Sweet but Deadly: The Impact of Sugar Consumption on Physical Health

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

As we are discussing today, Impact of Sugar Consumption on Physical Health, In today’s world, the average person consumes 17 teaspoons of added sugar daily. This is more than double the WHO’s recommended limits. The global consumption of sugar is roughly 17,300 crore kilos per year. More than 74% of packaged foods contain sugar or hidden sugar. In some, we don’t taste sugar, such as ketchup, bread, or salad dressings, but still have sugar.

Diabetes has more than doubled in the last 30 years, and it appears to be linked to sugar. We receive the same pleasure from taking drugs that we do from eating sugar. Both stimulate the same pleasure area in the brain. Within 20 years, persons who consume a lot of sugar had a double rise in their chance of developing heart disease. Today, the worldwide sugar business is about $50 billion, which has a significant impact on health policies, public health policies, and agricultural policies, where health interests and economic interests have had a big clash.

Impact of Sugar Consumption on Physical Health

When we consume processed sugar, it goes to our bloodstream; and spikes it. Then we get a kick in the brain. We suddenly feel satisfied and energized. We feel we can work a lot, but it drops as soon as sugar spikes. And then we have a crash. We become bored and think that we have run out of energy. This is exactly what sugar does. As a result, sugar becomes somewhat addictive. When we eat sugar for a quick fix, we believe we need energy. We need a boost, but then our sugar levels decrease and we feel less energetic, so we get stuck in a vicious cycle.

Obesity:

We know that sugar is an empty calorie, which means it has limited nutritional value. Because of this, when we eat sugar, our stomachs remain hungry, and if we continue to eat more calories, we will gain weight and become unnecessarily obese.

Metabolic Syndromes:

Sugar is also responsible for metabolic syndrome. It raises our belly fat, cholesterol, triglycerides, and stress. Some patients also develop heart problems, blood sugar imbalances, or diabetes. As we know, diabetes is linked to both sugar and carbohydrates. Thus, the combination of added sugar and carbohydrates is fatal for type 2 diabetes and causes other diseases.

Heart Disease:

Sugar promotes inflammation in the body. Even triglycerides and insulin resistance rise. According to a Harvard School of Public Health survey, persons who consume a lot of sugar will have twice the risk of developing heart disease in 20 years. 

Dental Health:

Excessive consumption of sugar these days causes gum disease and tooth decay in young children. Sugar causes harmful oral bacteria that produce acid, which eventually destroys teeth.

Mental Health:

Depression, Alzheimer’s, and mood swings have become common nowadays. Mood swings are also common due to increased sugar; suddenly, we become happy and sometimes sad, and there is no balance. This also affects your cognitive function.

Other Impact of Sugar Consumption on Physical Health

Memory and Cognitive Issues:

Specifically, inflammation and oxidative stress—are directly connected to memory and the brain. When we consume more sugar it also affects our brain.

Stress Related Problems:

Stress causes our bodies to release cortisol, which in turn causes glucose to be produced in our blood. Glucose from sugar and glucose from glycogen will combine to create a double sugar rush in our bodies, causing needless tension and a rise in belly fat if we consume more sugar at that time.

Signs of Addiction:

Sugar also stimulates the same pleasure centre in the brain as drugs; that’s why people think that addiction to drugs is bad, but it’s not different from sugar addiction. When we start cutting down on sugar, our body starts giving withdrawal symptoms. People get tired, irritated, and have headaches. If we think wisely, actually, people are not addicted to tea or coffee; most people are addicted to sugar.

If we told them not to add sugar, would they enjoy it? Maybe not. That’s why sugar is responsible for tea and coffee. If it is removed, our addiction can be removed to a large extent. But our body will give such symptoms for a few days. If we consistently show discipline with our willpower and add substitute sugar, we can get rid of addiction.

Skin Issues:

There is a process called Glycation in the body. In this process, the sugar in the bloodstream is attached to a protein, and then a molecule called AGE is formed, which is a little harmful. It is also called an Advanced Glycation End Product (AGE). The more sugar we consume, the more AGE will increase. The two most important proteins present in our skin are collagen and elastin.

Through this process, these proteins get damaged, which causes wrinkles, dull skin, and sagging skin. AGE, or glycation process, will dry and make collagen and elastic fibre brittle. Because of this, the old age that should come at the age of 50 comes at the age of 30 or 35. People with skin conditions like acne and rosacea should reduce sugar consumption. This will reduce oil production and skin inflammation; by doing this, skin issues can also be resolved. 

Sleep-related Problems:

If we consume more sugar around bedtime, the initial spike in sleep will disturb the sleep quality. We know that many people wake up at night due to sudden sugar spikes. Unstable blood sugar levels will also affect the sleep cycle. Then melatonin cannot be produced properly. If melatonin is not being produced properly, then our sleep cycle will be disturbed. So it is better to avoid high-sugar snacks and beverages around bedtime and try to eat whole foods to keep blood sugar balanced.

Cutting down on sugar helps us live a healthy life and also gives us numerous benefits, such as keeping both our mental and physical health healthy. Furthermore, many sugar substitutes are available in the market that can reduce our sugar cravings. If we consume sugar in moderation, it provides us with energy and is an essential part of a balanced diet.

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