June 3, 2025 • 24 mins
The “sugar fasting” trend is blowing up — with influencers like Mark Bell and Cole Robinson (aka the Snake Diet guy) claiming you can eat only sugar and still lose weight, feel amazing, and stay healthy.
But is this just another dangerous fad… or is there actually something we can learn from it?
Stay properly hydrated when fasting with Sodii’s Every Day Hydration Salts. Save 15% when you use code HCK15 at checkout: https://hckait.com/sodiielectrolytes
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:47 Who’s promoting the sugar diet?
03:14 What these people have in common
05:24 The risks for the average person
07:21 Sugar fasting and insulin resistance
10:56 Sugar fasting and diabetes
11:52 The nutritional void
13:42 The psychological component
14:20 What about sugar addiction?
15:09 Why this trend blew up
16:14 A more sustainable way to lose weight
18:39 How to actually fast properly
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hello guys, and welcome back to the Healthy Not Complicated
podcast. Today we are going to be talking
about a somewhat controversial new diet trend, sugar fasting or
the sugar diet. Now this is basically what it
sounds like. It's where people are only
consuming sugar, upwards of 300 grammes of specifically simple
(00:24):
sugar per day and claiming that they are losing weight and
specifically fat. They're feeling fantastic,
they're having lots of energy. But is there more to the story?
Sugar fasting. I've seen a few people who are
kind of in the keto, low carb, carnivore diet, fasting space
(00:44):
switch over or start promoting the sugar diet or sugar fasting,
which obviously it's the total opposite.
When you're low carb or keto or even fasting, you're focusing
mainly on fats and using fat forenergy fueling with fat, whether
that's your stored body fat or dietary fat.
And when you're only consuming sugar, you are not relying on
(01:07):
fat at all because all of your energy is coming from sugar.
Basically, the thinking behind sugar fasting is that you are
providing your body a lot of energy very quickly, but it also
boosts your dopamine, so you endup feeling really good.
But can all that sugar be good for you?
That's what we're going to get into in today's video.
(01:27):
Hi guys, my name is Kate and I'ma nutritionist who specialises
in insulin resistance, blood sugar control and weight loss.
I've helped hundreds of clients reverse insulin resistance, lose
weight and feel better using natural strategies, diet and
lifestyle. A lot of my clients have been
able to get off their medicationfor type 2 diabetes, pre
diabetes, that sort of thing. And so when I first heard of
(01:49):
sugar fasting, it was from Mark Bell.
If you have been in the low carbspace for a while, he has been
around for a while. He's a bodybuilder, I believe,
and was a huge advocate for low carb ketogenic diets, the
carnivore diet, for a very long time.
So when all of a sudden he popped up on my Facebook feed
(02:10):
and he was promoting eating candy and basically eating as
much sugar as possible, limitingprotein, limiting fat and saying
that he was losing weight, that he was leaner than ever and that
he felt fantastic. I was a little bit shocked.
And looking more into this, it seems that he's not the only
(02:32):
one. You guys also might be familiar
with Cole Robinson, who is the creator of the snake diet, which
is basically a protocol, A fasting protocol where you fast
for long periods of time, then do a refeed.
And yeah, intermittent fasting, water fasting, dry fasting.
That is basically the opposite of sugar fasting because when
(02:53):
you are fasting and you're not eating anything, that's when
your body starts becoming more metabolically flexible and able
to tap into your stored body fatbetter.
But with sugar fasting, you are completely cutting that off and
you're basically just giving your body a lot of sugar, which
it either has to use right away or store.
(03:14):
The idea of eating a high sugar,high carb diet isn't necessarily
new. I can remember years and years
ago. You guys are probably also
familiar with freely the Banana Girl and Durian Ryder, who
promoted and I think still promote a very high carb, high
sugar vegan diet specifically. And there's a common thread with
(03:38):
all of the people who are promoting sugar fasting and
talking about how they feel so amazing, how they have so much
energy, how they're losing weight, how they stay lean.
The common thread here is that they are all very active and
very metabolically fit people tobegin with.
These are people with very high energy demands.
(04:00):
They are working out a lot. Mark Bell, like I said, he's a
weightlifter. And if we're looking at someone
like Cole Robinson, I'm pretty sure he does a lot of
weightlifting as well and strength training.
Durian Ryder and Freely the banana girl.
Oh my God I can't believe I'm even saying her name in this
video. But they are very active as
well. A lot of long distance cycling.
(04:24):
So for someone who has high energy demands, they are able to
use this energy quickly. They need more immediate energy,
and they're going to be able to get through it and not
experience those big swigs in blood sugar like the rest of the
general population would. Because if you eat something
(04:46):
that's high in carbs, high in sugar, and then you exercise
right afterwards, your body is able to use that energy right
away to fuel your workout. And that's why things such as
simple carbohydrates are good tohave before you're doing
something that requires glucose to fuel it.
So any high intensity exercise, the primary fuel source for this
(05:07):
is going to be glucose. So if you eat sugar and then you
workout intensely right away, your body is going to be able to
use that immediately for energy and you will not experience as
big of a spike in blood sugar asyou would if you were to eat
that same meal and then sit on the couch.
