studies have shown that refined sugar is more addictive than cocaine, heroin or morphine.

An animal will choose an Oreo over morphine. Why?

This cookie has the perfect combination of sugar and fat to hijack the brain’s reward center.”

For more than 80 years now, food manufacturers have been well aware of human sugar addiction.

They use this knowledge to increase their profit margins in countless ways. As a result, sugar is in everything. Recognizing this and going on a zero-sugar diet will revolutionize your health.

Sugar’s Effect on Insulin Levels

So, what does your body do with all that sugar you’re consuming?

Here’s one way to think about it: Imagine the cells in your body as tiny cars that all need gasoline to work. To provide that fuel, sugar has to get inside the tank of all those cells, and it does that through the use of insulin.

When you eat something with sugar in it, the sugar moves into your bloodstream. When there’s sugar in the blood, the pancreas secretes insulin.

Now both insulin and sugar are in the blood. The insulin travels through the bloodstream and binds to insulin receptors on the outside of each cell.

This then sends a signal to the inside of the cell to open up a sugar door to allow the fuel that is the sugar into the cell.

However, in order for the signal to get from the insulin receptors on the outside of the cell to the inside where the door is opened to let the sugar in, certain key minerals and other nutrients need to be present within the cell.

If they are not there, the door will remain closed. So, what happens to all the sugar? It piles up in the blood.

As a response to this, the body makes more insulin. This is called Insulin Resistance Syndrome, also known as Syndrome X and Metabolic Syndrome.

When insulin piles up in the bloodstream in huge amounts, by sheer volumetric pressure, it punches holes in the cell wall and the cell dies.

So, if you’ve ever wondered why people with diabetes get gangrene and lose their toes, fingers and limbs, now you know!

Insulin also stimulates the release of a fat-storing enzyme known as LPL which takes the excess blood sugar and turns it into stored body fat.

How to Make a No-Sugar Diet Work

Now that you know the ins-and-outs of the effects of sugar, let’s take a look at some actions that you can take to start a zero-sugar diet today.

Now that we’ve established that sugar is not only in nearly everything in the supermarket but also extremely addictive, it may seem like going on a no-sugar diet would be almost impossible.

In this section, we provide you with a path toward a sugar free diet that, while not easy, is definitely achievable.

1. Become a Label Reader

Going sugar-free requires you to be a detective of sorts.

That’s because manufacturers have other names for sugar in many foods that we wouldn’t normally associate with being sweet.

Fortunately, the law requires that they disclose what they are putting into the foods they dish up to us. So, the first step to success on a sugar free diet is to learn to read labels.

As you start your low-sugar diet, you may choose to eliminate all foods that contain sugar in any quantity.

Or, you may choose to limit yourself to foods with less than 5 grams of sugar per 100 grams.

This will wipe out 90% of all processed foods.

Many people find it easier to visualize amounts of sugar in teaspoons. In order to calculate the sugar content in teaspoons, divide the sugar content by 4.

So, 4 grams of sugar is roughly equivalent to one teaspoon. When you are reading an ingredient list, remember that the nearer an item is to the top of the list, the more of it there is in the product.

2. Identify Common Culprits

There are a number of everyday kitchen staples that we often don’t associate with having sugar that you need to know and avoid in order to succeed on a no-sugar diet.

They contain what are called hidden sugars. For a list of examples, take a look at our article on how much sugar is in the foods we eat every day.

White Bread

That loaf of bread that looks so appetizing is, in fact, a gooey, indigestible and incomplete protein, a few multivitamins and a whole lot of sugar.

White bread, in particular, is problematic for the body.

It’s empty calories — bleached flour that has all the nutrients stripped out of it.

That’s why most health-conscious people tend to go with whole-wheat bread.

Recently, sprouted grain bread, not made with flour, has also become popular.

Sprouted grain bread contains real, living grains with all the nutrients and fiber retained.

White Rice

We associate rice with healthy food, in part because it’s a staple of the Asian diet.

Yet, recent research indicates that white rice may be linked to type 2 diabetes.

Harvard researchers found that people who eat white rice are 1 ½ times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who eat minimal amounts.

One study published in the British Medical Journal found that the risk of diabetes increased 10% for every extra bowl of white rice consumed.

The problem with white rice is that it is high on the glycemic index.

If you have diabetes, it will cause your blood sugar levels to spike.

According to the head researcher of the Harvard School of Public Health’s Department of Nutrition, Emily Hu, “People should try to make a switch from eating refined carbs like white rice and white bread to eating more whole grains.”

3. Restock Your Refrigerator

What’s in your fridge is going to make or break your low-sugar diet.

The shelves in your fridge should contain the following items:

• Water
• Unsweetened iced tea
• Fruits and veggies
• Dairy (milk, cheese and plain yogurt)
• Eggs
• Peanut butter (all natural)
• Lean cuts of beef, skinless chicken, turkey and pork

4. Eat More Fat and Protein

As sugar is often found in foods containing a lot of carbohydrates, when you go on a low-sugar diet, you will likely be consuming fewer carbs.

While you’ll want to make sure to still eat healthy carbs like whole grains and vegetables, you’ll also want to make sure you consume healthy fats and proteins, which will help you feel satiated.

Unlike fructose, proteins and fats contain hormones that tell the brain to switch off the appetite when we are full.

They are both nutrient-dense foods that slow the emptying of the stomach and balance blood sugar.

A large intake of protein decreases the hormone ghrelin, which leads to a lower desire for sweets. Protein also seems to stimulate fat metabolism.

Any foods that are eaten along with protein will have a lowered glycemic index value, leading to a decreased insulin response.

This is great if you are concerned about your weight because spikes in insulin levels promote fat storage.

