10 Reasons Why Sugar Is Bad For You? - DailyAchiever
10 Reasons Why Sugar Is Bad For You?

10 Reasons Why Sugar Is Bad For You?

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Written By Melvin Waller, MD
Fact Checked by Dortha Varney, Ph.D.
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When we are in our twenties we do not realize the importance of staying healthy. During this age, most of us abuse our bodies with all sorts of junk food, soft drinks, smokes and what not. At this age, our body is young and strong and thus it can take all of that junk that we are consuming.

But what we fail to realize is that we are all growing old every day and in the long run this is not going to be beneficial for our body. Instead, it is going to harm our bodies in different ways. As we grow old the immune system of our body tends to fall weak and thus there will come a time that it will break down if we do not put a limit on our intake. Consuming such food will only give rise to various problems in our body.

Today, in the world there are millions of people who are suffering from various diseases and illnesses caused due to obesity or bad health. This includes both men and women. In fact, in certain cases, even children are included. This is why it is extremely important that we keep our body healthy from a young age so that we don’t have to suffer later on in the future.

In order to keep our body healthy, we need to have a neatly balanced diet that contains all the nutrition in the right proportions. Along with our diet, we also need to do regular exercise. Well, nobody is asking you to go to the gym every day or do any heavy exercise as we all know it is quite difficult for everyone.

What we are trying to say is that at least there should be some sort of exercise included in your routine. Like for example, an hour of jogging or yoga would also help you to a great extent. All you need to do is invest an hour a day for exercise and you will be good to go.

Now coming to your diet, you should have healthy food like vegetables, fruits, meat etc., and less junk and fried foods. However, nobody is asking you to completely cut down on your intake of junk food because once in a while we all feel like eating something junk and something tasty but there should be a limit.

Most of us love to have sweets, chocolates, coke etc., which is known to have a high amount of processed sugar. Not only that, but many of us also tend to add a lot of sugar in our food as well. But the thing with sugar is that it may taste good and make our food tasty but too much of it is actually not good for our health.

Therefore, it is important that we should cut down on our sugar intake as well. If you are following a neat diet then you need to make sure that there is only limited sugar in your diet. For some people, it may be too hard to cut down on sugar more than anything else but sugar can be really dangerous and harmful for your body in the long run.

Sugar is associated with a lot of diseases such as diabetes, high blood sugar etc. Nearly half of the population suffers from the problem of diabetes caused due to sugar.

This is actually a very serious situation. If you are not taking it seriously now then you may have to face the consequences later on. Today, in this particular article we are going to discuss the main reasons why too much sugar consumption is harmful to your health.

10 Main Reasons Why Sugar Is Bad For Your Health

According to experts one of the major causes of chronic diseases like diabetes and obesity results from a large consumption of sugar. Other than that sugar can also result in many other health problems and therefore it should be taken seriously. Here are 10 of the major reasons that why an excessive amount of sugar intake is harmful to your health.

1. It Increases Your Weight

The rate of obesity is skyrocketing all across the world and added sugar is considered to be one of the main reasons. Sugar-sweetened drinks and beverages like juices sodas and cold tea are known to contain a large amount of simple sugar known as fructose. It has been found that consuming large amounts of fructose can increase your hunger and therefore your overall appetite even more than glucose which is a type of sugar known to be found in starchy food items. Incorporating intense training is highly recommended to reduce weight even if you consume sugar.

Not only that but excessive consumption of fructose can also increase your resistance to leptin. Leptin is a very essential hormone that is present in our body which regulates our hunger and prompts our body to control eating. To put it, in other words, sugary beverages do not fulfill your hunger but instead makes you it even more.

Now, this is what leads to your weight gain. Studies have shown that people who are more into sugary beverages like juices sodas and other sweetened drinks are more likely to gain weight than people who do not. Consuming an excessive amount of sugary beverages can also lead to the increase of visceral fat which is the kind of belly fat that is linked with cardiac diseases and diabetes.

2. It Causes Acne

It can come to you as a surprise but an excessive amount of sugar consumption can also lead to acne. A diet that is known to contain higher amounts of sugary drinks and food is known to increase the chances of getting acne. Food items that are known to contain higher amounts of processed sugar can increase your blood sugar rapidly than food items that contain lower amounts of processed sugar.