So people who are promoting sugar fasting, they are a small
(05:29):
minority of people and their situation is not the same as the
general population. The general population, most of
which are insulin resistant to some degree on track for pre
diabetes or type 2 diabetes if they're not already there.
The general population is trending more towards being
overweight, metabolically unhealthy, and as soon as you
(05:53):
start to develop insulin resistance, which something like
88% of Americans do have some level of it, as soon as you
start to develop it, your body isn't able to metabolise and
handle carbohydrates as efficiently, and that includes
sugar. So what this means is that when
you eat these foods, your body isn't able to convert them to
energy the way that they should.And This is why eventually over
(06:16):
time your fasting blood sugar will start to creep up because
the insulin resistance, the excess insulin that's being
pumped out won't be able to keepU with higher sugar higher carb
amount that's in your diet. OI can see why temporarily
people who are very fit, very active, are feeling good, eating
(06:38):
high quantities of sugar just because it does spike your
dopamine and it does provide very quick energy.
But the vast majority of people nowadays do not need a quick
energy source. They need a more stable study
energy source because this is what's going to lead to fewer
cravings throughout the day, more stable energy long term
(06:58):
throughout the day, fewer cravings because they won't be
experiencing those spikes and crashes their blood sugar.
So people who are promoting sugar fasting, I think it's
dangerous because yes, this small group of people can get
away with it because they are already metabolically healthy
and they are exercising a lot. But the majority of people are
(07:19):
not in that camp. And if you take someone who is
insulin resistant, not yet pre diabetic, but their cells are
starting to resist insulin, they're starting to have a bit
of trouble with blood sugar control.
They're having cravings, syrup the day they're putting on
weight, specifically around their midsection.
People with insulin resistance will also develop skin tags
(07:40):
around their neck and in their armpits.
If you are someone who is insulin resistant in the early
stages and you have this massiveamount of sugar in a day, like I
said, upwards of 300 grammes of specifically simple sugar is
what a lot of people are promoting.
That's 300 grammes of sugar thatis going to enter your
bloodstream. To put that into perspective,
(08:01):
our body tries to maintain a blood sugar level of about four
grammes. That is the sweet spot.
So yes, maybe they're not having300 grammes all at once, but 300
grammes over the course of the day, that is a lot for the body
to deal with. And especially if the body is
already having trouble metabolising carbohydrates and
(08:23):
sugar. If carbohydrates stores in the
body are already full, which they likely are in someone who's
insulin resistant and not reallytapping into that reserve of
energy because the body can store a limited amount of
carbohydrates, glucose, glycogento be exact, in our muscles and
(08:43):
also in our liver. So someone with more muscle mass
is also able to store more energy from carbohydrates, which
also goes along with the people who are promoting this being
more fit and why they're able tohandle this better.
But someone with less muscle mass and someone who isn't that
active isn't really using these stored carbs.
(09:07):
So when you add more to that situation, that's when the cells
in the body start to resist insulin, which is bringing the
extra sugar from the bloodstreamto the cells.
And when this happens, then that's when insulin resistance
starts to occur because the cells are like not we're already
full, we have enough energy, we can't take in anymore.
And then the body sees that blood sugar is still above
(09:29):
again, that 4 grammes and it goes, something's not right, I'm
gonna release more insulin. So more insulin is pumped out.
And then what ends up happening in the early stages of insulin
resistance is your blood sugar will look normal.
So you might not be diagnosed with pre diabetes or have any
idea that anything is wrong at this point in time, but your
(09:49):
insulin will be high. And that's because it's just
taking more insulin to force theexcess glucose into your cells.
And it's the high levels of insulin that lead to a lot of
the side effects that come from insulin resistance and
eventually pre diabetes. Because insulin is a growth
hormone. And when insulin levels are
(10:09):
high, you're going to be more likely to store fat, especially
around your midsection, especially around your liver and
your organs. Insulin resistance is a huge
driver for fatty liver. This is also why it causes skin
tags to grow because again, it'sa growth hormone.
So there's people who are very active, they might be getting
through their stored carbs and they might need to replenish
(10:30):
them in order to be able to fueltheir workouts.
But vast majority of people, even if you're a casual
exerciser, even if you go to a workout class every single day,
I can almost guarantee you are not depleting your glycogen
stores and you don't need this quick energy to fuel your
workouts. There's also the risk of
(10:51):
inflammation going up when you're consuming so much sugar
because it is inflammatory. And I've just spoken about
insulin resistance so far. But if your insulin resistance
has progressed to pre diabetes or type 2 diabetes, then you
will already know that you are having more trouble keeping your
fasting blood sugar down. You will already know that your
(11:12):
blood sugar stays higher than itshould for longer than it should
after you eat. So I can only imagine what we
would see if someone who is type2 diabetic were to eat these
massive amounts of sugar, were to go on a sugar fast.
It is insane to me. And let me tell you, I looked
(11:33):
through quite a few testimonials, if you will, about
sugar fasting and about the sugar diet.
And like I said, all of them were very fit people.
