What Happens When You Quit Sugar?

6 August 2025


What Happens When You Quit Sugar?



When you stop eating sugar, you body changes. So what exactly happens to your brain and body when you try to quit sugar?
Are artificial sweeteners secretly killing you? https://youtu.be/HdQRf3IzC4Q

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Written by: Greg Brown
Edited by: Luka Šarlija
Drawings by: Max Simmons and Greg Brown

While people are talking about succession, Jake Paul losing, or Marvel / The Marvels, I have been at home thinking about what happens when you quit sugar. It is fascinating how it interacts with your hormones and can using biology, chemistry and physics, really change how your body works!

References:
https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/80400530/pdf/FPED/tables_1-4_FPED_1718.pdf
https://health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-09/Scientific-Report-of-the-2015-Dietary-Guidelines-Advisory-Committee.pdf
https://www.jandonline.org/article/S2212-2672(20)30902-3/fulltext
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/04/upshot/soda-industry-struggles-as-consumer-tastes-change.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279127/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/
https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/52/14/910
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2014/869186/
https://www.cureus.com/articles/85853-potential-effects-of-prolonged-water-only-fasting-followed-by-a-whole-plant-food-diet-on-salty-and-sweet-taste-sensitivity-and-perceived-intensity-food-liking-and-dietary-intake#!/
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408398.2021.2015282
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4209693/
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00394-020-02473-0
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22678562/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666328722000281
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31828298/
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0105198
https://www.dana-farber.org/for-patients-and-families/care-and-treatment/support-services-and-amenities/nutrition-services/faqs/sugar-and-cancer/#:~:text=To%20date%2C%20there%20are%20no,gain%20and%20excess%20body%20fat.

the average American consumes half a cup or more of sugar every day and surveys claim eating less sugar makes you crave it more some people even say it gives them withdrawal symptoms so what exactly happens to your brain and body when you try to quit sugar after 24 hours of no refined sugar and you start to lose water weight our body regulates our blood sugar levels through the pancreas the pancreas releases two hormones insulin and glucagon when blood sugar gets too high the pancreas releases insulin and when it gets too low the pancreas releases glucagon in the first 24 hours of no sugar blood sugar levels drop and the pancreas releases glucagon which breaks down glycogen the storage of sugars in our body to create the energy you need the thing is glycogen is bound to 3 grams of water so the breakdown of glycogen for energy is responsible for the initial loss of water weight you see in the first 24 hours of not eating sugar on day two is when you start to feel fatigued and crave sugar as the body continually needs to create new sources of energy gluconeonate Genesis is activated which is the conversion of proteins to sugars in the body as well fats will be broken down into ketones to create energy this can make you feel tired get headaches and even have sugar Cravings but there's not enough human studies to understand why this occurs animal Studies have shown that in rats neurochemical Pathways causing dopamine release are activated when the rats consume sugar and in some cases this can be more potent than cocaine in rats this is why you may have seen pop science article headlines like sugar more addictive than cocaine the reason for this is that Sugar activates dopamine release this creates a positive reinforcement around wanting to trigger and can create Cravings but to be clear there is no evidence that Inhumans sugar can be as addictive as drugs like cocaine on day three is when you get a metallic taste in your mouth and your breath starts to stink the breakdown of fat into ketones due to the lack of sugar intake creates the release of acetone in your body which when breathed out smells like nail polish remover over or rotting fruit some Studies have even shown that if you measure acetone in your breath it can predict the level of ketones in your blood this smelly breath can last a few days to a few weeks but this is based on zero sugar we're talking not even fruits in your diet unlike other parts of the video where we're mainly focusing on what happens when you cut out added or refined sugars day five to ten of not eating added sugar and your taste buds have officially changed to be more sensitive to Sugar one study had people do a water fast for 5 to 14 days and found that the threshold to detect sweet flavor was much lower increasing sensitivity to the taste of sugar this isn't that surprising because people who consume a lot of sugar actually decrease their sensitivity to that sweet flavor and feel like they need to add more sugar to their food or beverages in order to feel the sweet flavor again after six weeks of no sugar and you may also notice your bowel movements are becoming more regular with less bloating or cramps IBS affects almost 10 to 20 percent of the population in North America IBS is a group of symptoms that people experience it's their whole life such as diarrhea constipation cramps and bloating and doctors recommend a low FODMAP diet FODMAP stands for fermentable oligosaccharides disaccharides monosaccharides and polyols which are pretty much diets with less refined sugar and more natural sugars reducing refined sugars can relieve IBS and has been shown to improve symptoms within six weeks after 10 weeks of eating no sugar you might start to notice that your skin is looking a lot healthier that is because sugar can cause acne lesions within one week of high intake clinical trials have shown that after 10 weeks of low sugar diets acne lesions have significantly reduced after one year with no additional sugar intake you'll also see improved sleep a study looking at 53 000 post-menopausal women showed that three years of low sugar intake was correlated with reduced insomnia although the effect of sugar on sleep is a little controversial as we don't really know if it has a negative impact on daily sleep in fact some Studies have even found that sleep is improved with high sugar intake before bed after 1 one to five years of no added sugar intake your risk of high blood pressure heart disease type 2 diabetes and obesity is reduced high sugar intake is associated with a laundry list of other diseases including cancers mostly due to its association with obesity but people are catching on it's estimated that almost 46 percent of added sugar in our diets comes from soda and in America drinking pop has decreased over the past 10 years now some of you might be wondering if you do cut out sugar like this can you just replace it with something like aspartame or other artificial sweeteners or our artificial sweeteners actually secretly killing you we have a podcast on that

