“I understand that this is highly likely to be significantly more difficult than when I started intermittent fasting. I am going to cause a famine in my gut microbiome, and it will result in the genocide of billions of bacteria.”
Said as I emptied my pantry of oatmeal cream pies
Introduction
Immersed in a Joe Rogan podcast on the modern diet, I wondered: What if I stopped eating sugar? What would happen? So, I watched some videos, read a few articles, got real inspired by my research, and made a game plan. I had to make this challenge measurable, so I decided on thirty days and laid some ground rules. The night before I commenced the challenge, I raided my kitchen and locked the sugary foods into a box. Most of these foods were dry goods—junk food—that was highly processed, refined, and high in carbohydrates and empty calories. (An empty-calorie food has little nutritional value). Any frozen or refrigerated foods that would not expire within the thirty days, I simply kept and avoided: This included the frozen pizzas and sauces. After the expulsion, I needed to visit the grocery store.
I was genuinely eager to challenge myself, to fundamentally alter the content of my diet.
Below, I will discuss my objective, rules, context, withdrawal symptoms, and benefits of the challenge, and I conclude with some discussions on mindfulness, diets, shopping, and sugar.
Objective
For thirty days, I forwent consuming foods that had added sugars. Added sugar included any form of sugar—artificial or natural—that had been added to the food or beverage during its production. Naturally occurring sugars within oranges, milk, and raspberries, for example, didn’t count. Later, I will discuss the importance and difference between sugars in nutritionally rich foods (e.g., milk) and empty calorie foods (e.g., potato chips).
Rules
Below are the restrictions I created for my diet so that I could complete the challenge. I could not consume foods or beverages with the following:
- Added sugars (including any minimally added sugars within salsas, breads, sauces)
- Sugar alternatives/substitutes (e.g., Splenda, Stevia, aspartame)
- Natural sugars or sweeteners (e.g., honeys, nectars)
- Fruit juice
I could, however, consume whole fruits and vegetables.
You may be wondering why I prohibited myself from sugar alternatives. First, what fun would this challenge be if I added fake sugar to all my foods? Second, numerous sugar alternatives affect your body in a manner that is either similar to or worse than plain old, granulated sugar. I will discuss more of this below. Also, why no fruit juice, honey, or nectars? As for fruit juices, they are highly concentrated with fructose (a type of sugar), and consuming high amounts of fructose in a short period can result in a rapid spike in blood sugar (which is bad); nectars and honeys are similar in this regard, except that they are already in a state of concentrated fructose. Solid fruits and vegetables, however, have fiber that slow the absorption of sugar into the body.
Context
Physical traits, dietary habits, and general lifestyle may influence the side effects and benefits someone may experience from this challenge. But below is a context of my health and lifestyle.
I am male, five feet eight inches tall, and approximately 135 pounds. I am mildly active (i.e., I run, do weird stretches, dance like a fool, and do quite a bit of moving, walking, and bending during the day). Before beginning this challenge, I ate a range of foods – a lot of processed carbs and sugars, lots of chicken, fruits, some red meat, and not very many vegetables. When I say I ate a lot of processed carbs and sugar, I could and have on many occasions, in a single night, eaten an entire box of Famous Amos cookies and then some; I would eat chips as a snack throughout my day; I would indulge in sugars without too much thought.
Several months before this challenge, I began to gradually eliminate my consumption of cereals and began to consciously monitor my sugar intake. And I have not drunk soda for approximately four years, and I have rarely drunk sugary drinks since the beginning of high school. I also intermittent fast, and I have done so since May of 2020. I intermittent fast every few days or so, or when I feel the need to relieve stress upon my digestive system; it has an array of amazing benefits—the most trans applicable being self-discipline and delayed gratification. These factors are important to note because I felt this already more disciplined dietary structure might ease the difficulty of this challenge, compared to someone who is oblivious to their sugar intake and dietary structure. And I think this to be true: I previously had trained myself to abstain from sugar cravings during my periods of fasting (usually 8 to 10 hours, but when I first started, I used to fast for 12 to 16 hours). Additionally, having already causally monitored my sugar intake, I had a basic sense of differentiating between foods that were bad from foods that were really bad for you.
Mistakes
I made a handful of mistakes during the challenge: On day one, I ate meatballs, and not until afterward did I realize they had breadcrumbs containing small amounts of sugar—meta sugar! And I accidentally had a dip into some ketchup, a sip of Emergen-C, and a bag of vegetables containing 1 gram total of sugar (not per serving). I also, without thinking, had a mint. These were small mistakes that I caught either in the moment or briefly after eating.
Withdrawal Symptoms
I was the most excited about this aspect of the challenge. I supposed the withdrawal symptoms would be indicative of the severity of my sugar addiction.