And I think it's really harmful to be putting the message out
there that sugar is the answer when we have so much evidence
that suggests otherwise. The other issue is when you are
(11:55):
doing a sugar fast, you are not getting any other micronutrients
really, especially if you are relying on processed simple
sugars as some of these people are promoting.
Yes, the likes of like Durian Ryder, they're eating mainly
fruit. So there will be some
micronutrients and electrolytes in that.
But some of these newer guys, no, they're promoting pure
(12:17):
candy. And The thing is, is that the
body actually does not require any sugar, or any carbohydrates
for that matter, to survive and function optimally.
There are essential proteins, which are amino acids, and there
are essential fats, which are fatty acids, but there is no
essential carbohydrate. And that is because our bodies
(12:40):
can make sugar internally out ofother substances, so we don't
actually have to consume it. Whereas with some of these amino
acids and with some of the fattyacids, our bodies can't make
them or can't make them in big enough amounts, so we have to
get them through a diet. So that is why people feel so
(13:01):
good on low carb keto diets because they're eating mainly
fat and protein. They're getting those
micronutrients that they need, they're getting those essential
like amino acids and they're limiting sugar and carbs, which
like I said, sugar, it does haveits place specifically for
people who are very active and have very high intense energy
(13:25):
needs. And that's the pro of simple
sugars. They're broken down quickly,
they're digested quickly and they can fuel you quickly.
But most people do not need that.
They need more steady energy without those big crashes and
falls in blood sugar. And yes, there is going to be a
dopamine hit, but that's also going to come with a crash and
(13:46):
you can definitely become a little bit addicted to it.
And in which case you keep needing more and more and more.
And that is a dangerous cycle toget into.
Even with things that aren't related to food or aren't
related to sugar, you can get dopamine hits and you can get
addicted to it, but it's even worse when you're getting it
from something like sugar that has other negative consequences
(14:10):
on the body. Feeling good in the short term
doesn't equal being healthy, andif you're relying on sugar for
this emotional reward, you are going down a dangerous path.
Now there's debate over whether sugar addiction is real, but as
someone who used to eat a lot ofcarbs and a lot of sugar and
would feel pretty crap if I didn't eat these foods, I don't
(14:33):
know, it felt pretty real to me.And I hear this all the time
with people who find it's easierto just cut carbs completely
down in their diet, cut sugar completely out, rather than have
a little bit or rather than eat in moderation.
Which again, is why low carb diets, intermittent fasting,
ketogenic diets are so effectivebecause people find that they
(14:55):
can kind of break their relationship with sugar.
They don't need to be eating it all the time.
And that does also tie in with blood sugar issues and the spike
that sugar causes and the subsequent crash.
But it is emotional as well. And the reason that I think this
trend has sort of blown up is that everyone is looking, well,
in the online space at least, everyone is always looking to
(15:16):
take things one step further. They're always wanting to try
the next thing. And we see this with the
pipeline where people start out at paleo and then they go low
carb, then they go keto, then they go carnivore.
It just gets more and more extreme and I do kind of see the
appeal. It is fun to be on this space
(15:37):
online and kind of always chasing the next thing, but if
you actually want to live a healthy lifestyle, this isn't
sustainable. And that's where I in the past
have went down this pipeline. I do think that low carbon
ketogenic diets, even the carnivore diet can be very,
very, very effective. But I do also now recognise that
(15:57):
not everybody has to be that strict.
And I hate to use the word balance.
I'm not going to use it, but youcan have a more relaxed approach
and instead of focusing on specific macros or specific
calories or percentages, insteadif you focus on certain
principles, if you focus on never eating carbs in isolation,
(16:21):
focusing all your meals around protein, not fearing fat, having
an early dinner, drinking apple cider vinegar, that sort of
thing. Incorporating some sort of
intermittent fasting, even if that just means skipping snacks
throughout the day. If you can do these little
things, you are going to get bigresults.
(16:41):
And it doesn't have to be some big strict diet.
You don't need to go out and every time you're eating out
with people go, oh, I can't eat that, I'm doing keto.
You can kind of use this framework and use these habits
to live your life and to make the best choices you can as
often as you can. And that's what's going to add
up over time. So doing these strict sugar
(17:03):
fasts or even a strict carnivorediet, yes, it's going to, well,
maybe not sugar fasting, but carnivore and whatnot.
You might feel good short term, but are you going to be able to
maintain the results? Or are you treating it as a diet
and something that's going to betemporary?
(17:24):
Because if you go straight back to how you were eating
beforehand, if you've lost all your weight, if you've reversed
your insulin resistance, but then you go back to the standard
American diet, your insulin resistance is going to come back
Because it is that diet and the lifestyle choices you are
making, they got you to that point in the 1st place.
And that's actually what my lastpodcast episode was about.
(17:44):
I was talking about if you can go back to a normal diet after
you reverse insulin resistance. And I'll link that video up
above or put it in the description box if you're on
Spotify. But short answer is when your
insulin resistance reverses, youhave regained your tolerance and
your ability to metabolise carbohydrates to some degree, so
(18:08):
you will be able to eat more of them and not suffer the same
side effects you would have whenyou were insulin resistant.
However, like I said, if you go entirely back to a standard
American diet, then it's just going to come back.
