Side effects of sugar: Most people love how sugar makes food taste and how it makes us feel. It enhances the flavor of a wide range of food and beverages, including sodas, pasta sauces and a variety of prepared dishes, in addition to sweets and candies.
To survive, your body needs glucose, a type of sugar. However, since your body produces glucose and other sugars from the food you eat, you don’t need to consume it.
types of sugar
Sugar comes in two varieties: natural and added. As the names suggest, natural sugars are found in foods, such as fruit, which contains fructose, and milk, which contains lactose.
High fructose corn syrup, table sugar, and many other sugar-containing ingredients are sources of added sugars that are mixed with other ingredients in prepared foods.
What happens if you eat too much sugar?
Even before the taste of sugar leaves your tongue, your body begins to break it down when you consume it. It then passes through your digestive tract and is absorbed into your circulation as glucose. As a result, your pancreas releases insulin and your blood sugar level rises. A hormone called insulin instructs your cells to take up glucose.
Sugar has a tendency to enter your system quickly, resulting in a spike in insulin levels that can become troublesome over time. Your body stores excess glucose in your muscles and liver for the time you need it. Additionally, it gets converted into fatty tissue.
If you consume a lot of added sugar, you are more likely to develop prediabetes, diabetes and other chronic health problems.
Here are seven signs that your body is reacting to excessive sugar intake:
1. Acne
The increased inflammation brought on by sugar depletes the collagen and elastin in your skin, which leads to wrinkles and sagging. Your body produces insulin from the pancreas when you consume sugar, in order to absorb and transport the sugar to your liver. The inflammatory response in your body can also cause acne, dermatitis, psoriasis, rosacea and other skin conditions.
2. Joint pain
According to research, eating foods high in sugar can make you heartburn. It causes persistent inflammation by releasing inflammatory proteins and hormones. Inflammation is a common factor in joint and muscle pain.
3. Sleeplessness
A substance in your brain called orexin that increases the feeling of wakefulness is inhibited by high sugar intake. The more sugar you consume, the more tired and sleepy you will feel.
4. Stomach problem
Constipation, diarrhea, and other unpleasant digestive symptoms can be brought on by high sugar consumption. Due to your body’s inability to absorb them effectively, processed sugars such as sugar alcohols and high fructose corn syrup can cause discomfort.
5. Weight Management
Increased insulin levels and high sugar consumption can switch the body from “fat-burning mode” to “fat-storing mode.” Visceral fat is the most resistant type of fat to be stored in this way.
6. High blood pressure
Consuming too much sugar has been found to lower nitric oxide levels in your blood vessels, causing them to constrict rather than dilate and improve blood flow, which can lead to high blood pressure.
7. Irritable mood
High sugar intake is a common problem that can cause irritation and mood swings. When you consume too much sugar, an overabundance of insulin causes your blood glucose levels to drop too quickly, causing your body to produce adrenaline, cortisol and other hormones as a coping mechanism. .
Your body then receives a signal from adrenaline to produce more glucose, which raises your levels. Fluctuations cause instability and mood swings.
There’s nothing wrong with having a sweet treat when the mood is down; Moderate sugar consumption is not likely to have much effect.
(This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered a substitute for advice provided by qualified medical professionals.)