The Reasons You Really Need to Ditch Sugar.

I know you probably know already but may not have given it much thought. So today I wan to share with you top reasons why sugar is bad for you and everyone else.

When it comes to what we’re eating these days, you will have to look very hard to not find sugar in your food. You name it.

From the naturally occurring sugars contained in fruits to your eye-catching, irresistible candy and ice cream on a hot summer afternoon, it’s almost impossible to ignore sugar. And to make it even worse, it’s even harder still to eliminate sugar from your diet altogether.

Although sugar may be sweet to your taste buds, there’s nothing sweet about it to your health. Too much of sugar consumption over a sustained period of time, and you know you’re headed for trouble with your health.

However, as our society becomes more and more health conscious, we all realize that sugar is a public healthy number one. You may not have taken into it consideration and so in this article I want to share with you or at least draw your attention to why sugar is bad you and everybody else around you, especially your loved ones.

This sinfully sweet assassin comes in a plethora of names. In fact the last time I checked sugar comes in at least 50 different names. So if you don’t look closely enough you won’t know you’re eating more of it than you should.

We will discuss a few of them as I give the reasons why sugar is bad for you and your weight loss goals, your brain, your children and many others. And more importantly, I will show you the health benefits to be had if you reduce your intake or cut it completely.

Top Reasons Why Sugar Is Bad For You

Before we dive into the reasons, I have to state that the negative effects of sugar on your body is mostly related to the refined added sugar to foods. The natural sugars found in foods such as fruits  are complex carbohydrates that are good for you health.

With that out of the way, let’s dive in….

1. No Nutritive Value

There’s a lot of studies done on the health benefits of sugar. And there isn’t really that much of benefits. Sugar doesn’t benefit you in any way. Really.

Sugar might taste good, but that’s about it. There’s basically no nutritional value in sugar at all, and when you have a diet high in sugary foods, you don’t leave a lot of room for the good stuff either.

Foods with vitamins and nutrients your body needs. Adding sugar to food isn’t great and can really rack up the calorie count on your favourite dishes. Added sugar can be placed into a product after the original amount of sugar is already in said product. So if you’re looking to cut back, that’s something to be mindful of when out shopping.

2. You’ll Gain Weight.

It’s a true thing. Sugar can have many names like high fructose corn syrup, table sugar, sweeteners, honey, fruit juices, sucrose, glucose. While some of these sugars do occur naturally, the AMERCIAN HEART ASSOCIATION recommends women only add 100 extra grams of sugar a day, and men only about 150.

So that doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room when you think about how much added sugar is in everyday foods, under all sorts of different names. Eating sugars like fructose don’t make us feel full and we can easily increase our daily calorie intake when eating stuff that has this type of sugar in it. Mainly because we’re still hungry. These types of foods don’t fill you up but do send you calorie intake through the roof. This is also an issue when it comes to drinking extra calories, too.

The AMERICAN PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION released a study showing a link between consuming sugary drinks that are loaded with fructose and obesity. Fructose can increase hunger and can often impede the effect of the natural hormone leptin, which is responsible for telling you when you’re full.

3. Heart Disease.

This one might be a little scary, but it’s a good reason to cut down on your sugar intake. Heart disease is the number one killer worldwide. When your body breaks down sugars like fructose it’ll cause your liver to produce fat.

This fat finds its way into your bloodstream and can block up your artery walls with plaque. PUBMED also says high sugar diets can increase your risk of heart disease by upping the risk of inflammation, high blood pressure and high blood sugar levels.

.4. Not So Sweet For Your Teeth.

Another issue with having a sweet tooth is…well…your teeth! When you have a diet that consists of lots of sugary foods, this can cause your teeth to decay. The sugars work with a film of bacteria inside your mouth which when put together can produce acid, that’ll eat away at your teeth. This causes weak spots and eventually cavities.

If you constantly eat lots of sugary stuff, your teeth won’t be able to regain the minerals needed for healthy enamel (the hard outer surface of the tooth) and thus cavities will eventually form.

5.Break up, or Break Out.

No one likes acne, and getting rid of it can be a real struggle. One thing to look into if you’re struggling with acne is the amount of sugar in your diet.

