Toxic Effects of Consuming Excessive Sugar

Everybody’s got their poison, and to many it tastes sweet. Is it sugar I’m referring to? Yes, I surely am. Sugar may be the most common and most loved ingredient in our foods; at the same time, it is one among the most harmful foods too. We actually do not need sugar to live; yet, many among us would feel quite the opposite. Sweets, candies, cakes, desserts and ice creams are all symbolic of celebration. With all the cheer in the air, we almost always overlook the ingredients in the food that are harmful to our bodies, no matter how great they taste.

Sugar is everywhere and can come to your plate in any form. It can be crystal sugar or anything labeled as brown sugar, maple syrup, molasses, high fructose corn syrup or cane sugar. Why should sugar intake be limited? Why is it considered harmful?  The answer is actually quite simple. Sugar is nothing but a source of calories with no associated benefits. It contains no protein, no healthy fat, no enzymes and no nutrients.

Over consumption of sugar leads to the following risks:

Weight gain:
Sugar contains no significant nutrients and is high in calories. Excess sugar increases the calorie load of the meal. When there is no need for those additional calories, our body converts it to triglycerides (a form of fat) and stores it. According to an article published in the “American Journal of Clinical Nutrition”, 2006, many studies have validated the association between sugar and obesity.

Increased risk of developing insulin resistance resulting in type II diabetes:
Overconsumption of sugar or sugary foods causes the fluctuation of blood glucose levels in the body. These repeated fluctuations may cause the cells to stop responding to insulin, the hormone responsible for the absorption and transfer of glucose from blood to the cells. Thus, causing the cells to become insulin resistant, resulting in type II diabetes.

Impaired immunity:
According to Health Services at Columbia University, consuming 100 grams of sugar depresses the white blood cell activity almost by 40 percent for almost 4 to 5 hours. Prolonged consumption of foods high in sugar impairs the immune system’s ability to fight infections to provide protection against bacteria, viruses and other parasites.

Risk of developing heart related complications:
A study published in the journal of the American Medical Association found that people who get more than 25 percent of their daily calories from sugar are more likely to have low HDL (good cholesterol) levels. Low HDL levels are associated with increased risk of developing plaque. High sugar consumption is also associated with increased triglyceride levels, which gets stored in the fat cells. High triglycerides and low HDL levels eventually contributes to atherosclerosis.

Increased risk of developing non-alcoholic liver disease:
Fructose, a type of sugar, when eaten in excess, gets converted to fat in the liver and is later transported as VLDL cholesterol. However, all of it is not transported. The VLDL left behind in the liver contributes to the formation of non-alcoholic liver disease. This condition in its severest form may later develop into liver cirrhosis or liver cancer.

There is more to the non-sweet sugar story. Excess sugar also leads to:

• Mental conditions like hyperactivity, anxiety and depression
• Tooth decay
• Toxemia during pregnancy
• Increased bacterial fermentation in colon
• Increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease

It is thus important to realize that reducing the total sugar intake offers significant health benefits. Learn to decode the labels and avoid foods with any kind of added sugar. Artificial sweeteners are also not as healthy as they are claimed to be. These products also trigger the production and release of insulin which triggers the cravings to consume sugar or other sugary foods.