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You may or may not have heard of the sugar buster’s diet but it is becoming one of the most popular forms of diet today. The basics of this diet are quite simple. The diet itself lasts for only 14 days where your diet consists of strictly 30% protein, 40% fat and 30% carbohydrates. Eliminating all sugar from your diet during this duration is the main concept of the sugar buster diet.

The sugar buster diet is based on the theory that increased levels of insulin in the body leads to weight gain. Of course, nobody knows this for certain. What we do know is that insulin can lead to heart disease. However, the connection between weight and insulin has still not been confirmed.

Reviews and professional opinions about the sugar busters diet is that the diet may work for some people because of how many calories are in sugar related products, not how much insulin it creates in our systems. This is a debate that will continue for many years to come but the fact is sugar is not good for us and whether it is the calories or the lack of insulin, sugar buster’s can work for you.

The downside of the diet is its short duration. Once the diet is over, many people revert to their old eating habits and the benefits gained from the diet are lost. If you continue with the diet, however, you may become bored and find it too difficult to keep up.

The fact is there are many different forms of sugar that we need to look for when on this diet and it does eliminate many foods from a regular diet such as anything containing corn syrup, molasses, honey, refined sugars and sugared colas. Although this is a small list you will find it hard to believe how many foods contain these ingredients.

Replace sugary foods with wholesome ones such as whole grains and pastas, and don’t forget to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. You may find that you have to eliminate a lot of the foods that you are used to eating, but it is only temporary. In fact, diets that heavily restrict the types of foods you eat can be unhealthy if followed for a long time.

Diets that are intended to be temporary are called fad diets, and they do not have a high success rate. Short term diets result in short term weight loss. What is needed, therefore, is a long term healthy eating plan that can be followed for a lifetime.

Yo Yo dieting is not healthy. Once you lose weight, you will want to keep it off forever. So, change your lifestyle. Adapt a new, healthy way of life, and you will be rewarded for it.

The fructose diet, also known as the Shangri-la diet was invented by University of California at Berkeley professor Seth Roberts, Ph.D. He reportedly used the fructose diet on himself over a 12 year period and kept data of his progress.

Roberts’ fructose diet is based on the Set point theory. According to the theory, each person has built within him or herself a control system that dictates how much fat they should carry. You feel hungry when your weight is less than your set point. You feel satisfied when your weight is about the same as your set point and you feel full when your weight is above your set point.

He states that “our set point is determined by the flavors that we eat.” And after much experimentation, Roberts allegedly found a way to trick the set point. The solution he says is to drink unflavored sugar water between meals or unflavored flavorless oils between meals, more specifically granulated fructose and unflavored canola or extra light olive oil.

Drinking 2-5 tablespoons per day of either granulated fructose or unflavored canola or extra light olive oil 1 hour before eating does the trick. According to Roberts this should give you a feeling of fullness and therefore eat less.

According to Roberts, these two compounds give you calories without flavor and your brain doesn’t get the signals to raise your set point. Roberts also claims that his fructose diet stops you from thinking about junk food or react very strongly when you see your favorite foods. Food basically stops being attractive to you and ultimately you’ll eat less. According to him, the fructose diet has helped him lose 40 lbs. and kept it off.

Many doctors and scientists are skeptical of this fructose diet. They claim there are no scientific studies to back any of Roberts’ claims and many believe the diet to be dangerous. However, his book The Shangri-La Diet is filled with testimonials from people touting the diets effectiveness.

The controversy around the fructose diet centers around fructose itself. There have been numerous studies that show fructose may in fact be a leading cause of obesity in America. In fact, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition says that the increased use of fructose actually preceded the obesity epidemic.

Dr. Roberts’ Shangri-la diet may very well work, but given the overwhelming evidence of the negative effects of fructose, it may be wise to avoid using granulated fructose.