INTRODUCTION

The problem with consuming added sugar isn’t just that it offers no nutrients and plenty of calories, rather consuming too much sugar can also lead to serious health problems including obesity, diabetes, certain cancers, heart disease and more. Understanding the impacts of sugar on our health is not an easy task. That is why a little historical journey will help us spot conflicts of interest and put current findings in perspective. We are letting you in on some of the secrets behind the effects of sugar on the body.

Here’s what happens when excessive sugar enters your body;

Sugar causes glucose levels to spike and drop:

Unstable blood sugar can leave you experiencing mood swings, fatigue, and headaches. It also contributes to cravings, which begins the cycle of false hunger.

Heart Disease.

Adding extra sugar than needed in your diet as well as in the bloodstream and high insulin levels can increase the risk factor of several heart diseases by leading to high blood pressure, obesity and inflammation. Hence, high-sugar diets and sugary food items are best to avoid keeping heart diseases at bay.

Sugar increases the risk of obesity and diabetes.

Obesity and insulin resistance is often caused because of high sugar intake and considerably associated with diabetes risk. While we all like to indulge once in a while, foods that quickly affect blood sugar contribute to a greater risk of obesity and diabetes. Emerging research also suggests connections between these high-glycaemic diets and various forms of cancer.

Fatty Liver

Having an excess of sugar in the form of table sugar might overload your liver. The quick sugar load causes a fast rise in blood sugar that can overwhelm the liver and lead to fatty liver and cirrhosis over time.

Your immune function can be affected by sugar.

As if being sick wasn’t bad enough, studies have shown that sugar can interfere with the way your body fights disease. Bacteria and yeast feed on sugar, so excess glucose in the body causes these organisms to build up and cause infections.

Joint

Eating too much sugar can lead to inflammation, which can worsen joint pain and eventually lead to arthritis.

Sugar accelerates aging.

Wrinkles are the utmost natural sign of ageing but premature wrinkles can appear on the skin due to poor food choices like eating too much of dietary sugar. After sugar hits your bloodstream, it attaches to proteins. The mix of these proteins with sugar causes the skin to lose elasticity and leads to premature aging.

Sugar causes tooth decay.

With all the other life-threatening effects of sugar, we sometimes forget the most basic cosmetic damage it does. When it sits on your teeth, sugar causes decay more efficiently than any other food. It’s important to brush your teeth at least twice a day to stop sugars from fuelling plaque and bacteria.

Tips to reduce your intake of added sugars:

• Swap energy drinks, juices and sweetened teas for water and unsweetened soda water.

• Sweeten plain yoghurt with fruits like berries instead of buying flavored, sugar-loaded yoghurt.

• Consume whole fruits • Use natural nut butters in place of sweet spreads like Nutella.

• Avoid alcoholic beverages that are sweetened with juice, and agave.

• Focus on fresh, whole ingredients when it comes to doing your weekly food shopping.

Conclusion:

Having understood the negative effects of sugar on your body and mind, it is time to be more careful when choosing foods. Getting educated about how to replace added sugar is a step in the right direction. Instead of indulging in refined and high sugary food items, eat fruits and also enjoy other nutritive values required by your body for an optimal living. Or else make a healthy choice over table sugar by opting for jiggery, dates, honey and coconut sugar in moderation.

You can also contact our nutritionist for a standard and personalize meal plan.

Call us now on 08139779499 or visit our Instagram, Facebook and Twitter pages for more information.

E-mail: info@angelsservices.org

Mr Uzoma C.