Complete removal of sugar from a low-fat diet may trigger unintended metabolic and gut health consequences, according to new research presented at ENDO 2026, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in Chicago.
The preclinical study, conducted by researchers at the Dasman Diabetes Institute in Kuwait, compared mice fed a sucrose-free, low-fat diet with a control group receiving a low-fat diet containing sucrose for 16 weeks.
Despite maintaining comparable body weights, the sucrose-free group exhibited a range of adverse outcomes, including impaired glucose tolerance, insulin resistance, gut microbiome dysbiosis, intestinal inflammation and markers associated with fatty liver disease.
"Completely removing sucrose from a low-fat diet may unexpectedly disrupt gut health and promote inflammation and metabolic dysfunction," said Dr Rasheed Ahmad, principal scientist and Head of the Immunology & Microbiology Department at the Dasman Diabetes Institute.
Balanced nutrition is more important than simply eliminating sugar.
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