No sugar, no grains, abbreviated as NSNG, is more of a guideline than a formal diet.
This simple approach to reclaiming your metabolic health was coined by fitness guru to the stars, Vinnie Tortorich–known affectionately as America’s angriest trainer.
For many people, going no sugar, no grains is an entry point into more formal low-carb high-fat diets like keto and carnivore.
In this article, we’ll explore the ins and outs of the no sugar, no grains approach, including how to do it along with its benefits and potential drawbacks.
The no sugar, no grains approach calls for eliminating all grains and processed sugars from your diet.
In a podcast, Tortorich referred to NSNG as a “carnivorous vegan” way of eating. This means lots of meat with fresh vegetables and some fruit.
It’s worth noting that a true carnivore diet eliminates all plant foods, including both grains and vegetables.
The carnivore view is that all plant foods contain irritating plant toxins. For example, many of the leafy greens promoted by Tortorich contain oxalates that can contribute to kidney problems and intestinal permeability [1]
Celebrity personal trainer Vinnie Tortorich coined the no sugar, no grains approach after receiving a Leukemia diagnosis on 2007.
In order to help his body heal, Tortorich’s doctor recommended focusing on nutritious animal-based whole foods and cutting out most carbs, including added sugars and high doses of carbohydrates you get from grains.
After recovering from Leukemia, Tortorich maintained the nsng diet, finding that it gave him more energy and boosted his athletic performance to the highest levels of his life while dramatically reducing inflammation and shortening his recovery after workouts.
Based on these powerful personal experiences cutting carbs, Vinnie began assigning the diet to his fitness clients. The results were dramatic and spoke for themselves. The nsng tribe was born.
The Standard American Diet is loaded with added sugars and grains–which are also high in sugar (all carbs are sugar), plant toxins and antinutrients, and excess insoluble fiber.
Diets high in carbs and added sugars have been shown to:
NSNG calls for eliminating all grains–this includes both whole grains like brown rice and quinoa and all products derived from grains like pasta, bread, crackers, etc.
Here’s a list of grains to avoid:
Sugar is hiding in everything, and it goes by over 60 names. See the list below.
Remember that even natural/raw honey and maple syrup also count as added sugars and are eliminated.
Though fruit isn’t explicitly eliminated on a no sugar, no grains protocol, most fruits are high in sugar and are best avoided, especially when starting out.
Most people come to NSNG with a carb addiction after a lifetime on the high-carb standard American diet.
When you eat carbs your body releases a hormone called ghrelin that actually increases hunger cravings–this is what happens on a sugar binge.
It also takes time for your microbiome to rebalance–when you’re cutting out sugar, all those sugar-loving yeasts and sugar-loving bacteria you’ve been feeding for years will likely cry out for carbs, exacerbating cravings and making it difficult to resist non-nsng foods.
That’s why it’s important for most people to cut fruit. Consuming more than 20-50 grams of carbs in any form, including fruits and vegetables, will make it nearly impossible to become adapted to a high-fat nsng diet.
It takes between 15-60 days for your body to adapt to a low-carb diet.
For all these reasons, fruits are better avoided on nsng. If you feel that you’re honest with yourself and you know that you’re no longer in active sugar/carb addiction it may be ok to bring in some low-carb fruits. Berries are usually a safe bet.
If you don’t want to give up fruit, stick with this low-carb list.
Now that you know the foods to cut out and limit on a nsng diet, let’s get to the fun part–all the delicious whole foods that you can guiltlessly feast on!
A well-formulated NSGN diet will center on nutrient-dense meats, including:
Secondary Foods
Supplemental Foods
Many people take nsng a step further and combine it with nose-to-tail practices. This means supplementing with fresh or dissicated organ meats tablets, especially beef liver.
Organ meats are the most nutritious foods on earth with a mind-blowing abundance of vital nutrients like vitamin B12, vitamin A retinol, and numerous organ-specific peptides and micronutrients.
Intermittent fasting techniques like 16/8 and OMAD are a natural fit with an NSNG approach.
By cutting sugar and carbs and focusing on highly satiating fatty whole foods like steak, eggs, and butter, your energy will be more stable–no more spikes and troughs. This will make it easy– in many cases effortless–to tap into the benefits of IF.
These combined benefits include:
Below you can check out an OMAD and 16/8 to help get you started.
Keto is a very low-carb high-fat diet, while NSNG explicitly means only cutting added sugars and grains and doesn’t call for specific macronutrient ratios.
However, many people practicing no sugar, no grains intentionally boost their fat intake and restrict carbs in order to enter ketosis–a state of elevated ketones (energy molecules) in the blood.
Keto is implicitly a no sugar no grains diet since these foods are extremely high in carbs.
Though no sugar, no grains is a great rule of thumb when attempting to cut down on carbs and increase their intake of nutritious whole foods, the lack of further guidelines may impede people from getting the most out of their dietary choices.
The NSNG approach misses a few details that are worth highlighting:
To steer clear of these possible drawbacks to NSNG you may want to look further into more refined ketogenic and carnivore approaches a sustainable low-carb lifestyle.
An example is Dr. Kiltz’s BEBBIIS diet as a way to keep you focused on nutrient-dense fatty foods while avoiding harmful foods.
The no sugar, no grain, or NSNG approach to eating was coined by celebrity fitness coach Vinnie Tortorich.
No sugar, no grains is more of a rule of thumb to point you in a low-carb direction than a formal diet.
Cutting the carbs that come from added sugars and grains eliminates foods that contribute to excess weight gain, hormone imbalances, heart disease, cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, intestinal permeability, and chronic inflammation.
Tortorich’s approach calls for replacing these hollow calories with nutrient-dense whole foods. Fatty red meat and low-carb veggies figure high on Totorich’s list of recommended foods.
The NSNG approach may be an easy and effective starting point for people looking to improve their health, physique, and overall well-being by cutting carbs and eating more nutritiously.
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