And that's where if you've developed these habits and focus
on the principles rather than specific foods, there's not
(18:29):
really an end to the diet. And you going back to your
normal life. You kind of have just
incorporated the changes into your life and it should be easy
to maintain. Now with all that being said, I
do think fasting is extremely effective for reversing insulin
resistance and for overall health.
I don't think everybody needs todo OMAD one meal a day or even
(18:52):
like 18 hours of fasting a day. I think between 12 and 16 hours
of intermittent fasting per day and then eating 12 to 8 hour
window is the sweet spot for most people where they're still
able to develop that metabolic flexibility and train their body
to utilise fat as an energy source more efficiently, but
still be able to use carbohydrates and they are
(19:12):
available. I think that is the sweet spot
for most people. But extended fasting has so many
more benefits and I'm talking about fasting for 244872 plus
hours. Most of the benefits kind of tap
out at about 72 hours unless youare very very overweight, obese,
(19:34):
then you have a lot of stored energy so you will be able to
fast for longer and still feel good and get those additional
fat burning benefits. But if you can do anywhere from
24 to 72 hours, 1 fast once a month, once 1/4, even once a
year, you are going to see amazing benefits in terms of
(19:56):
longevity. Because what happens is when you
do an extended fast, something called autophagy ramps up and
it's basically where your body cleans out any damaged cells
that you have. I am a huge advocate for water
fasting and doing an extended fast and.
This is entirely different than a sugar fast.
So when you're doing this type of fast, you want to make sure
(20:19):
you are drinking enough water and adding electrolytes to your
water. Yes, dry fasting is a thing
where people do not consume any liquids.
A lot of people won't even touchwater because they don't want
their bodies to absorb it through their skins.
They won't even shower during this time.
But there honestly isn't enough evidence to support the benefits
of dry fasting. It hasn't been researched
(20:40):
heavily, whereas water fasting has and is truly supported by
the literature. But like I said, you need to be
doing it the right way. So when you're water fasting,
you only want to be consuming water Electrolytes, specifically
an electrolyte that doesn't haveany sugar and that won't break a
fast. You can also have black coffee
and tea and anything else that has no calories.
(21:03):
Any other drink that has no calories.
Now there is a bit of a grey area here.
Things like diet soda, yes, technically don't have calories,
but there's debate over whether they break a fast or not because
they're still sweet. So the sweet taste can trigger
the release of insulin. Your body thinks there's sugar
coming in so it releases insulinand the benefits of fasting.
(21:26):
Autophagy really kicks in when insulin is low.
So if you're drinking diet soda while fasting, you are
potentially increasing your insulin and taking away from the
benefits. But if I can give you 1 tip, if
you are trying to do an extendedfast or maybe you've tried to do
even 24 hours in the past and found it very difficult, it
would be to make sure you are using a quality electrolyte
(21:47):
supplement. Because when we fast, when our
insulin is low, we retain less water.
And when we retain less water, we also retain fewer
electrolytes. So it's really, really important
to replenish them. If we don't replenish them, this
is when we can suffer from headaches, fatigue, dizziness,
and these are things that a lot of people do experience when
they try to do an extended fast and it's because they're just
(22:10):
drinking plain water. And that's why I highly
recommend Soda's Everyday Hydration salts.
They have no sugar, no artificial sweetener, and no
additives, so they will not break your fast.
Plus, they are high in sodium, which a lot of electrolyte
supplements on the market aren't.
There's this fear around sodium and salt and increasing blood
pressure and worsening health. But when you were eating a whole
(22:33):
food diet, when you've cut processed food out of your diet,
you have cut out a lot of the sodium you would typically be
getting. And sodium is actually an
essential electrolyte. We just get so much of it in
through our diet when we're eating a lot of processed food.
But if we have switched to a more whole food diet and
specifically a diet that's lowerin carbs because again, lower
(22:55):
insulin, retain fewer electrolytes, and especially for
intermittent fasting, we need toreplenish sodium.
So sodium shouldn't be feared. If you've had another
electrolyte supplement in the past during an intermittent fast
and you've been like, OK, I don't really notice the
difference. Try SODI.
They're an Australian company, but they do ship worldwide and
you can save 15% off your first order when you use code HCK 15
(23:17):
at checkout. Head to healthcoachk.com/sodi
electrolytes. That's SODII electrolytes to
check them out and learn more. So in summary, yeah, sugar
fasting does seem trendy. It can be fun to try different
things out, especially if you'rereally into the health and
Wellness space, especially if you've tried a lot of these
(23:39):
diets before and you're always trying to feel better and
improve your health even more. But honestly, this isn't the way
to go for the vast majority of people who like I said, are
overweight, have some level of insulin resistance, are already
at the point where they're pre diabetic.
Sugar fasting is going to make things way way worse.
(23:59):
You are not going to feel as good as some of these people you
see online are feeling. Now I want to hear from you guys
because I know I've gotten a fewcomments over the last few weeks
asking for my opinion on sugar fasting.
But I'm sure a lot of you have never heard of this before, but
I want to hear from you. Had you heard of this trend?
Was it something that had actually piqued your interest
and that you were maybe considering no shame?
