Think you can go 30 Days without Sugar?
Most people don’t think that they can, but a sugar free diet is a great way to give your health a boost and extend your life. If you were thinking about joining an expensive weight loss program – where you are stuck buying their food – I have a better (and healthier) option for you.
Sugar is harmful: Despite what the sugar industry and medical associations are saying, sugar is harmful. It is harmful in three ways:
- Adds Weight: As discussed above, sugar adds pounds to our bodies. This causes harm to our bodies because being obese or overweight increases a number of diseases: diabetes , stroke, heart disease, certain cancers and many more diseases. Obesity cuts life expectancy by as much as five years.
- Insulin Insensitivity: Consistently high blood sugar lead to the cells throughout the body becoming insensitive to insulin. This insulin insensitivity is at the heart of diseases such as metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Having diabetes, by the way, can clip as many as 10 years off your life and, maybe as many as 18 quality years off your life.
- Toxic: Sugar is toxic to our blood vessels, much the same way that cigarette smoke is toxic to our lungs. As sugar flows through our blood stream, it destroys the very blood vessels that carry the sugar throughout our bodies. This destruction is easily seen in people who have poor blood sugar control (like diabetics) who have high rates of eye disease (retinopathy), kidney disease, heart disease, nerve disease (neuropathy), and strokes, all caused by the destruction of blood vessels. The destruction also occurs in people who don’t have diabetes, only at a slower rate.
There are many reasons why you will want to join us on our sugar free adventure:
- Sugar is addictive: For many of you who read this blog regularly, you know just how powerful sugar addiction can be. Sugar often feels like it has the power to control us instead of the other way around. Sugar addiction shares common traits with all addictions, including: hoarding, binging, using the addiction to change moods, and many other addictive-like behaviors. Seeing sugar as an addiction explains a lot of how we act around sugar and is likely the reason why so many of us yo-yo diet. If you really don’t think sugar is addictive, try staying away from it for a few days and see; most people become acutely aware of just how addicting sugar can be when they remove it from their lives.
- You Want to Feel Better: Kicking sugar and eating a sugar free diet will be hard at first. But most people who are on the diet report that they feel better, have more energy, and even sleep better. Many people also report the almost magical disappearance of stomach problems, fatigue, depression, sinus infection, skin problems and more.
- Weight loss: Sugar has more to do with weight gain than you might have been led to believe by medical and nutritional professionals. Sugar does contain empty calories, but sugar is also special in its ability to add to your waistline. Your body has certain energy needs and once those needs are met by what you are eating, any excess sugar in your blood stream is going to be stored as fat. Excess sugar is very common when you are eating sugar and foods that act like sugar on a consistent basis. Keeping sugar out of your diet keeps your blood sugar low and, consequently, keeps your body from storing fat.
- You are curious: The last reason you may want to join us on our 30 Sugar Free Days is that you are curious to find out if sugar is addictive and can change your weight. Believe me when I say that those answers will become very clear for you if you join the 30 Day challenge.
Break the Habit, Break the Cycle
Breaking the sugar habit can be hard, but I am here to provide you with the support that you need, including meal plans, recipes, a newsletter and the ability to contact me with your questions; all at no cost.
Taking the 30 Sugar Free Days challenge is a step towards your better health. So many weight loss programs are designed to help you shed pounds, but do nothing to address your health. Why not have both good health and weight loss?
If you think you can go 30 days without sugar, please join us. You can sign up to receive our newsletter by clicking here: 30 Days Sugar Free.
Doc I have tried to give up sugar but I am back on it with few hours. I am eating around 100g (2 bars of chocolate) daily. After I eat a meal I have this craving that is uncontrollable; I start looking for sugar. I have tried to subdue this craving with fruits but that worked for like 5 mins. I see my self putting on more and more weight.
Please Help
Nadeem, what you are experiencing is not all that uncommon. When you start to look at sugar addiction as a real addiction, you begin to understand why it is so hard to kick. I’d like to be able to tell you that it is easy, but it just takes your will power to get through these tough times (think of how hard it is to kick cigarettes or even heroin).
When I first quit, it took me weeks until I could go a full day without failing. Just stick with it even though you think are aren’t doing well. One day you will make it through and you will be surprised. Try joining the groups on Yahoo or Facebook and chat with other people. Try forming a group yourself of friends who are committed to kicking sugar. You can do it. It does get easier.
i have tried to go without sugar for 2 weeks and i got the worst cravings you could think of . every week i tell myself that this will be the last sweet. but it never is. i really want to cut sugar out of my life but just cant do it. luckily i am thin and dont pick up weight from the chocolates. but still i would feel much more healthy if i could quit
Frieda,
I would tell you to just keep trying. Many people stumble on their way to kicking sugar. You get better with practice and learn tools to help you cope.
Here’s a challenge tweeties: No sugar for 30 days http://tinyurl.com/55wkdw
Here’s a challenge tweeties: No sugar for 30 days http://tinyurl.com/55wkdw
[...] January is International Sugar Free Month. Read: http://olsonnd.com/think-you-can-go-30-days-without-any-sugar/ [...]
