Reducing Sugar May Be Healthier Than Quitting It Completely, New Research Suggests
Quitting the sweet stuff entirely may worsen inflammation and metabolic health
Key Takeaways
- New research suggests eliminating sugar completely may disrupt gut health.
- The right amount of sugar depends on your health goals and individual needs.
- Choosing healthier sources of sweetness may be better than cutting sugar entirely.
If you’re embarking on a health or weight-loss journey, you may assume that means eliminating certain foods completely. At the top of your list is likely what everyone seems to cut first: sugar. But is reducing your sugar intake always the best option for your body? Here’s the surprising truth: Eliminating all sugar could actually backfire. New research reveals why a little sweetness might be exactly what your body needs and how to enjoy it the right way.
What is sugar, really?
“Sugar is a carbohydrate made of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen that your body breaks down for energy,” explains Anna Cabeca, DO, FACOG, triple-board certified ob-gyn, regenerative and integrative medicine physician. “When I talk about ‘sugar,’ I’m talking about simple carbohydrates that taste sweet and get absorbed quickly into your bloodstream. Think of it as fuel, but fuel that hits fast and can spike your blood sugar if you’re not careful.”
New research on how reducing sugar affects gut health
When it comes to sugar in your diet, new research suggests it may not be as bad as we think. What kind of sugar, you may ask? Sucrose.
Woman's World Answers
“Sucrose is table sugar,” says Dr. Cabeca. “[It’s] the white granulated stuff you put in your coffee. It’s made of two smaller sugar molecules joined together: glucose and fructose. When you eat it, your body splits those two apart and processes them separately, which matters for how your hormones respond.”
At the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Chicago, a new animal study from the Dasman Diabetes Institute found that when mice were fed a low-fat diet with no sucrose, they had poorer gut health, more inflammation and worse metabolic health. Researchers say eliminating sucrose, a type of sugar, changed the gut microbiome, which may have contributed to these negative effects.
So why did eliminating sugar have the opposite effect from what many of us might expect? “The mice lost the sucrose, and their gut bacteria shifted,” explains Dr. Cabeca. “Your microbiome (those trillions of bacteria in your gut) actually feed on different things depending on what you eat. Some bacteria thrive on fiber and whole foods; others thrive on sugar. When you eliminate sucrose completely, you change which bacteria survive and which don’t. That shift can actually destabilize the ecosystem temporarily, which is what the study showed: inflammation went up, metabolic health dipped.”
Why reducing your sugar intake may be better than quitting it entirely
“A complete elimination of all carbs and all sugars can sometimes backfire if you’re not replacing them with the right foods,” cautions Dr. Cabeca. “It’s not just about removing sugar; it’s about what you’re eating instead.” If you’re concerned about calories from added sugar or how excess sugar could affect your blood glucose levels, reducing your sugar intake may be a smarter move than cutting it out completely. After all, sugar can spike insulin, drive inflammation, disrupt gut bacteria and quiet your body’s fullness cues, says Dr. Cabeca. She adds those who may want to consider reducing sugar include:
- Women with PMOS (PCOS)
- People with chronic inflammation
- Anyone struggling with cravings and energy crashes
- Anyone trying to balance hormones
- Anyone with fatty liver
- Anyone with insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes
That said, “don’t assume that eliminating sucrose entirely is always the answer,” she adds. “The study suggests that some fermentable carbs (the kind that feed good bacteria) matter for gut health.”
Dr. Cabeca says those who may find a sugar elimination diet more harmful than helpful include:
- People with disordered or restrictive eating patterns, as strict elimination can be harmful to mental health
- Athletes doing high-intensity training who may need extra carbs for performance and fuel
- People who already have poor gut health, as an abrupt elimination could further compromise it
- People with certain thyroid conditions who may need a more moderate amount of carbs
How to consume sugar in a healthier way
Dr. Cabeca offers two key tips for consuming sugar in a way that better supports your health:
Choose the right type of sugar
If you can’t imagine beginning your mornings without the subtle sweetness in your coffee or ending the evening with sweet tea on a hot summer night, giving up sugar probably sounds like it’s not for you. But Dr. Cabeca says you don’t always have to eliminate sweetness entirely. Instead, it’s about choosing better sources.
“I recommend avoiding refined white sugar and high-fructose corn syrup entirely,” explains Dr. Cabeca. “If you need sweetness, reach for monk fruit or stevia because they don’t spike insulin and don’t feed the bad bacteria. A tiny bit of raw honey or pure maple syrup occasionally is okay, but I’m talking a teaspoon, not a tablespoon. Whole fruit is different. It comes with fiber, which slows absorption and feeds good bacteria. So a berry or an apple is not the same as juice or added sugar.”
Find your sweet spot
If you’re going to have sugar, it’s also important to pay attention to the amount you’re consuming.
“Ideally, added sugar should be near zero—I’m talking less than six grams a day for women if you’re trying to rebalance hormones and health,” says Dr. Cabeca. “That’s basically none from added sources. Your carbs should come from vegetables, some whole grains if you tolerate them and occasionally fruit.”
“If you’re not in a healing phase and you’re metabolically healthy, you could go up to 25 to 30 grams a day from whole foods and maybe a little natural sweetener, but that’s the upper end,” she adds.
Reducing your sugar intake smartly can also help combat a fatty liver. “Excess sugar, especially fructose from added sugars, is a primary driver of fatty liver disease,” explains Dr. Cabeca. “Fructose goes straight to your liver and gets converted to fat more readily than glucose does. So yes, reducing sugar absolutely helps reverse fatty liver.”
“But here’s the nuance: You can’t just eliminate sugar and eat junk,” she continues. “You need to replace it with whole foods that support your liver and your microbiome. If you cut sugar but your gut bacteria collapse because you’re not feeding them properly, your liver still doesn’t heal well. The gut-liver axis is real.”
The bottom line on reducing your sugar intake
Better health isn’t about depriving yourself or cutting out foods you love completely. It’s about making informed choices that work for your unique body. Whether you choose to reduce sugar, swap in healthier alternatives or simply enjoy it mindfully in moderation, what matters is making the choice that’s right for you.
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