(24:23):
Let me know in the comments downbelow.
And if you have tried it, I would also love to hear from
you. So let me know.
Thank you guys so much for tuning into the podcast.
If you're watching on YouTube, make sure to give this video a
thumbs up. Share it with a friend who's
curious about sugar fasting if you know someone.
And if you're watching on Spotify, I would love if you
could rate and review the podcast there.
(24:45):
Thanks guys for watching and I will see you in the next one.
Bye.
Hello guys, and welcome back to the Healthy Not Complicated
podcast. Today we are going to be talking
about a somewhat controversial new diet trend, sugar fasting or
the sugar diet. Now this is basically what it
sounds like. It's where people are only
consuming sugar, upwards of 300 grammes of specifically simple
(00:24):
sugar per day and claiming that they are losing weight and
specifically fat. They're feeling fantastic,
they're having lots of energy. But is there more to the story?
Sugar fasting. I've seen a few people who are
kind of in the keto, low carb, carnivore diet, fasting space
(00:44):
switch over or start promoting the sugar diet or sugar fasting,
which obviously it's the total opposite.
When you're low carb or keto or even fasting, you're focusing
mainly on fats and using fat forenergy fueling with fat, whether
that's your stored body fat or dietary fat.
And when you're only consuming sugar, you are not relying on
(01:07):
fat at all because all of your energy is coming from sugar.
Basically, the thinking behind sugar fasting is that you are
providing your body a lot of energy very quickly, but it also
boosts your dopamine, so you endup feeling really good.
But can all that sugar be good for you?
That's what we're going to get into in today's video.
(01:27):
Hi guys, my name is Kate and I'ma nutritionist who specialises
in insulin resistance, blood sugar control and weight loss.
I've helped hundreds of clients reverse insulin resistance, lose
weight and feel better using natural strategies, diet and
lifestyle. A lot of my clients have been
able to get off their medicationfor type 2 diabetes, pre
diabetes, that sort of thing. And so when I first heard of
(01:49):
sugar fasting, it was from Mark Bell.
If you have been in the low carbspace for a while, he has been
around for a while. He's a bodybuilder, I believe,
and was a huge advocate for low carb ketogenic diets, the
carnivore diet, for a very long time.
So when all of a sudden he popped up on my Facebook feed
(02:10):
and he was promoting eating candy and basically eating as
much sugar as possible, limitingprotein, limiting fat and saying
that he was losing weight, that he was leaner than ever and that
he felt fantastic. I was a little bit shocked.
And looking more into this, it seems that he's not the only
(02:32):
one. You guys also might be familiar
with Cole Robinson, who is the creator of the snake diet, which
is basically a protocol, A fasting protocol where you fast
for long periods of time, then do a refeed.
And yeah, intermittent fasting, water fasting, dry fasting.
That is basically the opposite of sugar fasting because when
(02:53):
you are fasting and you're not eating anything, that's when
your body starts becoming more metabolically flexible and able
to tap into your stored body fatbetter.
But with sugar fasting, you are completely cutting that off and
you're basically just giving your body a lot of sugar, which
it either has to use right away or store.
(03:14):
The idea of eating a high sugar,high carb diet isn't necessarily
new. I can remember years and years
ago. You guys are probably also
familiar with freely the Banana Girl and Durian Ryder, who
promoted and I think still promote a very high carb, high
sugar vegan diet specifically. And there's a common thread with
(03:38):
all of the people who are promoting sugar fasting and
talking about how they feel so amazing, how they have so much
energy, how they're losing weight, how they stay lean.
The common thread here is that they are all very active and
very metabolically fit people tobegin with.
These are people with very high energy demands.
(04:00):
They are working out a lot. Mark Bell, like I said, he's a
weightlifter. And if we're looking at someone
like Cole Robinson, I'm pretty sure he does a lot of
weightlifting as well and strength training.
Durian Ryder and Freely the banana girl.
Oh my God I can't believe I'm even saying her name in this
video. But they are very active as
well. A lot of long distance cycling.
(04:24):
So for someone who has high energy demands, they are able to
use this energy quickly. They need more immediate energy,
and they're going to be able to get through it and not
experience those big swigs in blood sugar like the rest of the
general population would. Because if you eat something
(04:46):
that's high in carbs, high in sugar, and then you exercise
right afterwards, your body is able to use that energy right
away to fuel your workout. And that's why things such as
simple carbohydrates are good tohave before you're doing
something that requires glucose to fuel it.
So any high intensity exercise, the primary fuel source for this
(05:07):
is going to be glucose. So if you eat sugar and then you
workout intensely right away, your body is going to be able to
use that immediately for energy and you will not experience as
big of a spike in blood sugar asyou would if you were to eat
that same meal and then sit on the couch.
So people who are promoting sugar fasting, they are a small
(05:29):
minority of people and their situation is not the same as the
general population. The general population, most of
which are insulin resistant to some degree on track for pre
diabetes or type 2 diabetes if they're not already there.
