Here’s How To Actually Stop Eating So Much Sugar
As long as there is no risk of diabetes or obesity on health, we do not pay attention to eating less sugar. There is no need to make a complete distance from sugar, but gradually reducing refined sugar from the diet is good for health as it ages. At HEALTHY and FITNESS, we will talk about the relationship between health and sugar. We make full use of sugar in our daily life. However, do you know how much sugar hurts you?
Content List:
- How Much Sugar Can You Eat Per Day?
- Why White Sugar Is Dangerous?
- Harmful Effects of Sugar
- Addictive Nature of Sugar
- How to Stop Sugar Addiction?
Sugar is considered to be the most horrible food you can eat particularly when it comes to maintaining a healthy body and losing weight. Many people say that sugar is addictive, toxic, and fat generating and that eating too much of it can cause far worse health problems like an impaired type2 diabetes, heart disease, and immune system.
Although having sugar in a moderate amount is less likely to lead to these serious health issues but most people over-consume the sugar in their daily life. This overconsumption of sugar is precisely what leads to type2 diabetes, weight gain and the other unhealthy side effects.
According to an estimate people around the world, consume more than 500 calories daily due to sugar. A study indicates that American eats about triple the daily-recommended amount of added sugars.
How Much Sugar Can You Eat Per Day?
If you are healthy, taking normal amounts of sugar along with regular exercise does not harm. It is better you follow a healthy diet with added sugar kept to a minimum.
Although it is very difficult to say the ideal amount of sugar one can consume, those who are complaining of obesity and heart disease should consume less than normal. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), people who do not have diabetes can take the maximum amount of sugar.
Men: 150 calories per day (37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons).
Women: 100 calories per day (25 grams or 6 teaspoons).
We use sugar from morning until evening. Today we recommend you that you can use naturally sweets food instead of sugar. To add sweetness to food, we use sugar, which is harmful to us. When advice is given to reduce sugar, people feel that they have to give up sugar. However, sweet and sugar are two different things, humans can eat sweet in plenty but not sugar.
Why White Sugar Is Dangerous?
Why Sugar Is Harmful To Health. STOP SUGAR ADDICTION
White sugar is also called refined sugar. Sulfur dioxide, phosphoric acid, calcium hydroxide, and activated carbon are used to refine sugar. After refining, the vitamins, minerals, proteins, and enzymes in it are destroyed, only sucrose is left. White sugar or refined sugar is called ‘foodless food’ as it contains empty calories but does not contain vitamins or minerals, so it does not have much benefit for health.
Excess sucrose damages the body. There are 60 types of diseases like heart diseases, cancer, blood pressure, and of course diabetes that may happen due to the use of added sugar.
The Top 12 Harmful Effects of Sugar To Your Body, Mind, and Appearance.
No. 1 Can Cause Weight Gain:
Consuming too much-added sugar, especially from sugary beverages, can lead to visceral fat accumulation and increases your risk of weight gain. This, in turn, increases your belly fat. If you are prone to store fat in your abdominal region, the consumption of excess sugar could be a possible factor. The link between sugar consumption and belly fat as well as heart diseases is cited in many studies
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No. 2 Sugar linked to Acne and Pimples:
High-sugar diets can increase inflammation, oil production in the skin, androgen secretion and all of this can elevate your risk of developing acne and pimples. Although a clear link between sugar and acne are not well established, there is some evidence that sugar contributes to acne eruptions in the face and body. If you doubt sugar is the culprit of your acne, avoid sugar and refined carbs, and notice if things getting better.
No. 3 May Accelerate the Skin Aging Process:
Sugar destroys collagen, a type of protein responsible for firmness and elasticity of the skin. The destruction of collagen makes skin look older, spotted, and develop wrinkles. Thus eating too much sugar leaves signs of aging in your face.According to research conducted at the University of Holland, the more amount of sugar in the body you will grow old faster.
Studies have revealed that individual with higher blood sugar tends to look older than those with lower sugar levels. In fact, for every milligram per liter rise in blood sugar levels the perceived age of that individual rose by at least 5 months. Breakdown of skin tissue causes wrinkles on your face and you look older.
No. 4 Can Increase Cellular Aging:
Various researches have also found a direct correlation between sugar intake and cell aging. Consuming excess sugar can accelerate the shortening of telomeres, which in turn increases cellular aging. Telomeres are a type of chromosome which taken as a measure of cellular aging.
The mechanism behind the accelerated destruction of cells, tissues, and organs was studied in diabetic individuals and is known as glycation, where a sugar molecule dangerously binds with the proteins. Hence, consuming refined sugar and carbohydrate in the diet is to be regulated to reduce the negative impact of aging.
No. 5 Sugar Increase Your Risk of Heart Disease:
Consuming too much added sugar increases heart disease risk factors such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, and inflammation. Among those who eat more sugar, the risk of heart disease increases by six times. According to research, 25 calories from sugar increases the chances of a heart attack in your body by three times. Sugar increases the problem of high blood pressure and thereby puts the additional burden to your heart.