Hi Dr Scott,
What is your take on agave nectar? I’ve read that it’s a low glycemic sweetener. Since I’ll be starting the challenge tomorrow (woo hoo) I’m *hoping* I can put it in my coffee instead of sugar – which is my big weakness.
Thanks! and Happy New Year!
Michelle,
Agave is low glycemic, but the glycemic index only measures how much glucose is the the blood. Agave is high in fructose, so it is still off the diet. Try Stevia if you simply cannot do your coffee without any sweetener.
Glad to have you on the challenge!
Think You Can Go 30 Days Without Any Sugar? http://tinyurl.com/55wkdw
So, for this 30-day challenge, I assume that we are to abstain from such foods not only on the basis of the glycemic values but ALSO based upon sugar content also? Is there a limit to total sugar grams allowable per day? (I ask this only because it seems almost EVERYthing has SOME amount of ‘sugars’ in the content.)
Donna,
Hopefully you have downloaded the free E-book that shows which foods to eat and which to not eat. Generally, you are staying away from all processed foods so there is no need to count sugar grams if you are eating only “Low and Below” foods.
Think You Can Go 30 Days Without Any Sugar? http://tinyurl.com/55wkdw
In researching allowable foods, I’ve noticed that foods high in sugar content, such as M&M Peanuts, Snickers bars and baked beans are considered low glycemic value foods. How can this be when they are all LOADED with SUGAR?
Donna,
The glycemic index isn’t perfect for a number of reasons. The first is that the glycemic index is measuring blood glucose, so foods that are high in fructose (including high fructose corn syrup) will show up low on the glycemic index. The other reason why Snickers and M&M Peanuts are lower is because they contain a protein and a fat which will slow down the absorption of sugar into the blood stream.
Your system is about sugar and foods that act like sugar–have I got it right?
How is your system different from other low- or no-carb diet?
Parin of Sparkling With Crystals’s last blog post..Mummy Food, just in time for…Christmas?
Thanks for your question!
A no sugar or food that act like sugar is not, necessarily, the same as a diet like Atkins. I recommend that you eat a diet of around 80 percent fruits and vegetables and the 20 percent protein.
Dr. Scott
Does that include wine? I’m going on holidays in January!
Yes, it does include wine.
The whole idea behind the challenge is to discover how much sugar you are eating and make attempt to reduce or eliminate sugars and foods that act like sugars. You may, though, have to modify it for your needs, or start after you holidays.
Hey, hope this comment gets through I’m still new to this whole blogging thing.
good post! I came upon your blog while
Googling other people’s weight loss stories. I’ve actually just started blogging about
my weight loss calculator – I lost over 30 pounds in a month
with a diet I developed!
I would really appreciate it if you could stop by my weight loss blog and tell me what you think.
Warmest wishes,
-Joan
I’m lined up too! In fact I have been for about 12 -13 years.
[...] January marks the beginning of International Sugar Free Month and Dr. Scott Olson has given us a challenge to spend the whole month of January without any sugar in our [...]
[...] January marks the beginning of International Sugar Free Month and Dr. Scott Olson has given us a challenge to spend the whole month of January without any sugar in our [...]
I’ve signed up for the 30 sugar free days. How can I help spread the word about this?
RObin
Thanks Robin, I really appreciate the help! Any way you want to help spread the word is okay with me: the more, the merrier!
Dr. Scott
Glad we’re following each other on twitter and professionally as my wife and I have been Natural Health Practitioners for over 30 years. We’re in agreement on the role of basic diet; what’s the point of taking expensive supplements if one still follows a less than optimal dietary plan. We can’t enforce what our clients do but they do hear and learn to the level of their openness about vegetarianism, which has kept our family healthful for many years. Like yourself, when I was stricken with food-borne hepatitis earlier in life it was a purifying diet and a liver cleansing beverage that had me up on my feet in less than 3 weeks. That was enough to turn me toward becoming a Natural Health professional. Good Luck to you, I hope to enjoy more interactions in the future.
What other foods are ‘like’ sugar?
Andrea, thanks for you comments and posts! Nice to have you as a connection on Twitter! The foods that act like sugar are explained in my book, but there is also a post about them that you can read here: http://olsonnd.com/what-foods-that-act-like-sugar/
Hi Dr. Scott,
Just met your profile on Twitter and stopped by to say hello. I have just started a sugar free diet. I have found that I have a food allergy to sugar – it makes me fat among other horrid side effects! haha… anyway, I am sharing a couple of posts with you that I wrote about sugar free dieting. The first one here is a poem I wrote as I was ‘detoxing’ from sugar. The last post I am copying here is about the first 21 days of my sugar free diet… Enjoy.
I hope to revisit as I see your tweets from time to time! Thanks for following me! -AC
crazyjugs.blogspot.com/2008/11/sugar-i-love-you-i-hate-you.html
crazyjugs.blogspot.com/2008/11/21st-day-of-sugar-free-diet.html