How to do a sugar detox on a vegan diet?

[thegreenjudy]

Hey guys, I am trying to do without sugar for a month - I don't eat an awful lot anyway but I don't always read labels and don't count stuff like ketchup and processed food.
When I google sugar detox I almost ALWAYS get links to low-carb/high meat diets, which is pretty annoying. Adding the word vegan, doesn't really help much.

I wonder if anyone has good suggestions? There are different types of detoxes out there and some eliminate fruit altogether, too.. not sure if that's a good idea though. Some ask you to phase out
potatoes (poor potatoes :-( Got a whole bag of organic new potatoes..don't want to let them spoil) - I only have whole grains otherwise and beans. I am happy to get rid of the sugar but after the detox I would like to re-introduce healthier sugars like date syrup etc. I really love baking, too...So I am not sure where to start, really. I already eat loads of beans.

So the only things I REALLY want to get rid of for a few weeks is: baked goods, sugars in all forms and obviously processed foods that contain sugar (or even better - processed foods altogether)

Does anyone know a good source for a vegan sugar detox?

Thanks :-)

[Lentils]

Just replace refined sugar with fruits, anyone that tells you that whole fruits are bad for you due to the fructose content is a misinformed quack. Refined sugar is bad because it's nutrient void and due to a lack of fibre spikes blood sugar levels, that isn't the case with whole fruit or the humble potato.

[thegreenjudy]

Just replace refined sugar with fruits, anyone that tells you that whole fruits are bad for you due to the fructose content is a misinformed quack. Refined sugar is bad because it's nutrient void and due to a lack of fibre spikes blood sugar levels, that isn't the case with whole fruit or the humble potato.

Thanks, I was wondering :-)

[Fuhzy]

I would think that a 'sugar detox' would simply be removing most processed foods from your diet. Even vegetables have some sugar in them, but it is quite a low amount. Instead of focusing purely on the nutrition panel, I would recommend getting your sugars from only whole food sources, such as fruits. Nuts, vegetables, seeds, legumes, and whole grains all have low amounts of sugar, so if you really wanted to do a 'low sugar' diet, you could simply leave out the fruits....

[Wraithling]

I've heard that there is a vegan (or at least vegetarian - could probably be adapted) version of the Atkins diet. That might be worth having a look at? I don't know a huge amount about it personally, just vaguely remember a radio programme where it was discussed.

[thegreenjudy]

I've heard that there is a vegan (or at least vegetarian - could probably be adapted) version of the Atkins diet. That might be worth having a look at? I don't know a huge amount about it personally, just vaguely remember a radio programme where it was discussed.

Yeah just looked it up - the program is basically just a healthy vegan diet with beans, soy products, vegetable and grains.. (no fruit I think)

Will look into it :-)

[Andy_T]

Sugar - if it is the sugar contained in raw, ripe, fresh fruit - is said to actually be the best "fuel" for your body. As long as you eat the whole fruit and add some green leafy vegetables, you are also not getting too much calories.
Only when you eat lots of fat, then your arteries get clogged and the reception of sugar is no longer quickly possible, leading to "sugar spikes" (say's Dr. Douglas Graham in his book "The 80/10/10 diet")

It's refined sugars and flours that you should avoid.

I like Dr. Joel Fuhrman's "Nutrient density list" that you can see here: http://www.drfuhrman.com/library/article17.aspx
His diet suggestion is simple - eat lots of foods that have many vitamins, nutrients and phythochemicals per calorie. According to this, fresh fruit scores actually pretty high (of course, leafy greens are even better).
I would also recommend his book "Eat to live" and Dr. Douglas Graham's "80/10/10 diet" - this one is even more "radical", he makes the case for eating lots of fresh fruit and argues quite convincingly (in my opinion).

Best regards,
Andy