But why do we often refer to our sugar consumption as addictive? Dopamine. This chemical is commonly associated with pleasure. But it’s a bit sneakier than that: Dopamine is released by the brain before the pleasurable experience occurs, that is, your brain sees the cookies and motivates itself for the reward of the pleasurable taste. The excess of pleasurable behaviors, such as drug use, sugar intake, or sexual experiences, overwhelms the brain—too much dopamine release; thus, our brains over time lessen the release of dopamine to compensate. This is similar to drug users: The first high is never quite as pleasurable as the first; the same might be said for one’s first sexual experience. Thus, we need more sugar to get that same “sugar high.” This dopamine effect is exacerbated by the high amounts of sugar Americans consume.
So, what were my withdrawal symptoms?
Common withdrawal symptoms cited by those who completed a similar challenge include cognitive issues, sleep disruption, intense cravings, irritability, anxiety, depression, nausea, dizziness, and fatigue. I experienced only one of these.
In the first four days, I experienced heightened irritability and light cravings. By light cravings, I mean I felt the automation within me, the muscle memory, the habit to go and grab some chips or cookies. I never felt urges or intense cravings for sugar during the entire challenge. The irritability resulted from an emptiness, a feeling of dissatisfaction, and boredom due to the refrain of my regular sugary indulgences. The sugary foods engaged my gustational faculties and filled the gaps of boredom. I felt the irritability subside when I engaged myself in an activity, such as reading.
On day three, a headache occurred, but it was not a usual headache I might experience from lack of water, food, weather, or a cold: I felt a tightening of my cranial muscles; it was a superficial headache compared to the usual deeper, dull throb. Another similar, slightly more intense, headache occurred on day nine; from my daily journal, I note, “a strange headache—the back left and right sides of my head were, I don’t know, having muscle spasms or something. I have never had a headache of this sort, at least from what I can recall, but it did remind me of the headache I had on day three of this challenge.”
The sight of sugary food was gravitationally weak upon me. The scent, however, was more appealing. On several occasions, I opened my partner’s bag of Oreos and smelled them for about thirty seconds, just like any weirdo would. On day twenty-three, a coworker brought in a dozen doughnuts to the office; I lingered by those longer than appropriate and lifted the lid of the box and imbibed in the diffusion of the doughnuty scents.
On day fourteen, I had a dream in which I ate ice cream and didn’t realize what I had done until afterward, and, despite my realization, I shrugged and then proceeded to eat the brownies presented to me.
Overall, the most intense withdrawal symptom was the headaches, and they were short-lived and passingly annoying. The initial irritability faded by day five or so. The most continual withdrawal symptom, which lessened incrementally yet lasted through the entire challenge, was the more subtle dopamine withdrawal: I nearly always felt like I was missing something, but not in an existential manner. Something felt weird, like a new pair of shoes or brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand. I suppose it is a gap in my system because, if I really consider it, I have been consuming large amounts of added sugars for my entire life, so accustoming myself to this change will likely require much longer than thirty days.
I expected more withdrawal symptoms.
Benefits
Commonly cited benefits of eliminating added sugars in one’s diet include weight loss, cognitional improvement, sustained energy, improved sleep, skin complexion, oral health, and digestion. I will address each of these.
Weight Loss
The only benefit I intentionally avoided was weight loss; I do not need to lose any weight. If you need to lose weight, intermittent fasting, in my experience, is more effective than eliminating sugars and carbs. In fact, I found that my weight stabilized and fluctuated less during this challenge.
Cognition Improvement
Focusing became easier and lasted much longer. For example, I found myself engaging in long-from podcast discussions and fewer of those short social media snippets; I could read for longer periods of time without losing focus; and, I could complete a task in one period instead of several. I had more clarity of thought, experienced more moments of motivation, and my attention, motivation, and perseverance in completing projects improved significantly. Also, some people cited improvement in vision; I have yet to experience this.
Additionally, I gained more control of my impulses. It is as though my mind could more carefully and logically examine my possible actions and their consequences. If I became irritable and irrational, I found it was because I was hungry.
Sustained Energy
Without a doubt, I no longer experienced my midday crash. I also napped less. If I did nap, it was because I hadn’t slept enough. Even coming home from work, I had the energy to continue engaging in both mental and physical activities for another five hours.
Sleep
My sleep became more wholesome. I needed slightly less of it; for example, eight hours is the typical suggestion, but I found myself running well on seven to seven and a half hours.
Smell
My sense of smell heightened for sugary foods, and occasionally I noticed scents I had not in a long, long time—but these moments were brief and elusive.
Skin Complexion
I noticed only a slight improvement: I felt less oily. The eye bags are steadfast, probably because I stay up writing articles like this.
Oral Health
I did not notice an improvement in tooth color, but I know I sure did avoid some potential cavities. My mouth felt cleaner, especially my tongue as its color turned pinker. Some people also say they have experienced improved breath, but I did not notice a change.
Digestion
When you eliminate added sugars and processed carbs from your diet, your gut microbiome undergoes a shift, sometimes chaos, sometimes a complete shutdown. The first three weeks I often felt backed-up, but I am more suspicious of all that Mexican food I ate over the last month. During the second week, I took a laxative.