Consuming sugary foods, means your blood sugar levels will be much higher, this increases the development of oily skin and inflammation. A few of the ingredients in the formation of acne.

PUBMED says that it’s common for some rural communities that keep their diets natural and unprocessed have little to no history of acne amongst their populations. Unlike those populations of urban cities.

. 6. Diabetes & Insulin Resistance.

When your diet is really sugary, your blood will be too. To counter this the body will release a steady stream of insulin which after a while, could cause someone to become Insulin resistant, which is basically pre type 2 diabetes.

Dr. Sarah Hallberg, Medical Director at Virta Health explains that when someone becomes insulin resistant, it’s because of high sugar levels in the bloodstream. Insulin’s job it to put all that sugar where it’s needed, because it’s not really supposed to stay in the bloodstream.

 

If the insulin can’t find enough places to put all the sugar, it’ll just produce more insulin. If the insulin can’t keep the amount of sugar in the blood under control, that’s when full on diabetes will take hold.

7. The “C” Word…Cancer.

First off, more studies are needed to actually link cancer to sugar. Sugar itself doesn’t actually cause cancer but PUBMED says sugar may interfere with cell therapy and promote tumour growth.

Lots of sugar all the time can certainly increase your risk because of the things that go along with a sugar-filled diet. The problem isn’t just with the actual consumption of sugar, it’s the fact that eating things with lots of sugar in them is linked to being overweight.

Being overweight is something that’ll also up your risk of developing cancer. Sugar also increases inflammation in the body and as we just talked about insulin resistance, and these are also things that will increase your risk of cancer.

8. Sugar is Linked to Depression.

Have you ever felt a sugar high? That’s a real thing. Our mood is directly linked to the amount of sugar in our blood. After the sugar high comes the crash, and this can mean your mood crashes too.

Healthy foods have things like amino acids and help bring you back up after you’ve been feeling down. With a diet full of sugar and nothing else…you won’t have those important vitamins to help out how you’re feeling.

9. Sugar Ages You.

Eeek! This will definitely have you rethinking that chocolate doughnut for breakfast. Don’t get us wrong we’re all going to have wrinkles eventually, it’s part of life.

However, you probably don’t want to give the aging process a kickstart. There’s something called Advanced Glycation End Products or appropriately (AGEs).

When fat combines with sugar in the blood that process is called glycation. When the amount of AGEs are high in you body they can really ramp up the aging process.

Not only that but high levels of AGEs are also linked to a number of different diseases like diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Kidney failure, and even heart disease.

10. You’ll Have No Energy.

We touched on this a bit already, but diets high in sugar don’t really contain anything you need. Protein, fiber, and fat are things that give your body energy, and sugary foods are usually pretty lacking in those things.

Sure you may feel a quick surge in energy known as a sugar rush, but it won’t last long and the crash isn’t worth the calories. Not to mention your body is working so hard to find a place for all that sugar it drains your energy in the process.

11. It’s The Opposite of Brain Food.

Sugary diets have also been linked, by the New England Journal of Medicine, to a loss in memory and an increased risk in dementia. Some medical professionals are also saying sugar is to blame for “Type 3 Diabeties” or the onset of Alzhimers.

Researchers explain in a study published in PUBMED that Alzhimers could be called type 3 diabetes due to its link with sugary diets, and the likeness to a form of diabetes which only affects the brain.

12. It Can Affect Fertility.

This goes for both men and women. According to HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL diets that are high in sugar can make it harder to actually get pregnant in the first place due to a lower fertility and both men and women.

Not only that women that eat poorly (mostly fast food) took much longer to become pregnant than those who ate a more healthier, balanced diets.

Wow, sugar can really be harmful to the body. It might taste sweet, but with the rise in obesity and heart disease, it looks like avoiding sugar and sticking to a healthier diet could be just what the doctor ordered.

Remember, eating whole, non processed foods is an easy way to cut out added sugars and other types of sugar you may not recognize upon first glance.

Cooking at home is another way to be more proactive in cutting out the sweet stuff, and having control of what you put into your body.

So what did you think about this sweet video. Are you going to take steps to cut out the added sugar in your life? Do you have any tips for folks who are trying to eat less sugar? Let us know the best ways to break up with sugar in the comments section below..