Is Cutting Out Sugar Completely Actually Healthy? New Study Raises Questions

Cutting back on added sugar is generally considered a healthy move. But could eliminating one particular type of sugar entirely have unexpected effects on the gut?

A new animal study suggests the answer may be more complicated than it seems.

Researchers from the Dasman Diabetes Institute in Kuwait investigated what happened when mice were fed a low-fat diet containing no sucrose, the type of sugar commonly known as table sugar. Their findings were presented at ENDO 2026, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Chicago.

What Happened When Sucrose Was Removed?

During the 16-week experiment, researchers compared two groups of mice. Both received low-fat diets, but one diet contained sucrose while the other was sucrose-free.

Interestingly, eliminating sucrose did not produce a significant difference in body weight. But researchers observed several other changes in the mice eating the sucrose-free diet.

They showed poorer glucose control and reduced insulin sensitivity, along with changes in the gut microbiome. Researchers also detected signs of inflammation in the intestines and liver, as well as changes associated with fatty liver disease.

Dr. Rasheed Ahmad, principal scientist and head of the Immunology and Microbiology Department at the Dasman Diabetes Institute, said the results suggest that completely removing sucrose from a low-fat diet could have unexpected effects on gut and metabolic health.

The researchers believe the findings highlight the importance of looking at a person’s overall diet rather than focusing exclusively on eliminating a single ingredient.

Does This Mean You Should Eat More Sugar?

Not so fast.

The study was conducted in mice, not humans, and its findings should not be interpreted as evidence that people need to consume added sugar for good health.

There is another important detail: when the researchers removed sucrose, they compensated by increasing starch to keep the diets comparable in calories. Ahmad has noted that some of the observed effects may therefore have resulted from the change in the diet’s overall carbohydrate composition rather than from the absence of sucrose itself.

That distinction matters.

Rather than proving that sugar is necessary for good health, the study raises an interesting question about how different combinations of carbohydrates may affect gut bacteria, inflammation, and metabolism.

The researchers now say controlled human studies are needed to determine whether similar effects occur in people and to separate the effects of removing sucrose from those of replacing it with other carbohydrates or sweeteners.

For now, the findings offer another reminder that nutrition is rarely about one ingredient alone. The overall composition and quality of our diet—and how different foods interact with the gut microbiome—may be just as important as what we choose to eliminate.