The fact that sugary drinks and foods can increase your blood sugar rapidly is the reason why the secretion of androgen inflammation and oil production increases in your body. All of these together contribute to the development of acne. Studies have proved that food items with high amounts of process sugar are known to increase the risk of development of acne than food items with low amounts of processed sugar.

Studies have also shown that the rural population where people only consume traditional food is known to have almost 0% acne rate in comparison to urban areas where sugary foods are consumed in higher amounts. All these studies point to the same single fact that higher amounts of sugar consumption can actually lead to the development of acne.

3. It Causes Diabetes

Nearly half of the population of the world is known to suffer from the problem of diabetes. It is a worldwide problem that cannot be taken lightly at all. In the past 10 to 20 years the number of diabetic patients has nearly doubled. There are several reasons for diabetes, however; one of the main causes of diabetes is the excessive amount of sugar intake.

Diabetes and consumption of sugar have a clear connection between them. Obesity which is mainly caused due to the intake of excessive amounts of sugary food items is one of the major factors that lead to the development of diabetes. High sugar content is known to increase your resistance against insulin which is a hormone produced by our pancreas which helps in regulating the levels of sugar in our blood. When the resistance against insulin increases the sugar levels in our blood rises rapidly which in return increases your chances of getting diabetes all the more?

Studies have shown that the risk of diabetes has increased by 1.1% in more than 175 countries all around the world. There are also other studies that have proved that people who consume more juices, sodas, and cokes are more likely to develop diabetes than people who do not. This basically means that if you wish to save yourself from the grip of diabetes it is better for you to ditch this kind of sugary beverages and drinks

4. It Increases The Risk Of Cardiac Diseases

Excessive consumption of sugar diet is also known to lead to a number of diseases which includes cardiac diseases as well. Heart diseases are known to be the number one cause of death all across the globe. Studies have shown that excessive consumption of sugar is known to lead to conditions like obesity high triglyceride inflammation increase in blood pressure and blood sugar.

These are all the main factors that lead to heart diseases. Not only that but an excessive amount of sugar consumption can also lead to atherosclerosis which is the disease that is characterized by artery-clogging deposits. According to a study it has been found that people who consume more than 20% of calories from the sugary diet are known to have a higher risk of suffering from heart diseases in comparison to the people who consume only 10% of the calories from sugary diet.

A simple can of soda of 473 ml is known to contain 52 grams of added sugar which is equal to consuming more than 10 % of your daily sugar intake. This basically means that consuming one can of sugary drink already make you cross your recommended bar of daily sugar intake.

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5. It Increases The Risk Of Cancer

Yes, an excessive amount of sugar intake can also make you more susceptible to specific types of cancers as well. When you consume excessive amounts of sugary food your weight tends to increase and thus it may lead to obesity. Now obesity, in turn, makes you more vulnerable to cancer. Other than that consuming large amounts of sugary food is also known to increase your resistance against insulin and also lead to inflammation which all the more increases the chance of cancer for you.

Based on a study it has been found that excessive consumption of sugar can lead to the development of esophageal cancer, cancer in the small intestines and also pleural cancer. Whereas another study has shown that women who like to consume more sweet cookies and buns in a week can incur endometrial cancer as well.

Thus it has been proved that excessive amounts of sugar intake can make your body more vulnerable to certain types of cancer. However, there are more studies that are going on to understand the complex relationship between cancer and sugar.

6. It Increases Depression

You may be aware of the fact that eating healthy food can actually boost up your mood. Whereas on the other hand when you abuse your body with high sugary foods it can lead to depression. It is true that we love to eat cakes and cookies but all of these food items are known to contain excessive amounts of processed sugar content which is extremely harmful to our body and is also associated with the development of depression.

Researchers have found that sugar can manipulate our neurotransmitter dysregulation and also inflammation which in return can have a detrimental impact on our mental health. According to a study it has been found that people who consume more sugar are likely to be more depressed than people who consume lesser amounts of sugar in their daily diet. Therefore, it is important that you put a check on your daily sugar intake.

