Many of the foods you wouldn’t suspect have added sugar. Unfortunately, sugar is bad for your health. Anthropologists hypothesize that it’s instinct to crave foods with a sweet taste, like fruit. The sugar that is natural in fruit and vegetables doesn’t have the same effect as that of added sugar for several reasons. The fiber in the produce slows the absorption and the fiber and water it contains fills you up. That makes it hard to consume as much as you’d have eating a candy bar or adding a teaspoon or two to coffee.
There are several types of added sugar and most are bad for your health.
There are many different types of sugar or sweetener and consuming too much of any of them isn’t good. HFCS — fructose corn syrup—is called a natural sugar by promoters, since it comes from corn syrup and indicates it’s good for you. It’s anything but that and even worse than traditional cane sugar. Consider the amount of sugar in an apple, compared to a cola. An apple, for example, has just 23 grams of sugar, plus a plethora of nutrients. However, cola has 52 grams of sugar and no nutritional benefit. That’s one reason that food with added sugar is bad for you. It adds extra calories without making you feel full or adding any nutritional benefit.
While anthropologists say sugar cravings may be instinctive, neurologists say it’s something different.
When you eat sugar, it triggers the same reactions as opioids, by binding to the receptors. It causes the release of dopamine to make you feel good. Just like opioids, sugar can become addictive for that reason. It makes you feel good. However, sugar also affects your body negatively and causes inflammation. Inflammation can lead to heart disease, accelerate aging and impair your immune system. Too much can also lead to tooth decay, obesity and diabetes.
If you want to lose weight, start by giving up added sugar and sugar substitutes.
You often see people giving up regular cola for the diet version or using artificial sweeteners in their coffee, instead of sugar. While it might seem like a good idea to reduce calories, it’s simply not that healthy for you. Artificial sweeteners come with their own set of risks. Recently studies found that it can actually cause an increase in belly fat and a bigger abdominal diameter. They don’t metabolize like sugar and some affect the liver and the release of leptin, the hormone that makes you feel full.
- A diet high in sugar can raise your blood pressure as much as one high in salt or fat.
- Food with added sugar can cause damage to the stomach lining, while also upsetting your microbiome, the balance of beneficial microbes and ones that damage your body.
- Just like any addictive substance, the more sugar you eat, the more you need. When you give up food with added sugar, you’ll be amazed at how sweet whole foods are.
- A diet high in sugar increases the risk for dementia, insulin resistance and gum disease. It can lead to problems with cognitive functioning in children. It’s linked to acne, depression, gout and kidney disease.
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