A surprising new study suggests that eliminating sugar completely may have the opposite effect. Rats placed on a low-fat, sucrose-free diet showed worse blood glucose control, greater inflammation, changes in intestinal bacteria and signs of fatty liver.
Give up sugar completely may not be as beneficial as many people assume.
A new study, on Saturday at ENDO 2026, the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society, in Chicago, USA, suggests that remove the sugar completely of food can have unexpected effects on intestinal and metabolic health.
In the study, a team of researchers from the Dasman Diabetes Institute in Kuwait looked at what happened when rats were fed a low-fat diet. and without sucrosea common form of sugar.
The study compared these animals with a control group who received, over 16 weeks, a low-fat diet that included sucrose.
“Completely removing sucrose from a low-fat diet can unexpectedly disrupt gut health and promote inflammation and metabolic dysfunction, showing that a balanced diet is more important than simply eliminating sugar,” he said. Rasheed Ahmadresearcher at the Dasman Diabetes Institute in Kuwait City, and lead author of the study.
To assess the effects of eliminating sucrose, researchers measured the glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivitycirculating metabolic hormones, intestinal microbiota and inflammation in the colon and liver.
Despite maintaining similar body weights, rats on the sucrose-free diet suffered various negative changes in healthcompared to the control group.
Among them were worse glucose control, insulin resistanceimbalances in gut microbes, intestinal inflammation and changes associated with fatty liver.
“The results suggest that completely removing sucrose from a low-fat diet may negatively affect gut microbiota and metabolic health,” said Ahmad. “The study highlights the importance of maintaining carbohydrates balanced in the diet to support intestinal and immune homeostasis.”
According to researchers, little was known until now about the potential consequences of highly restrictive low-fat diets that eliminate sugar entirely.
“This research may influence future dietary recommendations by highlighting the importance of maintain a healthy intestinal microbiotainstead of just focusing on sugar restriction,” said Ahmad, quoted by .
“In the long term, these results could help improve prevention and management strategies for metabolic disorders, fatty liver disease and chronic inflammatory diseases”, concludes the researcher.