7. It Accelerates The Aging Process

We all love to stay young forever and in order to make that happen we spend so much money after beauty products, cosmetic surgery etc. But did you know that consuming too much sugar can also trigger your aging process? If not then you at least know it now. It is true that getting wrinkles is a natural process of aging.

However, they can also appear regardless of your health. It has been found that having an unbalanced diet can also ape up your aging process. When protein and sugar react in your body it produces a compound known as advanced glycation end products. This particular compound is known to play a major role in your aging process.

Consuming food items rich in processed sugar is known to produce more AGEs and thus it may result in premature wrinkles on your skin and face. AGEs are known to cause damage to elastin and collagen that is found in our body. These are proteins that help to keep our skin stretched and thus wrinkle free. It is with the help of these protein compounds that we get our youthful appearance. But when these protein compounds are damaged, our skin tends to lose its firmness and thus it becomes saggy or wrinkles begin to appear.

According to a study it has been found that women who consume higher amounts of sugar are likely to get premature wrinkles than women who do not. Researchers have also stated that consuming food with lower amounts of sugar is linked to having a better skin.

8. It Can Cause Fatty Liver

When you consume higher amounts of fructose it can also lead to fatty liver. Unlike other types of sugar that you consume fructose is completely broken down by your liver. Other types of sugar like glucose is known to be absorbed by cells present throughout your body. In the liver, fructose is stored as glycogen or is converted into energy. However, your liver is only designed to store only a limited amount of glycogen after which it turns it into fats.

When you consume large amounts of fructose, it is known to overload your liver which ultimately leads to a non-alcoholic fatty liver. This is a condition that is characterized by the build-up of excessive fat in your liver. According to a study conducted it has been found that people who consume more sugary beverages are more vulnerable to getting a fatty liver than people who do not.

9. It Drains Out Energy

Consuming higher amounts of sugar can also get your exhausted more easily. Food items that are known to contain higher amounts of added sugar are known to spike your insulin and blood sugar levels which can give you more energy. However, the only problem with this is that the energy gained is fleeting.

Food items that are known to be rich in sugar content can only give you a brief moment of an energy boost. That’s because most of these food items are known to lack the essential nutrients such as fiber, fats, and proteins. Therefore, even if you get an instant energy boost it will still drain out faster. If you continue to have fluctuations in your blood sugar level it can have a major impact on your energy levels.

In order to avoid getting drained faster, you need to consume food items that are rich in the carb and have lower sugar content. Also, the food should be rich in fiber. You can also pair a carb with fat or protein in order to keep yourself energized by keeping your blood sugar levels stable.

10. Other Health Risks

Other than the above mentioned health problems sugar consumption can also lead to many other types of health problems that you need to know about.

  • If you continue to have high levels of blood sugar you are more likely to develop kidney diseases. That’s because the high sugar levels in your blood are known to affect the blood vessels that are present in your kidney. Thus it increases the risk for you to get kidney diseases.

  • You may also incur the problem of gout which is a condition that causes pain in your joints. Consuming excessive amounts of sugar leads to the increment of uric acid in your blood which in return causes or increases the problem of gout in an individual.

  • Excessive consumption of sugar can also affect your dental health terribly. Sugar is known to cause cavities in your teeth which can be a big problem for you. Most people including children are known to get teeth cavities at a very young age. Bacteria that are present in your mouth feed on the sugar that you consume and gets stuck in your teeth and thus releasing acid byproducts which ultimately causes demineralization of your teeth.

  • Consuming too much sugar can also lead to cognitive decline. To put it into other words it can cause or accelerate impaired memory. Not only that, but it has been also linked with the increased chances of dementia.

Thus, you can see the number of problems that you can get from the excessive consumption of sugary food and drinks. If you want to stay healthy then it is extremely important that you cut down on your excessive sugar content. You may not feel the need of it now because you are young and your immune system is all fueled up but in the long run, you will slowly start to feel it’s effect.

If you want to save yourself from the very trauma of getting such diseases then it’s better for you to put a limit on your overall sugar intake. Take only small amounts of sugar that are needed. This way you will be able to both enjoy your sugary diet and also stay healthy at the same time.

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