Is following a “sugar-free” diet possible?
Technically… no.
Sugar is nothing to inherently fear - in fact it’s a vital energy source (such as the glucose in your blood stream and central nervous system) and it also helps to create the backbone of plant structures.
In biochemistry, sugar can be considered as an “umbrella” term, as it encompasses both monosaccharides and disaccharides. Monosaccharides, meaning one sugar molecule, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. These can then combine to form disaccharides (two sugar molecules), which include maltose, sucrose and lactose.
It is these mono and disaccharides that are usually referred to as “simple carbs”, as they can be readily absorbed through the small intestine into the blood stream directly via a transporter (for monosaccharides), or can be easily split from disaccharide to monosaccharide form via brush-border enzymes (maltase, sucrase and lactase) prior to absorption.
Further to this, these shorter carbohydrate chains can combine to form longer chains, such as oligo and polysaccharides, which are generally referred to as “complex carbs”. Their “complexity” simply refers to their chain length, however they are in essence still comprised of “simple carbs”.
In the context of a dietary pattern, both simple and complex carbs have their place. For example, simple sources of carbohydrates such as honey, powerade, and dried fruit can be a strategic way to raise blood glucose levels and readily restore glycogen around a training window (pre, intra, and post-workout). On the other hand, complex sources of carbohydrates such as vegetables and whole grains will generally provide more micronutrients and dietary fibre, which play a critical role in sustaining good health.
With this, it’s generally recommended that the majority of your carbohydrate intake is obtained from complex sources, while direct sources of “simple carbs” are limited to <10% of energy intake per day.