#Quit #Sugar

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30 Comments
  1. Ah crap I guess I better watch out or else I’m gonna be 230 pounds forever

  2. You got me lifted shifted higher than a ceiling
    And ooh-wee it's the ultimate feeling
    You got me lifted feeling so gifted
    Suga, how you get so fly?

  3. Anyone else think the dude in the black hat is punchable?

  4. watching this with a hot chocolate in hand

  5. 3+ years of being sugar free (except a bit of berries ofc). People keep thinking I'm 4 – 5 years younger then I actually am 💀. My advice to go sugar free is to allow yourself some sugar, for example only allowing yourself to eat sugar when it's someone B-day or marriage. It's actually really easy

  6. What about sugars in fruits ?

  7. why quit sugar? i can understand quitting sugar when you consume it like crazy but if you can lower it, then lower it, don't quit completely. it is not Coke, it isn't terrible for your health and it has benefical traits. I hate when people treat sugar like cocaine or something. Just eat less of it, don't deprive yourself of it.

  8. @2:30 Wow that sounds like a drug…

  9. People should just have self-control when it comes to consuming sugar so it doesn't harm them in any way

  10. Wow I am impressed. You guys are very knowledgeable! What are your credentials?

  11. I have issues with my blood sugar. I get dizzy a lot and usually something sweet helps me not to faint. I don't really eat candy, it's too sweet for me but if i quit eating sugar completely, i will probably faint a lot more. Do you think after a while my body would learn to deal with it and my symptoms will go away? Cause i really hate being dizzy all the time so I'm willing to try different things.

  12. jokes about sugar are rare, jokes about brown sugar demerara

  13. So i would know what happen after 2-5 years, if i leave watching information, which i don't need for today's routine

  14. This guy is talking about fasting not quitting sugar

  15. No sugar diet for almost 2 years, less carbs also.

  16. Sugar can keep me awake if consumed after 5 pm. Same with caffeine.

  17. I watched a lot of videos about sugar and this is the worst video

  18. I got headache for straight up 3 days when i left tea (my only sugar consumption).

  19. Fake everything is fake you lost a viewer for life liar

  20. hey you guys, I quit sugar about 3 years ago and it was one of the best decisions of my life.

  21. I think there is something you missed….Any carbohydrate including things like rice, pasta still activate insulin production, and disables glucagon production. So it’s not just table sugar(fructose). Which is a big difference, because you cannot to expect to go into gluconeogenesis after eating something like a piece of bread. Gluconeogensis is something that is aimed at by people doing Keto. Which is just eating protein and fats, with no carbohydrates. I would argue that type of diet is somewhat unsustainable, additionally when you get out of Keto, because of its specialized nature, it has to be done in a certain way so you don’t gain back all the fat that was lost.

  22. chest pain, headaches, nervousness, lack of energy hooo boy quitting sure is FUN

  23. When i stop eating sugar or sweet i did not feel shit i was normal

  24. My brother lost 42 pounds from being on a suger diet and he's so much healthy and happy

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