Eliminating sugar from your diet may seem like the key to healthy eating, but research suggests it could have unintended effects on digestive health.A study presented at ENDO 2026, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting, suggests that a total lack of sucrose, or table sugar, may harm gut health and disrupt the body's natural metabolism.To explore how the total absence of dietary sugar impacts the body, researchers at the Dasman Diabetes Institute in Kuwait City conducted a 16-week study on two groups of mice.Both groups were placed on a low-fat diet, but with one critical difference.COMMON CHEMICALS FROM FOOD ADDITIVES TO PESTICIDES MAY BE WRECKING YOUR GUT HEALTH, STUDY SAYSOne group consumed a low-fat diet that included a standard amount of sucrose, while the other group ate a low-fat diet that was completely sugar-free, according to the study's press release.Throughout the trial, the scientists monitored a wide variety of physiological factors, including the animals' weight, glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, hormone levels, internal inflammation and the specific composition of their gut bacteria.A total lack of dietary sugar can cause imbalances in the gut bacteria and lead to signs of fatty liver disease, even without any weight gain, researchers said.
(iStock)The study outcome suggested that completely removing sugar caused several unexpected health problems."Completely removing sucrose from a low-fat diet may unexpectedly disrupt gut health and promote inflammation and metabolic dysfunction," Rasheed Ahmad, principal scientist and head of the Immunology & Microbiology Department at the Dasman Diabetes Institute, said in the release.AMERICANS' HIGH SUGAR CONSUMPTION PROMPTS URGENT WARNING FROM HEALTH LEADERSEven though the mice on the sugar-free diet did not gain any extra weight compared to the control group, their internal health indicators deteriorated.TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZThe animals that lacked sucrose developed an imbalan...