It’s likely that you already know that consuming excessive amounts of sugar is unhealthy. You’re most likely still overdoing it, though. Compared to the recommended daily limits of approximately 12 teaspoons or 200 calories, Americans consume an average of 270 calories, or roughly 17 teaspoons, of sugar each day.
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The main sources of added sugar are sweetened dairy products, candies, baked goods, and sugary drinks. However, savory items like tomato sauce, breads, and protein bars can also contain sugar, so it’s really simple to consume too much sweet food. To make matters more complicated, added sugars can appear under a variety of names on nutrition labels, making it difficult to identify them, like sucrose, cane juice, palm sugar, maize syrup, or agave nectar.
Whatever name it goes by, sugar is sugar, and when consumed in excess, it can have a variety of harmful effects on your health.
Here’s a closer look at the various ways sugar can harm your body from head to toe.
Your Mind
Consuming sugar causes a significant increase in the feel-good hormone dopamine in the brain. This explains why, at 3 p.m., candy bars are more likely to make you crave them than apples or carrots.
Your brain starts to require more and more sugar to provide the same level of pleasure since whole meals, such as fruits and vegetables, don’t cause the brain to release as much dopamine. This makes you feel as though you “gotta have it” for your ice after supper.
Your State of Mind
An occasional cookie or candy can quickly raise your blood sugar levels, giving you a “sugar high” or short burst of energy. You can experience jitteriness and anxiety when your levels drop as your cells digest the sugar—also known as the dreaded “sugar crash.”
However, if you’re reaching into the candy jar too frequently, sugar begins to affect your mood in ways that go beyond that afternoon dip at three: Research has connected an increased intake of sugar to an increased risk of depression in adulthood.
Your Dental Health
At the age of twelve, you undoubtedly scoffed, but your parents were correct: candy may cause tooth decay. Cavity-causing bacteria thrive on sugar, which is left behind in your mouth after eating something sweet.
Your Elbows
Here’s another reason to avoid candy if you have joint pain: Because sweets create inflammation in the body, it has been demonstrated that eating a lot of them exacerbates joint discomfort. Furthermore, research indicates that consuming sugar increases the likelihood of getting rheumatoid arthritis.
Your Cut
Your skin may age more quickly as a result of inflammation, which is another negative impact.
Extra sugar binds to circulation proteins to form dangerous compounds known as “AGEs,” or advanced glycation end products. These chemicals age your skin, precisely as their name suggests. It has been demonstrated that they harm the protein fibers in your skin called collagen and elastin, which keep your skin looking young and firm. What was the outcome? Saggy skin and wrinkles
Your Heart
A lot of additional sugar probably involves high fructose corn syrup or fructose syrup. When taken in excess, fructose can harm the liver due to its processing in the liver. Fructose is converted to fat by the liver during its breakdown. Thus, this leads to:
NAFLD, or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, is characterized by an accumulation of extra fat in the liver.
The symptoms of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) include a fatty liver, inflammation, and “steatosis,” or liver scarring. The liver eventually loses its blood supply due to scarring. Many of these progress to liver transplant-requiring cirrhosis.
Your Heart
Overindulgence in sugary foods and beverages can lead to an excess of insulin in the blood, which can clog arteries throughout the body. It results in their walls to become inflamed, thicker than usual, and more rigid; over time, this strains and weakens your heart. Heart disease, including heart failure, heart attacks, and strokes, may result from this.
Reducing sugar intake may also help lower blood pressure, which is a significant risk factor for heart disease. Furthermore, the risk of dying from heart disease is doubled for individuals who consume large amounts of added sugar (at least 25% of total calories) compared to those whose diets contain less than 10% of added sugar.
The Pancreas in You
Insulin is secreted by your pancreas during feeding. However, if you consume excessive amounts of sugar and your body becomes insensitive to insulin, your pancreas begins to release more insulin. Your blood sugar will rise and your overworked pancreas will eventually fail, leaving you vulnerable to heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
Your Renal Systems
Kidney damage might result from consuming too much sugar if you have diabetes. Your kidneys are essential for blood filtration. The kidneys start releasing extra sugar into your urine when blood sugar levels hit a specific point. Diabetes can harm the kidneys and make it difficult for them to remove waste from your blood if it is not managed. This may result in renal failure.
Your Mass
You probably already know this, but your weight will increase with the amount of sugar you consume. Studies reveal that those who consume beverages with added sugar typically have higher body weights.
and have a greater chance of developing type 2 diabetes than people who don’t. According to one study, those who consumed more sugar in their diet gained over 1.7 pounds in less than two months. Sugar overindulgence can irritate fat cells, prompting them to release substances that contribute to weight gain.
Your Sexual Well-Being
On a date night, as a man, you might wish to forego dessert. Sugar could affect the series of actions required to achieve an erection.
It has an impact on your circulatory system, which regulates blood flow throughout your body and is necessary for both achieving and maintaining an erection.
In the world of excessive sugar consumption, the toll on the body is comprehensive and alarming. From the moment sugar enters your system, it starts affecting both your physical and mental well-being. The immediate dopamine surge in the brain may create a fleeting sense of pleasure, but the prolonged consequences paint a less appealing picture.
Beyond the fleeting “sugar high” and subsequent crash, the impacts extend to various organs and systems. Dental health takes a hit as cavity-causing bacteria thrive on the sugar left behind. Joints may ache due to increased inflammation, and the aging process accelerates as sugar forms advanced glycation end products (AGEs) that harm skin proteins.
The heart bears a substantial burden, with added sugar contributing to inflammation, arterial stiffness, and an increased risk of heart disease. The pancreas struggles with insulin production, potentially paving the way for heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Even the kidneys, vital for blood filtration, face potential damage from excess sugar, especially in the context of diabetes.
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Weight gain becomes a tangible consequence of sugar indulgence, as fat cells react to the overload. And for men, even sexual well-being is not immune, as sugar’s impact on the circulatory system can interfere with the processes necessary for achieving and maintaining an erection.
As a society, the average sugar intake far exceeds recommended limits, emphasizing the need for a conscious reevaluation of dietary habits. Choosing nutrient-dense, whole foods over sugary temptations becomes not just a preference but a crucial step toward safeguarding overall health. It’s a call to action to prioritize long-term well-being over the momentary satisfaction of a sweet treat, recognizing that the true cost of excessive sugar consumption extends far beyond the taste buds.
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