The general population is trending more towards being
overweight, metabolically unhealthy, and as soon as you
(05:53):
start to develop insulin resistance, which something like
88% of Americans do have some level of it, as soon as you
start to develop it, your body isn't able to metabolise and
handle carbohydrates as efficiently, and that includes
sugar. So what this means is that when
you eat these foods, your body isn't able to convert them to
energy the way that they should.And This is why eventually over
(06:16):
time your fasting blood sugar will start to creep up because
the insulin resistance, the excess insulin that's being
pumped out won't be able to keepU with higher sugar higher carb
amount that's in your diet. OI can see why temporarily
people who are very fit, very active, are feeling good, eating
(06:38):
high quantities of sugar just because it does spike your
dopamine and it does provide very quick energy.
But the vast majority of people nowadays do not need a quick
energy source. They need a more stable study
energy source because this is what's going to lead to fewer
cravings throughout the day, more stable energy long term
(06:58):
throughout the day, fewer cravings because they won't be
experiencing those spikes and crashes their blood sugar.
So people who are promoting sugar fasting, I think it's
dangerous because yes, this small group of people can get
away with it because they are already metabolically healthy
and they are exercising a lot. But the majority of people are
(07:19):
not in that camp. And if you take someone who is
insulin resistant, not yet pre diabetic, but their cells are
starting to resist insulin, they're starting to have a bit
of trouble with blood sugar control.
They're having cravings, syrup the day they're putting on
weight, specifically around their midsection.
People with insulin resistance will also develop skin tags
(07:40):
around their neck and in their armpits.
If you are someone who is insulin resistant in the early
stages and you have this massiveamount of sugar in a day, like I
said, upwards of 300 grammes of specifically simple sugar is
what a lot of people are promoting.
That's 300 grammes of sugar thatis going to enter your
bloodstream. To put that into perspective,
(08:01):
our body tries to maintain a blood sugar level of about four
grammes. That is the sweet spot.
So yes, maybe they're not having300 grammes all at once, but 300
grammes over the course of the day, that is a lot for the body
to deal with. And especially if the body is
already having trouble metabolising carbohydrates and
(08:23):
sugar. If carbohydrates stores in the
body are already full, which they likely are in someone who's
insulin resistant and not reallytapping into that reserve of
energy because the body can store a limited amount of
carbohydrates, glucose, glycogento be exact, in our muscles and
(08:43):
also in our liver. So someone with more muscle mass
is also able to store more energy from carbohydrates, which
also goes along with the people who are promoting this being
more fit and why they're able tohandle this better.
But someone with less muscle mass and someone who isn't that
active isn't really using these stored carbs.
(09:07):
So when you add more to that situation, that's when the cells
in the body start to resist insulin, which is bringing the
extra sugar from the bloodstreamto the cells.
And when this happens, then that's when insulin resistance
starts to occur because the cells are like not we're already
full, we have enough energy, we can't take in anymore.
And then the body sees that blood sugar is still above
(09:29):
again, that 4 grammes and it goes, something's not right, I'm
gonna release more insulin. So more insulin is pumped out.
And then what ends up happening in the early stages of insulin
resistance is your blood sugar will look normal.
So you might not be diagnosed with pre diabetes or have any
idea that anything is wrong at this point in time, but your
(09:49):
insulin will be high. And that's because it's just
taking more insulin to force theexcess glucose into your cells.
And it's the high levels of insulin that lead to a lot of
the side effects that come from insulin resistance and
eventually pre diabetes. Because insulin is a growth
hormone. And when insulin levels are
(10:09):
high, you're going to be more likely to store fat, especially
around your midsection, especially around your liver and
your organs. Insulin resistance is a huge
driver for fatty liver. This is also why it causes skin
tags to grow because again, it'sa growth hormone.
So there's people who are very active, they might be getting
through their stored carbs and they might need to replenish
(10:30):
them in order to be able to fueltheir workouts.
But vast majority of people, even if you're a casual
exerciser, even if you go to a workout class every single day,
I can almost guarantee you are not depleting your glycogen
stores and you don't need this quick energy to fuel your
workouts. There's also the risk of
(10:51):
inflammation going up when you're consuming so much sugar
because it is inflammatory. And I've just spoken about
insulin resistance so far. But if your insulin resistance
has progressed to pre diabetes or type 2 diabetes, then you
will already know that you are having more trouble keeping your
fasting blood sugar down. You will already know that your
(11:12):
blood sugar stays higher than itshould for longer than it should
after you eat. So I can only imagine what we
would see if someone who is type2 diabetic were to eat these
massive amounts of sugar, were to go on a sugar fast.
It is insane to me. And let me tell you, I looked
(11:33):
through quite a few testimonials, if you will, about
sugar fasting and about the sugar diet.
And like I said, all of them were very fit people.
And I think it's really harmful to be putting the message out
there that sugar is the answer when we have so much evidence
that suggests otherwise. The other issue is when you are
(11:55):
doing a sugar fast, you are not getting any other micronutrients
really, especially if you are relying on processed simple
sugars as some of these people are promoting.
Yes, the likes of like Durian Ryder, they're eating mainly
fruit. So there will be some
micronutrients and electrolytes in that.
But some of these newer guys, no, they're promoting pure
(12:17):
candy. And The thing is, is that the
body actually does not require any sugar, or any carbohydrates
for that matter, to survive and function optimally.