Eating a high-quality protein at every meal is a key to success on a no-sugar diet.

The best sources of protein are from fish, poultry, legumes and nuts.

Fat is also great for keeping blood sugar under control.

That’s because it releases a hormone called CCK (cholecystokinin), a digestive hormone that slows down the emptying of the stomach and therefore slows down the rate at which carbs get to the small intestine.

Fat also fuels the metabolism and is essential to the absorption of essential vitamins A, E, D and K. Of course, success on a no-sugar diet requires that you eat the right kinds of fats.

Monounsaturated fats found in olive oil, peanut oil, canola oil and sesame oil are good choices.

You’ll also find monounsaturated fats in avocados, sunflower seeds and many nuts.

Polyunsaturated fats are also smart options.

There are two categories of polyunsaturated fats — omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids.

Fish like salmon and mackerel are good sources of omega-3 fatty acids, as well as nuts and seeds like walnuts and flaxseeds.

You’ll find omega-6 fatty acids in safflower, soybean and sunflower oils.

5. Say No to Liquid Sugar

Drinking your sugar is even worse for you than eating it.

That’s because refined sugar in liquid form provides very little satiety.

All it does is add extra calories to your system.

As you are probably aware, sodas contain a huge amount of sugar.

However, fruit drinks, energy drinks and sports drinks are also full of sugar.

To keep things simple on your sugar free diet, you should avoid all of these drinks.

But what about diet sodas? Many people think diet sodas are an acceptable alternative to regular sodas.

However, researchers at Purdue University have found that consuming diet sodas can contribute to weight gain.

The researchers aren’t quite sure why but suspect that it may be psychological.

Researchers speculate that when a person chooses a diet soda, they may reason that since they are not having a regular soda, they can get away with eating a cheeseburger instead of a salad.

Another theory is that the artificial sweeteners in diet sodas trick the brain into thinking that you have just consumed a large dose of calories.

When those calories don’t appear as promised, the body starts to crave them, which leads to an increased appetite.

The bottom line here is that success on a zero-sugar diet requires that you ditch the liquid sugar habit and drink more water. Aim for 8-10 glasses per day and drink a full glass before every meal.

6. Breakfast Cereal Makeover

Many people are shocked to discover how much sugar is in so-called “healthy” breakfast cereals.

To pick on just one example, Kellogg’s All-Bran Regular contains 16 grams of sugar for every 100 grams of cereal.

That is more than three times the 5-gram limit we suggested earlier! This doesn’t mean that going sugar-free requires that you avoid cereal altogether.

You just have to make smarter choices. Your best option is to make your own muesli at home, as the store-bought variety often contains too much sugar.

Simply mix together oat flakes, rye flakes, buckwheat flakes, nuts, seeds and other wholesome ingredients.

You can eat the homemade muesli with milk or yogurt that contains less than 5 grams of sugar per 100-gram serving.

7. Stop It At the Source

If you were determined to quit smoking, you’d probably make a pact with yourself to stop buying cigarettes.

The same thing goes with adopting a no-sugar diet plan.

Here are four strategies to help you achieve this:

1. Never shop when you are hungry
2. Have a shopping list prepared
3. Stick to the perimeter of the store, where the produce and refrigerated foods are, only picking up the low-sugar items that are on your list.
4. When you see a sugar-laden food that looks appealing, repeat the mantra, “That doesn’t apply to me.”

8. Focus on Fiber

Fiber is a key ally in your quest to quit sugar.

Researchers believe that fiber may play an important role in controlling blood sugar levels because it forms a thick gel in the intestine that helps slow digestion and glucose absorption.

This results in lower blood sugar and insulin levels.

Some foods with a lot of fiber include oranges, grapefruits, prunes, papaya, zucchini, oatmeal, peas and strawberries.

Ideally, you should include five servings of vegetables and 2-3 servings of whole fruit every day while on a sugar free diet.

That may sound like a lot, but it simply requires having a piece of fruit with breakfast, a nice salad with lunch, and a couple of vegetables for dinner with fruit for dessert.

Of course, if you are going completely sugar-free for a period of time, including avoiding natural sugars, you will want to get your fiber from vegetables, nuts and quinoa instead of fruit.

9. Eat Early and Often

If you are one of those people who has gotten into the habit of missing breakfast, skimping on lunch and then downing a massive dinner followed by nighttime snacking, you are sending your blood sugar on a wild roller coaster ride.

The lack of food throughout the day will cause your blood sugar levels to take a dive, only to go through the roof with your evening meal. That is a fast track to obesity.

The smarter way to go is to eat smaller meals more frequently, especially while on a low-sugar diet.

If you are consuming 1800 calories over the course of your day, 6 meals of 300 calories each spaced three hours apart will help to keep your blood sugar levels in check as a result of what is called the next meal effect.

With another small meal coming up, the less your glucose levels will rise, keeping your insulin levels lower throughout the day.

10. Resist Partner Pressure

Ideally, your partner will be eating the same no-sugar diet as you, but there are no guarantees.

Here are four strategies to prevent your partner from, even inadvertently, sabotaging your sugar-free ambitions:

• If your partner comes home at night with junk food, ask him or her to keep it out of your sight. Then go over the take-out menu and circle the healthy options for the next time.
• Take your partner to the supermarket with you, so that when he or she goes alone, it’s clear where to find the low-sugar options.
• Control your serving sizes at meals by using a salad plate for yourself, even if your partner uses a dinner plate.
• Challenge your partner to a no-sugar diet duel. Who can get in 25 grams of fiber every day for a week or keep their added sugar intake at zero for five days in a row? The loser has to do the dishes for a month!