Top 4 Reasons Why Too Much Sugar is Unhealthy

Who does not like a sugary product from time to time? But not too many people think about how much sugar they ingest on a daily basis. Besides foods that contain sugar naturally, like milk and fruit, sugar is added to many other products. It is in almost everything: cakes, cookies, frozen yogurt, candy, various dairy products, ice cream and so many others. As a result, people tend to eat more sugar than it is necessary without even realizing they are doing it.

As a rule, foods that contain a lot of sugar have loads of empty calories, most of the time in excess. Plus, sugar of the refined kind has no fiber, no protein, no minerals and, generally, no other nutrients and vitamins that are crucial to your health and well-being.

Therefore, every part of your body, from the organs to the blood vessels, is affected by sugary foods, damaging your immune system and causing digestive and heart problems. Here are 5 reasons why you should limit your intake of sugar.

• It Might Cause Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 Diabetes, a disease that affects over 300 million people around the world, is caused mainly by an excessive consumption of sugar. Prolonged intake of sugar makes your body resistant to insulin and raises the insulin in the blood. If you eat a lot of sugar, your body will deposit loads of fatty buildups in the liver area. This will perturb the pancreas’ efficiency, making you more resistant to insulin. The beta cells located in the pancreas are heavily damaged, making them unable to produce the necessary amount of insulin that your body needs.

• Leads to Liver Damage

Diets high in sugar can cause issues for your liver. Sugar is composed primarily of fructose and glucose, which are then absorbed by the liver and transformed into lipids. These, in turn, overload your liver with a lot of excess work and damage the organ in the process.

A 2015 study shows that prolonged consumption of high-sugar beverages expands the risk of fatty liver disease, especially for obese and overweight individuals.

• Affects the Heart

Sugar causes more damage to your heart than fat does. Sugar strains the heart and arteries, making them work at overcapacity, increasing the risk of heart conditions such as heart attacks and cardiovascular diseases.

The key element here is fructose, which is found in high quantities in sugar. By increasing the low-density lipoprotein (also known as LDL or “bad” cholesterol) level, it affects the arteries, increasing the heart rate and blood pressure. High blood pressure, in turn, may lead to various heart diseases, strokes, and even heart attacks.

• Leads to Anxiety and Depression

Experts have linked diets with high amounts of sugar with irritability, anxiety and even depression.

Basically, your brain needs a regular amount of glucose and insulin in order to function properly. When the brain is bombarded by an excess of these chemicals, it affects your overall mood and state, causing anxiety and a general feeling of uneasiness.

These are the four reasons why you should limit your sugar intake. Try and replace your sugary foods with something more healthy, like fruits and legumes, and you will be safe from the risks presented above.