There are essential proteins, which are amino acids, and there
are essential fats, which are fatty acids, but there is no
essential carbohydrate. And that is because our bodies
(12:40):
can make sugar internally out ofother substances, so we don't
actually have to consume it. Whereas with some of these amino
acids and with some of the fattyacids, our bodies can't make
them or can't make them in big enough amounts, so we have to
get them through a diet. So that is why people feel so
(13:01):
good on low carb keto diets because they're eating mainly
fat and protein. They're getting those
micronutrients that they need, they're getting those essential
like amino acids and they're limiting sugar and carbs, which
like I said, sugar, it does haveits place specifically for
people who are very active and have very high intense energy
(13:25):
needs. And that's the pro of simple
sugars. They're broken down quickly,
they're digested quickly and they can fuel you quickly.
But most people do not need that.
They need more steady energy without those big crashes and
falls in blood sugar. And yes, there is going to be a
dopamine hit, but that's also going to come with a crash and
(13:46):
you can definitely become a little bit addicted to it.
And in which case you keep needing more and more and more.
And that is a dangerous cycle toget into.
Even with things that aren't related to food or aren't
related to sugar, you can get dopamine hits and you can get
addicted to it, but it's even worse when you're getting it
from something like sugar that has other negative consequences
(14:10):
on the body. Feeling good in the short term
doesn't equal being healthy, andif you're relying on sugar for
this emotional reward, you are going down a dangerous path.
Now there's debate over whether sugar addiction is real, but as
someone who used to eat a lot ofcarbs and a lot of sugar and
would feel pretty crap if I didn't eat these foods, I don't
(14:33):
know, it felt pretty real to me.And I hear this all the time
with people who find it's easierto just cut carbs completely
down in their diet, cut sugar completely out, rather than have
a little bit or rather than eat in moderation.
Which again, is why low carb diets, intermittent fasting,
ketogenic diets are so effectivebecause people find that they
(14:55):
can kind of break their relationship with sugar.
They don't need to be eating it all the time.
And that does also tie in with blood sugar issues and the spike
that sugar causes and the subsequent crash.
But it is emotional as well. And the reason that I think this
trend has sort of blown up is that everyone is looking, well,
in the online space at least, everyone is always looking to
(15:16):
take things one step further. They're always wanting to try
the next thing. And we see this with the
pipeline where people start out at paleo and then they go low
carb, then they go keto, then they go carnivore.
It just gets more and more extreme and I do kind of see the
appeal. It is fun to be on this space
(15:37):
online and kind of always chasing the next thing, but if
you actually want to live a healthy lifestyle, this isn't
sustainable. And that's where I in the past
have went down this pipeline. I do think that low carbon
ketogenic diets, even the carnivore diet can be very,
very, very effective. But I do also now recognise that
(15:57):
not everybody has to be that strict.
And I hate to use the word balance.
I'm not going to use it, but youcan have a more relaxed approach
and instead of focusing on specific macros or specific
calories or percentages, insteadif you focus on certain
principles, if you focus on never eating carbs in isolation,
(16:21):
focusing all your meals around protein, not fearing fat, having
an early dinner, drinking apple cider vinegar, that sort of
thing. Incorporating some sort of
intermittent fasting, even if that just means skipping snacks
throughout the day. If you can do these little
things, you are going to get bigresults.
(16:41):
And it doesn't have to be some big strict diet.
You don't need to go out and every time you're eating out
with people go, oh, I can't eat that, I'm doing keto.
You can kind of use this framework and use these habits
to live your life and to make the best choices you can as
often as you can. And that's what's going to add
up over time. So doing these strict sugar
(17:03):
fasts or even a strict carnivorediet, yes, it's going to, well,
maybe not sugar fasting, but carnivore and whatnot.
You might feel good short term, but are you going to be able to
maintain the results? Or are you treating it as a diet
and something that's going to betemporary?
(17:24):
Because if you go straight back to how you were eating
beforehand, if you've lost all your weight, if you've reversed
your insulin resistance, but then you go back to the standard
American diet, your insulin resistance is going to come back
Because it is that diet and the lifestyle choices you are
making, they got you to that point in the 1st place.
And that's actually what my lastpodcast episode was about.
(17:44):
I was talking about if you can go back to a normal diet after
you reverse insulin resistance. And I'll link that video up
above or put it in the description box if you're on
Spotify. But short answer is when your
insulin resistance reverses, youhave regained your tolerance and
your ability to metabolise carbohydrates to some degree, so
(18:08):
you will be able to eat more of them and not suffer the same
side effects you would have whenyou were insulin resistant.
However, like I said, if you go entirely back to a standard
American diet, then it's just going to come back.
And that's where if you've developed these habits and focus
on the principles rather than specific foods, there's not
(18:29):
really an end to the diet. And you going back to your
normal life. You kind of have just
incorporated the changes into your life and it should be easy
to maintain. Now with all that being said, I
do think fasting is extremely effective for reversing insulin
resistance and for overall health.
