The brain uses more energy than any other organ in the human body and glucose is its primary source of fuel. But what happens when the brain is exposed to an excessive amount of sugars in the standard American diet? In this case, more is definitely not better.
Eating too much sugar can contribute to people having too many calories, which can lead to weight gain. Being overweight increases your risk of health problems such as heart disease, some cancers, and type 2 diabetes.
Unlike foods and drinks that naturally contain sugar, those with added sugar provide no nutritional value. They are also a poor energy source, as the body digests added sugar very quickly.
One of the immediate effects of sugar on the body is the release of more insulin, which regulates blood sugar. Soda is the worst culprit, says Vasanti Malik, ScD, a research scientist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Sugar Causes Blood Glucose To Spike And Plummet
Unstable blood sugar often leads to mood swings, fatigue, headaches and cravings for more sugar. Cravings set the stage for a cycle of addiction in which every new hit of sugar makes you feel better temporarily but, a few hours later, results in more cravings and hunger.
Recent research has shown that the balance of gut flora is strongly associated with an individual’s ability to lose or gain weight and certain flora are related to an increased risk of obesity.
Sugars can be an unnecessary and unhealthy source of calories, and health experts are becoming ever more concerned about the issues associated directly with excessive sugar consumption.
Sugar Can Impact On Your Heart
In a study published in 2014 in JAMA Internal Medicine, Dr. Hu and his colleagues found an association between a high-sugar diet and a greater risk of dying from heart disease.
There are a number of scientific studies proposing that fructose may have particularly negative effects on health. Fructose makes up about half of the refined sugar we use and consume in sweetened foods and drinks each day.
A diet too high in sugar and starches increases the risk for obesity, diabetes and heart disease, so knowing more about the direct effects of sugar heart tissue is important.
Too much sugar in the diet can contribute to health problems like obesity and tooth decay. Refined sugar provides a quick, simple source of energy, but it doesn’t contain other nutrients such as vitamins and minerals.
Sugar Can Cause Weight Gain
Rates of obesity are rising worldwide and added sugar, especially from sugar-sweetened beverages, is thought to be one of the main culprits.
Sugar-sweetened drinks like sodas, juices and sweet teas are loaded with fructose, a type of simple sugar.
But obesity itself can be harmful even in the absence of those other conditions
Ndumele and colleagues found that after accounting for factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes, obesity by itself increases the risk of heart failure.
Sugar is a carbohydrate. Too many carbs can lead to weight gain mainly due to extra calories in the diet. Watch your sugar intake whether it comes from sweets, candy, potatoes, slices of bread and rice.
Let’s unpack what happens when our body receives more energy than it needs, how this can lead to weight gain and what you can do to decrease your risk of cancer.
Sugar Could Damage Your Sexual Health
You may want to skip the dessert on date night: Sugar may impact the chain of events needed for an erection. “One common side effect of chronically high levels of sugar in the bloodstream is that it can make men impotent,” explains Brunilda Nazario, MD, WebMD’s associate medical editor.
This new view of sugar could change the advice that doctors and government health officials give about eating the sweet stuff. Lustig’s hope is that the information is considered as the U.S.
Diabetes may impact a woman’s sexual health by damaging the nerves that can sense sexual stimulation. High blood sugar levels can cause nerve damage throughout the body.
This may affect her sexual health because she might experience symptoms of low blood sugar during sex. This may make sex seem more of an inconvenience than a pleasure.
Sugar Could Get You Into Depression
Part of sugar’s addictiveness stems from its impact on your brain’s chemical messengers. Daily binging on sugar releases dopamine, associated with your brain’s reward center.
You’ve heard me talk before about the complex relationship between sleep and gut health. Our gut microbiome is the vast community of microscopic organisms living our intestines.
This intense sweetness can stimulate the brain’s reward center and maybe more pleasurable than cocaine, even in people with drug addiction.
The standard American diet, which is full of sugar and fat, does not necessarily cause anxiety, but it does appear to worsen anxiety symptoms and impair the body’s ability to cope with stress.
Sugar Can Make Appear Skin Ages Faster
Too much sugar can hinder the repair of collagen, the buzzed-about protein that keeps skin looking plump, studies show. A steady diet of sugary treats can result in reduced elasticity and premature wrinkles. Indulge your sweet tooth with fruit instead.
Sugar is the number one food to avoid if you’re looking to slow down the aging process. It not only makes us fat but also makes us wrinkly, as it cross-links with the collagen, making our skin less flexible and dehydrating it too.
When asked does sugar age you, Dr. Nish says the short answer is yes. Sugar ages us in many ways, both internally and externally, including our skin. Dr. Nish breaks down the science with a simple analogy.
The Effects Of Sugar On The Mind
Sugar does more to your brain that just foster an addiction to the sweet ingredient. Eating large amounts of sugar can affect the brain’s pathways, potentially decreasing the ability to store new information.
Yet, most Americans unknowingly eat between 80-110 grams of added sugar a day
There is the obvious location in sodas and candy bars. But the challenge is that sugar is often hiding in places where you might not expect it: ketchup, salad dressing, sauces, and yogurt.
Your brain consists of a significant mass of nerve tissue that is involved in most functions of each organ within your body. The brain processes information; releases hormones; and regulates your breathing, body temperature, sleep cycle, and other functions.
Cancer Cells Are Sugar Fiends
New research from the University of Texas at Dallas shows a link between sugar and squamous cell carcinoma, which is hard to treat and accounts for a quarter of all lung cancers. The study also found that four other types of squamous cell cancer also consume a lot of sugar.
Some foods that naturally contain sugar, such as vegetables, fruit, and milk, are an important part of a healthy diet because they also contain important nutrients.
The report those Harvard scientists published transformed the American diet, causing people to steer clear of fatty foods, which led many to sugar-packed snacks instead.