Proven Reasons Why Too Much Sugar is Bad
Candy. Sweetened products. Desserts. Sugary Drinks. Most people love indulging in such food items. After all, having a sweet tooth is quite common among the masses. Sadly, for those who wish to live a healthy lifestyle, eating too much sugar can be counterproductive. Not only does it hamper your ability to achieve your health-related goals, but it also affects your body badly.
What is too much sugar for the body?
Anyone who has to ask is likely consuming a little too much already. This is because one must make a conscious effort to limit their sugar consumption. While an average Canadian consumes over 26 teaspoons of added sugar every day, the recommended amount is comparatively very low. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation that our consumption of added sugar should be no more than 10 percent of our total daily calories (5% would be even better, according to WHO).
So, if someone’s consumption is more than the recommended amount, know that they are consuming too much sugar for the body. This is not a healthy lifestyle.
What are the effects of too much sugar?
Eating too much sugar has various negative impacts on the human body. Here are some known effects of eating too much.
- Weight gain
Countries, where sugary drinks and added sugar intake is high, are the same countries where obesity is a huge problem. This is because such beverages and food items play a significant role in weight gain. Such drinks are equipped with fructose. This type increases one’s hunger. Compared to glucose consumption, eating fructose makes people want to eat more. And the more they eat, the more weight they gain.
Additionally, high fructose intake tends to increase the resistance the body has to leptin. Leptin is a hormone that works to regulate the feeling of hunger. By resisting its function, fructose further enhances the desire to eat. There have been various studies that pinpoint that those who drink sugary beverages tend to gain weight much easier than those who don’t. Also, it has also been observed that such beverages increase the amount of visceral fat in the body. This, in turn, makes one prone to diabetes and heart ailments.
- Increases the risk of heart diseases
Increased sugar intake has been linked with quite a few illnesses. This includes heart diseases as well. As a whole, heart diseases are known to be the leading cause of death in the world. Those who indulge in a high-sugar diet might suffer from inflammation in the body, obesity, high blood pressure levels and high sugar levels in the body. All of these factors increase the risk of developing heart diseases.
It has also been widely observed that consuming a lot can lead to the formation of fatting deposits in the arteries. This is called atherosclerosis. It can lead to heart attacks if the artery gets clogged too much.
- It causes acne
No one likes having blemishes on their skin. Eating too much sugar tends to lead to breakouts and acne. This is because sugary food causes an increase in the level of blood sugar and insulin in the body. This, in turn, produces an increase in the secretion of androgen as well as sebum. This, together with inflammation, causes acne development. A diet high in refined carbs, including sugary foods and drinks, has been associated with a higher risk of developing acne.
- Diabetes
In the past thirty years, the prevalence of diabetes has doubled in the world. Added sugar consumption is a big reason for this. A very significant risk factor of diabetes is obesity. And obesity is one of the most common effects of eating too much of it.
What makes matters worse is that eating a high-sugar diet for a prolonged period leads to resistance against insulin. This, in turn, renders the body incapable of regulating blood sugar levels, thereby causing diabetes.
- Depression
One might think that an unhealthy diet might only cause issues to one’s physical health. However, eating too much is known to impact one’s mental health as well as negatively. Just like eating healthy food helps in improving mood, eating too much sugar tends to have the opposite effect.
The changes in the blood sugar level along with inflammation and neurotransmitter dysregulation may be the reason why it causes depression. One thing is for sure; there are various studies that have linked the two together.
One study done on 8000 people where their consumption patterns were tracked for 22 years showed that those who consumed more than 67 grams of sugar per day were 23 percent more likely to develop depression than those who consumed less.
How to detox from too much sugar?
After consuming too much sugar, here is what one should do to detox:
- Drink a lot of water
For every molecule of glucose present, the human body uses three molecules of water. After consuming a lot of sugar, the chances are one might feel dehydrated and hence tired. To avoid these feelings, one should drink extra water to make up for the water used due to added sugar consumption.
- Don’t fast
Some might think that after binging on sugar, one should stop consuming anything else. However, fasting is not the right approach. Instead, it is advised that one should eat food to balance out the effect of the sugary diet.
- Exercise
Exercising will allow you to burn calories and glycogen in the body. Therefore, after a high intake of sugar, exercising helps in balancing out the effects.
- Eat vegetables and bananas
To increase potassium intake after getting a sugar rush, one might want to eat bananas. Moreover, eating vegetables also help in getting the required nutrients and put you on the road to a healthy lifestyle even after consuming too much sugar.
Consume with caution. Your sweet tooth might be satisfied today but will expose you to various ailments later on.