Because of this added sugar and processed carb elimination, I ate more meat and vegetables than ever before. Turns out that lots of protein make you thirsty, so you need to increase your water intake. And watch your sodium levels because, when I eliminated sugars, I initially gravitated toward salty, buttery foods to compensate for the sugar loss.
Overall, I no longer felt bloated after meals, even if I felt like I ate a lot of meat. I also felt fuller for longer.
Diet & Cooking
So, what did I eat if I had to avoid 90% of all grocery store foods?
Meat and vegetables: For meat, I primarily ate chicken and beef, and for vegetables, I ate peas, broccoli, corn, beans and many vegetable mixes. I even tried artichokes and learned I love sugar snaps. My fruit consumption did not increase substantially, but it did increase: Frozen and fresh fruits (of all sorts) became my snacks in place of chips and such. I also increased my intake of cheeses, milks, and eggs. I even learned that I love pistachios. Bread was avoided, except for ciabatta bread. Pasta was generally avoided, but I had egg noodles on several occasions. Also, tortilla chips are one of the very few chips free of added sugars, and it was likely the only highly processed carbohydrate food I ate during the challenge.
At first, food became boring. I didn’t know much about the art of cooking before this challenge, so I learned really quick that the practice of spicing your food is essential. I got creative and made many dishes on the stovetop and in the oven. So, yes, more time was obviously spent cooking, but great satisfaction and joy arise from the art of cooking. Plus, one hour of cooking can result in having meals prepared for several days.
Clementine oranges were the sweetest food I ate during this challenge. They have been genetically altered to be sweeter and fuller like most fruits, but they became too sweet for my palate. I can only imagine my first bite into a doughnut.
Mindfulness & Shopping
I became a more engaged, knowledgeable, and curious consumer of food. My initial shopping trips were slowed as I had to reorient myself toward foods that were free of added sugars. But here is the fun and challenging element to doing or learning something new: You are often slower in the beginning, but, as you improve, you increase efficiency and effectiveness. My shopping trips simplified and thus became shorter because whole aisles can be skipped when you avoid sugar—the chip, snack, candy, baking, and cereal aisles. And a whole lot of foods, not even in those aisles I mentioned, have added sugars—frozen pizzas, premade dinners, chicken nuggets, milks, condiments, and canned foods. Essentially, I checked the nutritional value of everything before I placed it into my shopping cart. If it didn’t have a nutritional label, it likely was not processed. A few surefire places you can’t go wrong: fresh or frozen vegetables and fruits and the meat section—chicken, beef, fish, and pork. I had such fun with my investigative shopping trips!
A tip: frozen fruits and vegetables are *way* cheaper and last *way* longer than fresh ones. And they contain no added sodium like canned ones.
I was surprised along the way—a supermajority of your typical grocery store foods have some form of added sugars, even—and yes—even if they say, “sugar free.” The FDA doesn’t prohibit companies from labeling their product as “sugar free” if it has a sugar alternative such as aspartame, for example. Additionally, the FDA allows companies to round the sugar content to zero on the nutritional label if the product contains less than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving; but, the added sugar is still listed within the ingredients.
This brings me to my favorite part of my research and experiment—sugar itself.
Sugar & Conclusion
The average American consumes somewhere between 77 to 126g of sugars per day, depending on which study you read. The FDA recommends no more than 50 grams of added sugar per day. General medical research indicates that males should not consume more than 34-36 grams per day, while women should not consume more than 25 grams.
Excess consumption of sugar is deadly. Acne, bloating, weight gain, inflammation, dental issues, lack of energy, and increased blood sugar are only immediate side effects. High-sugar diets increase your risk of cancer, depression, heart disease, and diabetes. It’s hard on your kidneys, pancreas, liver, and heart.
But sugar is not necessarily bad for you. The problem is overconsumption. Even more important: Not all sugar is equal. The type of sugar, the amount of sugar, and the method by which you consume the sugar are key factors in determining if your consumption is safe.
In sum, there are over a hundred kinds of sugar. Fructose, aspartame, agave syrup, pure fruit juice, and high fructose corn syrup are to be avoided. Xylitol, Erythritol, and Yacon Syrup are some of the safest sweeteners with a low glycemic index, but they are rather expensive. Most of my sugar research came from here, the most comprehensive website dedicated to sugar that I could find: Facts about sweeteners and sugar substitutes (sugar-and-sweetener-guide.com). It provides a full list of sugars and an article on each. It also defines glycemic index and glycemic load.
Moderation is key: Limit your daily intake of added sugars. Avoid highly processed and refined carbs. Eliminate empty-calorie foods. And monitor your intake of high glycemic index/load foods.
This 30-day challenge has forever shifted my diet and the way I look at food. I will still indulge: For those that don’t know—I am a pro at scarfing down seven Krispy Kreme doughnuts in three minutes. Nourish your body with wholesome food. You will be a happier, healthier, and a more vibrant and functional human.
Link to daily journal notes:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/13X_ygJ8FQBRpwTogd9g_3dJhBiAFd2NMzfNIZ17W
Dillon Bolding 