7 Reasons Why Sugar Is Bad For You

Ever since we were children we were taught that eating too much sugar is bad for us. But how bad is it actually? Experts say that there is a variety of reasons why consuming too much sugar or sugary foods is bad for our metabolism. Here you will see what negative effects sugar actually has on our bodies and what are the main reasons why you should stop, or at least cut down the amount you intake.

Teeth

Too much sugar is the leading cause of cavities, especially if consumed from an early age. It causes increase of the bad bacteria in the mouth by providing them easily digestible energy. It doesn’t contain any proteins, vitamins or minerals; it’s just pure energy that causes tooth decay.

Liver

The liver is one of the organs most affected by too much sugar in diet. Sugar (in pretty much all of its variants) can overload the liver, so to say, stimulating it into turning sugar into fat. Fructose is the most frequent culprit here, as it can only be metabolized in the liver. Moreover, if there is too much fructose, this can lead to something called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, meaning that the liver gets fat accumulations of its own. The liver is the first organ that is affected. After the liver comes the pancreas, the kidneys and ultimately the heart.

Diabetes

Experts claim that added sugar is 11 times more potent at causing diabetes than general calories. Some scientists believe that fructose fools our brains into thinking we are full, so we overeat. The trick is that excess fructose can’t be converted into energy by the mitochondria inside our cells, but instead they turn excess fructose into liver fat. This can cause a cascade of insulin resistance which can lead to chronic metabolic disease, including diabetes.

Cancer

Multiple studies have shown that people who consume too much sugar are in higher risk of getting cancer. One of the many reasons behind this is that insulin is one of the key hormones that regulates the growth and multiplication of cells that cause cancer. Some studies claim that one of the ways to treat cancer is to cut off sugar, and “starving those tumor and cancer cells with a lack of glucose ”.

Addictive

Many experts compare sugar to drugs. And no, it isn’t an overstatement. Studies have shown that trying to quit sugar is almost the same as getting off drugs.

Sugar gives you the initial high, then you crash, then you crave more, so you consume more sugar. It’s this series of highs and lows that provoke unnecessary stress on your adrenals. You get anxious, moody and eventually you feel exhausted.

– says Gwyneth Paltrow, who is a big ‘No Sugar’ proponent.

Obesity

Consuming too much sugar leads to obesity, which is associated with cardiovascular disease, disability during old age, and also serious chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis and hypertension. Sugar isn’t bad for you in a balanced diet, so it’s much better to use natural sweeteners to add flavor and texture to your foods.

Heart Disease

As mentioned earlier, high levels of fructose, which is found in sugar, when consumed can raise triglycerides, blood glucose and insulin levels. All this and much more damages the organs which ultimately leads to heart diseases.

Consuming too much of anything will always be bad for our organism. The trick is not to overdo it and to keep it balanced. Even sugar intake is desirable if taken in considerable amounts. Don’t think that it is crucial to quit the consumption of sugar all at once, but it’s probably better to watch the amount you intake and to be sure that you are getting sugar from natural sources such as fruits and similar.