No. 6 Sugar Is a Stepping Stone To Diabetes:
Why Sugar Is Harmful To Health.
Sugar and especially sugary beverages increase the risk of developing type-2 diabetes by 83%. Your liver becomes resistant to insulin with increasing consumption of sugar. In a study performed over 90000 women subjects, the women who consume a high sugary drink every day had an 83% raised risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those who consumed sugary drinks less often.
Intake of excess sugar leads to obesity and insulin resistance, both of which are risk factors for diabetes.
No. 7 Can Lead to Fatty Liver:
Addiction to sugar causes the same damage to your liver as alcohol does. Eating too much-refined sugar and high fructose diet causes an excessive fat builds up in the liver, a condition in which lead to Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD).
No. 8 May Increase Your Risk of Cancer:
Excess sugar increases insulin levels, increasing the risk of developing cancerous tumors. Obesity and inflammation are other risk factors associated with cancer are common in persons eating excess dietary sugar.
No. 9 Sugar Negatively Affects The Brain And Nerves:
Refined sugar causes chemical reactions in the brain, causing the secretion of the ‘serotonin’ hormone, which makes one feel better for a while, but soon the person starts feeling tired, irritable, and depressed. In those who eat more sugar, the brain cells get old quickly which leads to slowed cognitive function and deficit in memory and attention.
The nervous system is also adversely affected. Excess intake of sugar causes vitamin B deficiency in the body and vitamin B complex is important for the proper functioning of nerves.
No. 10 Sugar Makes Feel Hungry:
Sugar makes you feel hungry. A study conducted by researchers of Yale University has found that the people who consume more sugar compared to others tend to feel hungrier afterward. Sugar blocks leptin secretion and increases insulin to huge levels. Leptin is a hormone responsible for sending our systems the signal that we are full and should not be eating more.
However, when we take sugar, this hormone is blocked and we tend to feel more prone to eat more. Not only that, but it also raises insulin levels in our brains and this makes any attempts to burn fat and lose weight extra hard. As sugar only provides empty calories, a high-sugar diet can negatively affect your energy levels by causing a spike in blood sugar followed by a crash.
No. 11 Sugar Can Make You Depressed And Moody:
Increase in cases of depression is found in both men and women consuming excess sugar and processed food. Sugar can also make you moody. A person feels stressed due to excess sugar. After which you become moody. Such people seem upset with the whole society. In addition to making you moody, it also makes you inattentive and forgetful. You start forgetting things because of stress.
No. 12 Sugar Causes Tooth Decay:
Sugary food and Sugar-sweetened beverages have high levels of sugar are one of the main causes of tooth decay. Eating sugar does not actually harm your oral health, but it is the acid produced when the bacteria in your mouth break down the sugar. Sugar attracts these destructive bacteria and Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sorbrinus are most commonly found in the human mouth.
These bacteria feed on the sugar you eat and form dental plaque (a sticky coating on the surface of teeth). The sugar converted to acid dissolve your tooth enamel and eventually turns into the cavity and worsens the condition. Sweet foods like chocolate or candy are more prone to be stuck in these dental cavities.
ADDICTIVE NATURE OF SUGAR
Now it becomes necessary to discuss what is going to happen if you quit sugar for just 30 days. According to some studies, when people quit eating sugar they suffer from withdrawal symptoms and they describe having strong cravings for sugary food especially for things like chocolates, sugar, and sweet carbohydrates.
These studies also point out that the consumption of any of these things can trigger relapse and indulge eating. All these things happen due to the effect of sugar has on the human brain. The reason why eating sugar makes you feel good because sugar activates the pleasure and reward center of your brain and stimulates the release of dopamine (the happiness hormone).
Now, if you have been stimulating these neural pathways constantly for a long-time and then, all the sudden, quit eating sugar, it could cause intense sugar cravings because your body is not used to the absence of sugar. Therefore, in this way, sugar has an addictive effect just like other drugs. According to experts, sugar is seven times more addictive than cocaine.
There is a strong desire to eat sugar and carbohydrate foods when it becomes addictive. The more sugar you eat, the more the desire to eat it increases. The researchers have conducted studies on rats to find out their dependency on sugar.
The findings of that study show that the dependency pattern is correlated to several aspects of addiction, like the cycle of having cravings, binging, and subsequently having withdrawal symptoms. So, if you are planning to quit sugar, be prepared to face the sugar cravings early on.
HOW COULD YOU STOP SUGAR ADDICTION?
Fortunately, this craving will fade away quickly. Usually, in just 3 to 5 days these sugar craving symptoms drop down significantly. So prepare yourself to go through this phase of desire to satisfy your sweet tooth, as this will end in a short period.
The best way to save yourself from the unhealthy effect of sugar is to control your desire for sugar. Limit your sugar intake in moderation. To start with, stay away from consuming sugar for a set period. Reduce sugar intake gradually. Initially, you may develop headaches, fatigue, and laziness, but after a week, these symptoms will disappear.
So, say no to sugar and go for alternate sweeteners, which we will discuss soon.