I don't think everybody needs todo OMAD one meal a day or even
(18:52):
like 18 hours of fasting a day. I think between 12 and 16 hours
of intermittent fasting per day and then eating 12 to 8 hour
window is the sweet spot for most people where they're still
able to develop that metabolic flexibility and train their body
to utilise fat as an energy source more efficiently, but
still be able to use carbohydrates and they are
(19:12):
available. I think that is the sweet spot
for most people. But extended fasting has so many
more benefits and I'm talking about fasting for 244872 plus
hours. Most of the benefits kind of tap
out at about 72 hours unless youare very very overweight, obese,
(19:34):
then you have a lot of stored energy so you will be able to
fast for longer and still feel good and get those additional
fat burning benefits. But if you can do anywhere from
24 to 72 hours, 1 fast once a month, once 1/4, even once a
year, you are going to see amazing benefits in terms of
(19:56):
longevity. Because what happens is when you
do an extended fast, something called autophagy ramps up and
it's basically where your body cleans out any damaged cells
that you have. I am a huge advocate for water
fasting and doing an extended fast and.
This is entirely different than a sugar fast.
So when you're doing this type of fast, you want to make sure
(20:19):
you are drinking enough water and adding electrolytes to your
water. Yes, dry fasting is a thing
where people do not consume any liquids.
A lot of people won't even touchwater because they don't want
their bodies to absorb it through their skins.
They won't even shower during this time.
But there honestly isn't enough evidence to support the benefits
of dry fasting. It hasn't been researched
(20:40):
heavily, whereas water fasting has and is truly supported by
the literature. But like I said, you need to be
doing it the right way. So when you're water fasting,
you only want to be consuming water Electrolytes, specifically
an electrolyte that doesn't haveany sugar and that won't break a
fast. You can also have black coffee
and tea and anything else that has no calories.
(21:03):
Any other drink that has no calories.
Now there is a bit of a grey area here.
Things like diet soda, yes, technically don't have calories,
but there's debate over whether they break a fast or not because
they're still sweet. So the sweet taste can trigger
the release of insulin. Your body thinks there's sugar
coming in so it releases insulinand the benefits of fasting.
(21:26):
Autophagy really kicks in when insulin is low.
So if you're drinking diet soda while fasting, you are
potentially increasing your insulin and taking away from the
benefits. But if I can give you 1 tip, if
you are trying to do an extendedfast or maybe you've tried to do
even 24 hours in the past and found it very difficult, it
would be to make sure you are using a quality electrolyte
(21:47):
supplement. Because when we fast, when our
insulin is low, we retain less water.
And when we retain less water, we also retain fewer
electrolytes. So it's really, really important
to replenish them. If we don't replenish them, this
is when we can suffer from headaches, fatigue, dizziness,
and these are things that a lot of people do experience when
they try to do an extended fast and it's because they're just
(22:10):
drinking plain water. And that's why I highly
recommend Soda's Everyday Hydration salts.
They have no sugar, no artificial sweetener, and no
additives, so they will not break your fast.
Plus, they are high in sodium, which a lot of electrolyte
supplements on the market aren't.
There's this fear around sodium and salt and increasing blood
pressure and worsening health. But when you were eating a whole
(22:33):
food diet, when you've cut processed food out of your diet,
you have cut out a lot of the sodium you would typically be
getting. And sodium is actually an
essential electrolyte. We just get so much of it in
through our diet when we're eating a lot of processed food.
But if we have switched to a more whole food diet and
specifically a diet that's lowerin carbs because again, lower
(22:55):
insulin, retain fewer electrolytes, and especially for
intermittent fasting, we need toreplenish sodium.
So sodium shouldn't be feared. If you've had another
electrolyte supplement in the past during an intermittent fast
and you've been like, OK, I don't really notice the
difference. Try SODI.
They're an Australian company, but they do ship worldwide and
you can save 15% off your first order when you use code HCK 15
(23:17):
at checkout. Head to healthcoachk.com/sodi
electrolytes. That's SODII electrolytes to
check them out and learn more. So in summary, yeah, sugar
fasting does seem trendy. It can be fun to try different
things out, especially if you'rereally into the health and
Wellness space, especially if you've tried a lot of these
(23:39):
diets before and you're always trying to feel better and
improve your health even more. But honestly, this isn't the way
to go for the vast majority of people who like I said, are
overweight, have some level of insulin resistance, are already
at the point where they're pre diabetic.
Sugar fasting is going to make things way way worse.
(23:59):
You are not going to feel as good as some of these people you
see online are feeling. Now I want to hear from you guys
because I know I've gotten a fewcomments over the last few weeks
asking for my opinion on sugar fasting.
But I'm sure a lot of you have never heard of this before, but
I want to hear from you. Had you heard of this trend?
Was it something that had actually piqued your interest
and that you were maybe considering no shame?
(24:23):
Let me know in the comments downbelow.
And if you have tried it, I would also love to hear from
you. So let me know.
Thank you guys so much for tuning into the podcast.
If you're watching on YouTube, make sure to give this video a
thumbs up. Share it with a friend who's
curious about sugar fasting if you know someone.
And if you're watching on Spotify, I would love if you
could rate and review the podcast there.
(24:45):
Thanks guys for watching and I will see you in the next one.
Bye.
Host
Kait Malthaner
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