David Zinczenko - Zero Sugar Diet: The 14-Day Plan to Flatten Your Belly, Crush Cravings, and Help Keep You Lean for Life

I MAGINE FOR A MOMENT that scientists discovered a new, virulent virus. This virus caused chronic, unrelenting, irreversible obesity, and sufferers often went on to experience heart failure and liver damage, as well as blindness, arthritis, gout, and even cancer. Imagine, too, that the first symptoms of infection were fatigue and abdominal weight gain. Youd be pretty worried if you noticed your belly expanding and your energy waning, wouldnt you?

Imagine that to diagnose this virus, doctors gave you a simple blood test that looked for elevated blood glucose, elevated blood pressure, and high cholesterol. And that, once diagnosed, the virus was completely treatable, as long as you caught it in time.

Now imagine that doctors were being incentivized by big business and the government not to tell you that this virus exists, and not to recommend the simple cureand, in fact, they go one step further, shaping dietary recommendations that cause the disease to spread. And as a result, one in three Americans was already infected, and on his or her way to dying from the disease.

If that seems far-fetched, its not. In fact, its pretty much whats happening today, with one small difference: Its not a virus that doctors are keeping quiet about. Its sugar.

By following this simple fourteen-day plan, you will quickly and efficiently bring your body into perfect balance, and begin dropping excess pounds at a rapid pace. And in doing so, youll discover a new way of walking through the world, one that keeps you safely out of the grasp of weight gain and one of the biggest diseases of our time. And youll do it by eating foods you loveyes, even foods from your favorite restaurants and supermarkets; even burgers, bacon, and pasta. You will flatten your belly, improve your health, and look, feel, and live better than ever. And you will set yourself up for a lifetime of effortless success.

Zero Sugar Diet works because it targets the most virulent virus of all: added sugars. And it was developed with the cutting-edge recommendations of the worlds more preeminent medical associations in mind.

Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration announced approval of a new Nutrition Facts label, which includes a separate line for added sugars, forcing companies to list whats added and whats natural for the first time. And the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the World Health Organization, and the American Heart Association have all come out vociferously against added sugar: The AHA recommends no more than 100 calories per day from added sugars, or six teaspoons, for women, and 150 calories (nine teaspoons) for men.

And those recommendations make complete sense: New research suggests that for every 5 percent of total calories you consume from added sweeteners, your risk of diabetes increases by 18 percent. That means for the average woman, who consumes about 1,858 calories a day, all you need to eat is 93 calories a day of added sugar to significantly boost your risk. There are 4 calories in a gram of sugar, so that means about 23 grams of added sugar per day will put you directly in the path of an oncoming diabetes train.

And you dont have to live on Jolly Ranchers to reach that number. Here are some seemingly healthy foods that put you over your daily limit with just one serving:

Dannon Fruit on the Bottom Cherry Yogurt:24 grams

Quaker Natural Granola Oats & Honey:26 grams

PowerBar Performance Energy Vanilla Crisp:26 grams

Tazo Organic Iced Green Tea:30 grams

Ocean Spray Cran-Apple:31 grams

The problem is, even if youre vigilant, even if you read the labels and make it a rule not to eat anything with more than 10 grams of added sugar, the numbers add up, because sugar is in everythingespecially foods it doesnt belong in, like bread, peanut butter, pasta sauce, salad dressing, and oatmeal. In the form of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), it even coats the outside of your Advil caplets!

Heres how easily your numbers can add up: Start your day with Quaker Instant Apple and Cinnamon Oatmeal (9 grams of sugar per serving), have a peanut butter sandwich for lunch with Jif (3 grams) on Pepperidge Farm Whole Wheat Farmhouse Bread (another 3 grams per slice), and then enjoy a dinner of pasta with Ragu Old-World Style Sauce (6 grams of added sugarsits the third ingredient after tomato paste and soybean oil). A simple salad with Kraft Zesty Lime Vinaigrette adds another 3 grams. No cookies, no ice cream, no cake, no soda, not even a single bite of chocolate, but youve consumed 27 grams of added sugars, or 6.75 teaspoons worthmore than what a woman should eat in an entire day.