It’s a truth widely known that what is bad for you generally tastes so very good. Sugar is one of those things that we love, but plays havoc with with our body in many ways. Refined sugar is present in all those desserts we crave and in fizzy soda drinks. Every time we gulp down aerated drinks, we are giving our body a sugar high and our body craves for more. Many people can suffer from sugar addiction without even knowing it since it can creep up on us very insidiously. Refined sugar is present in almost all foods we eat and as delicious as sugar does taste, there are ways it can damage you on the inside.
1. It’s The Leading Cause For Obesity
The average can of aerated soft drink has around 10 teaspoons of sugar. With one drink alone you would have already crossed your daily limit of sugar. What makes it worse is that they are empty calories. Fruits are also sweet, but they have complex sugars with fiber to slow down their absorption. They also have plenty of vitamins and minerals which can negate the effects of sugar. Refined sugars are a big contributor to obesity because the empty calories plays trick your brain into thinking that it has not had enough and so makes you overeat. The next time you reach out for a dessert or an aerated drink, consider a chicken drumstick instead.
2. Sugar Decays Your Teeth
Your mouth is full of bacteria, some good but many that are bad for your teeth. Eating sugar itself is not directly dangerous but it can cause certain reactions in your mouth that can affect your teeth. There are harmful bacteria in your mouth that flourish in the presence of sugar, feeding on them and releasing acid. The acid acts on the enamel of your teeth, leaching the minerals from the enamel and thus destroying this protective layer. In normal diets, the enamel has time to regenerate the lost minerals. However, in diets rich in sugars there is no time for this regeneration and thus destroying the enamel causes cavities. With carbonated drinks, the effect is worse, since the carbon tends to speed up the acidification process. So if you want to maintain your pearly whites, it’s essential to regulate your sugar intake.
3. Excess Sugar Damages The Liver
All the sugars that enter your body gets digested into glucose and fructose. Glucose is essential for your body and your body can synthesize it if there is not enough. However, fructose is not needed by the body. It can only be metabolized by the liver and which in turn, converts it to fats. Normally the fructose in fruits is never enough to cause any problems and at the most you would take in about 15 gms per day. From artificial drinks on the other hand, you would consume close to 75 gms. The whole burden of metabolizing the fructose is on the liver. If you lead a sedentary life while consuming these artificial sugars, it leads to a fatty liver and causes diseases like diabetes and heart problems.
4. Sugar Is Bad For The Skin
While we do know that sugar is bad for the waistline its effect on our skin is less known. Sugars present in sodas, packaged food, ketchup, jams and white breads are simple sugars that are quickly digested causing spikes in the blood sugar. These sudden spikes of blood sugar are inflammatory and result in glycation. Glycation causes sugars to adhere to the collagen in our skin leading to sagging and wrinkles. It can also aggravate acne by feeding the bacteria which causes it, and can darken the skin in the creases of your neck and elsewhere.
5. Sugar Is Highly Addictive
Sugars activates the reward centers in the brain by releasing dopamine This is almost identical to cocaine addiction. People who are prone to addictive behavior are found to eat a lot more junk food as it is high in sugars compared to natural foods. It activates their pleasure centers, pushing them to eat more of it to feel good again. Even if you aren’t addiction-prone, trying to cut down sugars in your diet will be one of the most difficult things to do. You will need to ignore your cravings and get your body used to a different kind of diet.
