Sugar is one of the most harmful ingredients you can put in your body. However, it’s something many of us eat far too much of. According to the latest data from the American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition, the average American consumes 76.7g of sugar every day. That’s the equivalent of 19 teaspoons of sugar per day. Some of the sugars we’re aware of, those that we put in our tee and coffee, the sodas we drink, the donuts we eat.
Surprisingly, most of the sugar we eat and drink is ‘hidden’ – so we don’t always know we’re consuming it.
The sugars are hidden in plain sight in the processed foods that we eat. Most of the foods that fill the center isles of our grocery stores contain hidden sugars. Besides regular sugar, we have sucrose, glucose, fructose, dextrose, and high fructose corn syrup.
Below we’ll be discussing five of the main reasons you should limit your consumption of sugar.
It Has No Nutritional Value
One of the biggest reasons to avoid refined sugar is that it contains no vitamins, minerals, or antioxidants. These nutrients are found in almost every healthy, natural food and are essential for your body’s survival. They support all the internal processes in your body, protect against illness and allow you to perform at your peak.
Eating refined sugar often stops you from getting the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants your body needs from your diet and causes nutrient deficiencies. These nutrient deficiencies can cause you to feel sluggish, affect how you perform, and may lead to serious health issues over time.
It Disrupts Your Energy Levels
Sugar enters the bloodstream quickly and causes a rapid surge in energy levels, followed by an immediate crash. While the initial sugar high may give you a few minutes of increased energy and focus. The overall impact of these constant fluctuations in energy caused by overeating refined sugar is harmful. It makes it very difficult to concentrate for long periods, causes you to become unproductive, and makes you feel lethargic.
It Causes Weight Gain
Unlike proteins and fats, which take longer to digest and have a satiating effect on the body, sugar passes through the digestive system very quickly and doesn’t satisfy your appetite. As a result, you still crave additional after filling up on refined sugar and are very likely to overeat.
Sugar is also hidden in many foods such as bread, sauces, and sodas. It doesn’t satisfy your appetite in the same way that other foods do. These hidden sugars add extra calories without you even noticing and may cause you to gain weight.
It Causes Liver Damage
Many of the refined sugars in foods come in the form of fructose. When you overeat fructose, it overloads the liver and causes it to turn fructose into fat. This may lead to fatty liver disease and many other liver problems that negatively impact your energy levels, digestion, and overall health.
It Causes Inflammation In The Body
Numerous studies have shown that eating large amounts of refined sugar can cause excessive inflammation in the body. Not only is this excessive inflammation painful, but it also damages your body’s cells and vital organs and can cause permanent health problems. Inflammation in the body has also been linked with accelerated internal and external aging. It is also one of the most significant risk factors for chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.