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8 Reasons Why Sugar Is Bad For You

Oct 11th 2021

8 Reasons Why Sugar Is Bad For You

Is the “sweet tooth” real? Definitely, yes for those sweet lovers. However, you’ve certainly heard it before — too much sugar isn’t good for you. The recommended limit has been lowered to no more than 6 teaspoons of added sugar per day1, but most Americans consume way more, mainly in sugar-sweetened beverages and desserts/snacks.

Here are 8 main good reasons for you to think about why sugar must be eliminated from your diet!

1. SUGAR COULD STRESS YOU OUT

Easily digested carbs cause powerful spikes in your blood sugar levels, sending you on a wild rollercoaster ride of energy highs and lows throughout the day. The highs can give you a quick energy burst, but they also put pressure on your pancreas to produce more insulin to lower your blood sugar. The lows that follow can make you feel famished, frantically searching for another sugar rush which leads to stress eating.

2. SUGAR CAN LEAD TO INFLAMMATION

Too much sugar, and high glycemic index foods, result in substances called AGEs being produced in your blood.2 These potent pro-oxidant chemicals (the opposite of a healthy antioxidant) cause inflammation and left for too long, chronic inflammation can lead to diabetes and heart disease.

3. SUGAR CAN WEAKEN YOUR METABOLISM

Constantly flooding your blood with sugar, even if you’re not overweight, is never a good thing. Your pancreas has to work extra hard to keep your blood sugar levels within a healthy range, your blood pressure increases, and your blood fats go up, too. If these things are constantly happening, you can develop metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions that can lead to diabetes and heart disease.3-4

4. SUGAR CAN MAKE YOUR LIVER FAT

There’s no denying the facts — consuming too many calories leads to weight gain. It’s far too easy to tip your energy input over the edge with high sugar drinks and snacks. You already know being overweight or obese can be a fast-track ticket to a whole host of scary health problems. Eating too much fructose, in particular, which is converted into fat and stored in the liver, can lead to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease — a condition healthy weight people can develop, particularly if you drink too much soda.5

5. SUGAR IS IN HIGH CALORIES

Sugar provides pure calories and is completely lacking other essential nutrients, such as fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Sugary drinks and foods generally don’t fare much better, and they take up room in your diet that could otherwise be filled with more nutritious foods.6

6. SUGAR CAUSES TOOTH DECAY

Bacteria in your mouth love sugar—particularly sucrose, from everyday granulated sugar. When the bacteria munch on the sugar they produce acid, and you end up with holes in your teeth. Eating sticky sugar, like caramels or gummies, which attach to your teeth, is even worse.7

7. SUGAR CAN CAUSE ADDICTION

Your brain is hardwired to love sugar, its favorite form of energy. It’s a matter of survival: When you eat food, dopamine is released in the brain, which makes you feel happy. But certain foods, like sugar, make dopamine levels soar. In a similar way to how the brain reacts to cocaine, sugar can be addictive — the more you eat, the more you need to satisfy that “intense craving.”8

8. SUGAR CAN MAKE YOU GAIN BELLY FATS

Many people consume more added sugar daily than they realize. Common foods in the diet that can be high in added sugar can include baked goods, pastries, muffins, flavored yogurts, breakfast cereals, granola and protein bars, prepackaged foods, sugar-sweetened beverages, and other processed foods.In particular, a diet high in sugar-sweetened beverages such as sodas, specialty coffees, fruit juices, energy drinks is associated with increased visceral abdominal fat.9-10

BOTTOMLINE:


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REFERENCES:

1https://www.who.int/news/item/04-03-2015-who-calls-on-countries-to-reduce-sugars-intake-among-adults-and-children

2https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3257625/

3https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/7104-diabetes-mellitus-an-overview

4https://health.clevelandclinic.org/is-sugar-bad-for-your-heart/

5https://britishlivertrust.org.uk/sugar-and-the-liver-what-you-need-to-know/#:~:text=Sugar%20turns%20into%20fat&text=Any%20excess%20glucose%20in%20the,alcohol%20related%20fatty%20liver%20disease%20.

6https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/sugar.html

7https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/sugars-and-dental-caries

8https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/

9https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26755505/

10https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3288354/