It’s getting close to the holidays that are celebrated with all types of treats. Many of those are laden with sugar. While eating an occasional treat isn’t bad, too much sugar in your diet is. Added sugar is in all types of foods, including ones you think are healthy. In fact, when manufacturers remove fat from products to make them appeal to dieters, they actually add sugar to make them more palatable. Why is sugar so bad for you? What happens to your body when you eat too much sugar? There are lots of change that occur over prolonged sugar abuse.
Too much sugar causes insulin resistance.
When you eat sugar, your body breaks it down to glucose, which can be used as energy by cells. When there’s a certain level in your blood stream, the body produces insulin, which allows the cells to take it in for use. However, too much sugar can cause changes in the body, which cause the cells not to allow the glucose to enter. That leaves a high amount of glucose free in the blood stream and causes the body to create even more insulin. Eventually, this causes type2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes not only can cause death, but high blood pressure, stroke, nerve damage, kidney damage, vision and hearing impairment and skin conditions.
Your microbiome is affected by too much sugar.
Your body has more microbes in it than cells. These microbes, in the right balance, help keep you healthy by aiding in digestion, boosting your immune system and even sending messages to the brain that can affect your mood. When you eat sugar, you’re feeding yeast and harmful bacteria that many scientists believe cause serious conditions, such as cancer. Switching to whole foods and away from highly processed ones with added sugar, can help keep your microbial level healthier. It’s hard to do, but worth it.
It’s not just obesity that occurs in a high sugar diet.
High blood pressure, visceral fat and dental disease also occur. There’s a reason that many people who are obese are also malnourished. They get most of their calories from the sugar and processed foods. While most doctors suggest cutting out salt if you have high blood pressure, too much sugar can also cause the same problem. One type of sugar, high fructose corn syrup, has also been shown to stimulate the creation of ghrelin—the hormone that makes you hungry.
- A high sugar intake causes spikes in blood sugar levels that boost your energy, but just as rapidly, that energy high drops to an energy low. Then many people eat even more sugar or face crankiness.
- High sugar intake is linked to heart disease, dementia, polycystic ovarian syndrome and cholesterol problems, as well.
- Eating too much sugar on a regular basis can slow the metabolism of protein, fat and other carbohydrates by causing the body to increase cortisol, the stress hormone linked to abdominal fat.
- Always read labels to see if there’s extra sugar added. Now manufacturers are required to list total sugar, so there’s no possibility to confuse you by listed several types separately.
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