Sugar cravings are one of the most universally shared experiences worldwide. It seems totally impossible to live without sugar, and many find the sweetness addicting. But did you know that by giving in to your cravings you are ruining your health? In the wake of Halloween candy season, this is especially important. Here are five health consequences of consuming too much sugar.
Number Five: It Will Ruin Your Teeth. Desserts and sweetened drinks are harmful for your teeth by making them susceptible to cavities and decay. Too much sugar consumption demineralizes your teeth, thereby making them weak. Decay allows germs to easily attack and find their way in.
Number Four: It Overworks Your Liver. You may wonder exactly how sugar can affect your liver, but it’s true. Sugar is made of glucose and fructose, and when fructose enters the blood stream it is not properly metabolized by our system. The liver is the only organ that can break and metabolize fructose, thereby getting overloaded with glycogen in the process, which when increased beyond the required limit turns into fat.
Number Three: It Lowers Metabolism. When too much sugar is consumed, the pancreas starts producing insulin to process sugar. In doing so, the pancreas may get overworked and fail to regulate blood sugar properly. This condition may lead to high blood pressure, imbalanced cholesterol, diabetes, obesity or excessive weight gain.
Number Two: It Promotes Heart Disease. Too much sugar consumption increases the uric acid levels in the body, which increases risk factors for heart and kidney disease. Since too much sugar encourages the liver to dump too many bad fats into the blood stream, the risk of heart disease increases due to restricted blood flow in the body.
Number One: It Suppresses Your Immune System. Sugar disables your body from fighting germs and diseases by reducing the efficiency of the germ-killing ability of white blood cells. Sugar also reduces the production of antibodies in our body and interferes with the transfer of Vitamin C in the blood stream. It also causes mineral imbalances, thereby not allowing the body to properly develop a healthy immune system.
Despite these health concerns, not all sugar is evil. Good sugars, or natural sugars, are required by our bodies to function normally and regularly. Foods with good sugars include fruits like apples and bananas, dark chocolate, raisins, and greek yogurt.