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Reducing your intake of added sugar over time can benefit your overall health, including helping you maintain a moderate weight and healthy blood sugar levels.

Excessive sugar consumption is linked to an increased risk of certain health conditions, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Some people take part in “no sugar” challenges to reduce their intake. Many types of 30-day no sugar challenges exist, but most have similar guidelines.

The main goal is to cut out all sources of added sugar for 30 days. Instead, you focus on consuming nutrient-dense whole foods. Natural sugars, which are found in foods like vegetables, fruits, and dairy products, are OK to eat.

Rules and recommendations may differ by program. Alternatively, you can easily create your own 30-day no sugar challenge using the information in this article.

Any dietary pattern that decreases or cuts out added sugar is likely to reduce obesity and benefit health, especially among people who regularly consume high amounts of added sugar.

However, the most important factor in any dietary pattern is consistency, which isn’t necessarily the point of a 30-day no sugar challenge.

If you cut out added sugar for 30 days only to return to a diet that’s high in added sugar, the benefits of the challenge will be lost.

The following benefits are related to reducing added sugar in general.

Blood sugar

Frequently eating foods and drinking beverages high in added sugar harms blood sugar management and may increase your risk of type 2 diabetes, according to some research.

Sweetened foods and drinks, such as soda, candy, and energy drinks, contain rapidly absorbable sugars, such as high fructose corn syrup. Some research has linked diets high in these types of sugar to insulin resistance.

This may lead to elevated blood sugar and insulin levels, which can eventually cause cell damage and increase your risk of several diseases, including:

Cutting back on added sugar is a good way to reduce blood sugar and insulin levels, even if you only do so for a short time period.

Body weight

Foods and beverages with a lot of added sugar tend to be high in calories and low in filling nutrients like protein and fiber. Thus, a diet high in sugary foods has been linked to weight gain, obesity, and other chronic diseases.

Cutting out sources of added sugar may help you lose weight, especially when paired with a nutrient-dense diet.

Oral health

Added sugar intake from sweetened beverages is strongly linked to an increased risk of cavities and tooth decay. This is because bacteria in the mouth break down sugar and produce acid that may damage your teeth.

Thus, cutting out added sugar can protect your teeth.

Liver health

High sugar diets, especially high fructose diets, can increase the risk of developing NAFLD, a condition characterized by fat buildup in the liver.

A 2021 study in 29 adolescent boys with NAFLD showed that eight weeks of a low sugar diet resulted in a 10.5 percent reduction in hepatic de novo lipogenesis, the process that makes fatty acids in your liver.

It also found greater decreases in hepatic fat and fasting insulin compared to the group that followed the usual diet.

Cutting out sugar, especially foods and beverages sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, can reduce liver fat and improve liver health.

Heart health

Sugar-sweetened beverages are linked to heart disease risk factors, including:

Studies also show that consuming too much added sugar is linked to an increased risk of heart disease and heart disease mortality.

Other potential benefits

Research suggests that diets high in added sugar may be linked to anxiety and depressive symptoms, and decreasing sugar intake may help reduce these symptoms.

Cutting out added sugar may also enhance skin health. Studies have linked high added sugar consumption to accelerated skin aging.

While foods high in sugar may give you a quick burst of energy, a sugar high is only temporary and will lead to a subsequent crash. Therefore, diets that prioritize complex carbs, like whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, can help you sustain energy levels.

2020–2025 Dietary Guideline for Americans recommends limiting added sugars to no more than 10 percent of total daily calories.

The American Heart Association also recommends limiting your daily added sugar intake to no more than 36 g (9 teaspoons) for men and 25 g (6 teaspoons) for women. These can be used as guidelines for a diet low in added sugars.

Foods to avoid

While following a 30-day no sugar challenge, people are encouraged to restrict foods and beverages high in added sugars, including:

Additionally, most challenges recommend forgoing artificial and naturally derived low or no-calorie sweeteners such as:

It’s also recommended that refined grains, including white bread, pasta, and rice, be minimized and replaced with whole grain products without added sugars.

Foods to eat

During 30-day no sugar challenges, participants are encouraged to fill up on whole, nutrient-dense foods, including:

This list is by no means comprehensive, but it can give you a good idea of where to start.

Reducing your added sugar intake has no adverse physical health effects as long as you do so responsibly. Make balanced eating choices for the duration of the 30-day challenge.

However, like any restrictive dietary pattern, some people may find that they develop an unhealthy preoccupation with healthy food or harmful food rules around foods they used to enjoy after participating in this type of challenge. People with disordered eating tendencies may be more likely to experience this.

If you’re thinking of trying this challenge, or making any change to your existing eating habits, you may consider working with a registered dietitian. They can help you eat balanced meals and offer education, support, and guidance.

If you decide to participate in a 30-day no sugar challenge, use it to discover which foods or beverages contribute most to your total added sugar intake. This can help you cut back on those sources when the 30-day challenge is over.

After the challenge, try not to focus on giving up all sources of added sugar for good. Instead, attempt to transition to a diet low in added sugars and high in healthy foods that you can follow long term.

This is much more powerful when it comes to overall health than any 30-day challenge could ever be.