The Problem with Sugar

Sugar, itself, contains 20 calories per teaspoon. So does powdered kale (https://www.eatthismuch.com/food/nutrition/organic-kale-powder,2025033/). (FYI Sugar is a simple carb.) Sugar may not directly cause increased poundage, but it wreaks a lot of havoc within your body, which leads to weight gain, and a host of other issues. Many pre-packaged and processed foods contain sugar as an additive quite unnecessarily, other than that it causes cravings for more sweets and food in general, therefore, you are primed to consume more.

1. Sugar Causes Blood Glucose to Spike

“In the long term, repeated spikes in your blood sugar can cause heart problems, kidney problems, problems with eyesight, and nerve issues like neuropathy, where you lose feeling in fingers and toes.”

(https://www.mdanderson.org/cancerwise/how-to-avoid-sugar-spikes.h00-159537378.html)

Glucose is extracted by the body from the food you eat, for utilizing the sugars we consume, by the hormone, Insulin, which is released by the pancreas. Glucose is the body’s preferred energy source. The problem with this is that most people consume much more sugar than is needed to match their energy output, whereas the body is left with excess energy and decides to store it as fat. This is where weight gain comes in. Spikes in glucose are also what causes the repeated sugar consumption and crash cycle, which causes you to eat more food to satisfy your cravings, leading to weight gain and overworking the glucose/insulin systems in your body leads us down the road to diabetes, as well as many other health issues.

2. Sugar is like a drug

“…people describe symptoms of withdrawal when they deprive themselves of sugar-rich foods. They also describe food craving, particularly for carbohydrates, chocolate, and sugar, which can trigger relapse and impulsive eating. This leads to a vicious cycle of self-medication with sweet foods that may result in obesity or an eating disorder”

(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/)

Sugar is an addictive substance. It causes the same changes in the brain and body as opioids, even presenting a person with withdrawal symptoms. Not as severe, but often incredibly uncomfortable. This is an unhealthy cycle leading to unhealthy behavior, leading to a generally unhealthy existence.

3. Sugar is a toxin

“Sugar, [scientists] argue, poses far greater dangers than cavities and love handles; it is a toxin that harms our organs and disrupts the body's usual hormonal cycles. Excessive consumption of sugar, [scientists] say, is one of the primary causes of the obesity epidemic and metabolic disorders like diabetes, as well as a culprit of cardiovascular disease. “

(https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/brainwaves/is-sugar-really-toxic-sifting-through-the-evidence/)

(https://www.skinanddiet.com/post/2018/03/12/why-consuming-too-much-sugar-can-lead-to-wrinkles-and-aging-skin)

(https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/the-sweet-danger-of-sugar)

Sugar causes wrinkles, inflammation of organs, joints and muscle tissue within the body, leads to weight gain and even gout, high blood pressure, heart disease, cancers, and the list goes on infinitely. This is because excess sugar cannot be metabolized effectively by the proper pathways of the body, so sugar molecules flow unchecked though out the body, causing damage. Sugar reduces immunity and your ability to overcome infections and viruses.

You may think “Oh but I only ingest Artificial Sweeteners. That’s not really sugar, so I’m good.” No. It doesn’t work that way. The consumption of Artificial Sweeteners may lead to abnormal pancreatic functioning and insulin levels, leading to metabolic diseases in a variety of forms. (https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2019.00051)

Unless you’re a high-powered athlete, your natural sugar requirements can be met with fruits and vegetable and whole foods in general, naturally avoiding the empty calories coming from soft drinks, juices, candies and sweets and too many processed foods. Eating whole foods containing complex carbohydrates and fiber, means consuming the additional nutrients your body needs in order to neutralize the negative effects of natural sugar and increase it’s benefits.

Thank you for reading! How aware are you of the negative effects of sugar? Does it impact your dietary choices?