Sugar is a carbohydrate that is naturally in food though we may not realize it. The most common carbohydrates are sugar and starch and these are essential and key component in foods, Sugar is healthy part of our diet, the body converts it to fuel for brain power and energy. High sugar consumption is a problem that contribute to nutrient deficiency, before sugar enters the bloodstream from the digestive tract, it is broken down into two simple sugars; glucose and fructose. Glucose is found in every living cell while fructose is a simple sugar, when combined with glucose it forms sucrose, it is stored in the liver to be metabolized and use when the body has need of it; when in large quantity it can overload the liver forcing it to turn fructose to fat, and when this is done repeatedly it will eventually turn to fatty liver which is associated with metabolic diseases and all sort of problems like:
- Cancer
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Hypoglycemia
- Cardiovascular disease
- Tooth decay
- Hyperactivity
There is no nutritional benefit in eating added sugar, so it is advisable to avoid foods that have a lots of added sugar, carbonated drinks are high in sugar and contribute to weight gain and development of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions.
Effects of high sugar diet
1. Diabetes
Too much sugar increases blood glucose level , makes the pancreases produce lots of insulin for long period of time thereby, causing insulin resistance and making it hard for thevbody to reduce high blood sugar levels which can increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes which if left unmanaged can turn into type 1 diabetes where the pancreases stop producing enough insulin.
2. Fatty liver
Sugar is converted and stored in the liver as fat, it is the number 1 reason for obesity, untreated liver fat can cause serious health issue.
3. High cholesterol
The liver converts excess sugar to fat which raises the cholesterol level in the blood and this is a major risk for heart disease.
4. Tooth decay
Sugary food and drinks are one of the main causes of tooth decay, acid is produced when the bacteria in the mouth breaks down the sugar dissolving the tooth surface causing first stage of tooth decay
5. Inflammation
Risk for inflammatory digestive conditions such as irritable bowel disease (IBD) candida, hemorrhoids, kidney stone and intolerance to wheat and gluten
6. Addiction
Sugar causes large release of dopamine in the brain which causes lots of addiction in people
7. Cancer
There is considerable evidence that sugar, due to its harmful effects on metabolism can contribute to cancer
Doing a sugar free diet
This is a diet that typically limits all sources of added sugar and hidden sugar foods and sometimes also a reduction in high carbohydrates and processed foods.
Discipline is the key, avoid added sugar in all forms; deal with your cravings for sugary foods, snacks, drinks, beverages, cookies and candies
- Reduce fat
- Flattens your belly
- Lose weight
- More energy and focus
- Reduce calorie intake
- Enjoy the real taste of food
- Breaking sugar addiction
- Low risk of diabetes
- Reduce risk of cancer
- Decreases heart attack risk
- Lower blood pressure
- Lower bad cholesterol
Nutritional labels
Many of us are victims of high sugar intake because we do not take time to go through the labels to know what we are ingesting into our system, most times we allow our eyes, taste bud, psychological believe, peoples testimony and advertisements to do the judgement.
The following are the ways added sugar can be listed on ingredients levels:
- Sucrose
- Fructose
- Glucose
- Maltose
- Molasses
- Fruit juice
- Hydrolyzed starch
- Invert sugar
- Corn syrup
- Honey
Food that contain 22.5g or more are high in sugar while foods that contain 5g or less are low in sugar
Be wise, live sugar free, live healthy
You are doing a great work ma.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the knowledge shared