About The Sugar Free Diet

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The Sugar Free diet aims to be a diet that is not like 'typical diets'. It is not designed to encourage calorie counting or unhealthy deprivation. (I Quit Sugar, 2014) The sugar free diet involves removing all added sugar from a persons diet. There are two forms this diet can take; an "extreme" version and a more lenient version. The extreme form involves restricting all added sugar and fruit and vegetables that contain natural sugars from your diet whereas the lenient form restricts all added sugars and processed foods that contain sugar, however allow fresh fruit and vegetables in the diet. (NewsLifeMedia, 2013) There have been many interpretations of the diet in the last few years and a quick Google of the ‘sugar free diet’ will provide you with many ‘I quit sugar’ stories, books and programs to help you quit sugar. Sarah Wilson is a well-known blogger and journalist who quit sugar in 2011, initially as an experiment to discuss in her weekly newspaper column. Her 8-week program is a combination of the extreme and lenient forms of this diet. In the first 1-2 weeks of her quitting sugar 8 week program involve removing all sugar from your diet, including fruit and vegetables, processed foods containing sugar and added sugar and honey. After the first 1-2 weeks fruit and vegetables can be slowly added back into the diet. Her aim to introduce people to a healthy nutritious diet and her program provides clients with recipes to make sugar free versions of classic recipes. (I Quit Sugar, 2014)

Why Sugar Free?

The over consumption of sugar can be attributed to many diseases and health issues that are currently prevalent in our community. The average Australian consumes more than 20 teaspoons of sugar a day. The American heart Association recommends 6-9 teaspoons of added sugar a day. This is approximately a quarter of Australians current average consumption. Sugar consumption and Australians average weight have been increasing since the 1970s. (Medical Education Websites, 2015) Sugar has been connected to the suppression of the immune system, development of some cancers and the development and progression of diabetes. Sugar has also been attributed causing mood swings, behavioural problems in children and speeds up the ageing process. Excessive sugar intake results in weight gain, which increases the risk of overweight/obesity, particularly abdominal obesity. This leads to increased risk of cardiovascular disease due to the increased strain on the heart as a result of excess weight. (I Quit Sugar, 2014)

Adherence to Australian Dietary Guidelines

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The Sugar Free Diet is based on restriction of all added sugar in your diet. This is in adherence with Guideline 3 of The Australian Dietary Guidelines (2013). Guideline 3 recommends to “Limit intake of foods containing saturated fat, added sugars and alcohol”. Both the extreme and lenient forms of this diet meet this guideline. However, the extreme form of the sugar free diet, does not meet Guideline 4. Guideline 4 states “Enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods from the five food groups every day”. This includes fruits and vegetables. The extreme form of this diet recommends removing all fruits and vegetables from your diet, which affects an individual’s ability to meet this dietary guideline. (Department of Health, 2013)

Recommendations

The Sugar Free Diet can be a very effect form of managing weight, improving mood, increasing energy levels and maintaining a healthy diet. However this diet, like all diets is not effective in isolation and must be in conjunction with regular physical activity and appropriate energy intake based of energy requirements. Sarah Wilson, promotes the sugar free diet as a "lifestyle change" and encourages peoples to find sugar free alternatives to their favourite meals to ensure this is not a restrictive diet but a functional part of your lifestyle. I would recommend the more lenient version of the Sugar Free Diet as it adheres to both guideline 2 and 3 of the Australian Dietary Guidelines and is more likely to be able to be followed long term.

References

Department of Health. (2013). Australian Dietary Guidelines. Retrieved from https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/guidelines-publications/n55

Medical Education Websites. (2015). Give Up Sugar. Retrieved from http://www.giveupsugar.com/sugar

NewsLifeMedia. (2013, January). The Sugar Free Diet - News. Retrieved from http://www.taste.com.au/newsfeatures/articles/5397/the sugar free diet

Rebecca Kitchen. (2015). Nutrition Panel Cracks Down on Sugar. Retrieved from http://www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/Nutrition-Panel-Cracks-Down-on-Sugar-294667251.html

Sarah Barrett (2014). I am STILL sugar free. Retrieved from http://creatingcontentment.com/tag/i-quit-sugar/

Sarah Wilson. (2014). I Quit Sugar. Retrieved from https://iquitsugar.com