How Sugar Affects Our Health

How Is Sugar Bad For You?

Sugar has become an extremely prevalent part of our diets. Whether found in chocolate chip cookies or apples, I think it's safe to say that we each have developed a taste for sugar and consume it on a regular basis. We sometimes need some sugar in order to help give us energy and  regulate our blood sugar level, but too much of a good thing can turn into a bad thing very easily.

When we consume sugar, the glucose level in our blood increases. This glucose is transported by the blood to various cells in the body so it can be used for energy. Insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, is necessary to help blood cells carry the glucose to wherever it needs to go. This process works well as long as there is not too much glucose to regulate and as long as the insulin is released in the right amount, but this is not always the case. When our bodies can no longer produce or release insulin in the proper way, we can become diagnosed with diabetes.

Diabetes occurs when the body stops making insulin altogether, makes it in extremely low amounts, or stops releasing it correctly. When the insulin stops functioning in the way it's supposed to, the glucose can't be moved to the cells that need it and as a result, the blood sugar level remains high. If it stays high for a long period of time, it can cause dehydration, weakness, fatigue, numbness in the hands and feet, and other serious problems. Some people develop diabetes through genetics and other factors they can't control, but you can significantly decrease your chance of getting diabetes by monitoring your sugar intake.

Besides being harmful to our health, sugar can also bring some negative effects on the way our bodies age. When we eat a lot of sugar, those molecules will often attach themselves to proteins and other cells in our bodies, especially to some of our skin cells. This can give us bags under our eyes, wrinkles, and skin blemishes that will make us look older. This is a result of a process called Advanced Glycation End, and doctors have been doing many studies on it in the past few years to find the full extent of its effect on our bodies.

I believe the most disgusting and frightening effects that sugar can have on our bodies is the deterioration of our teeth and gums. The sugary sodas we drink in particular will wear on the surface of our teeth and cause tooth decay. This obviously is terrible for us because our teeth will lose their ability to chew food, and they will look horrible. Tooth decay also is a major contributor to bad breath. Brushing your teeth and using mouthwash will help prevent tooth decay, but the way to completely get rid of the slightest chance of decay is to take fermentable sugar out of our diets.

How To Avoid The Bad Effects of Sugar

These terrible effects from sugar could be completely obliterated if we stopped consuming any sugar whatsoever in our diets, but let's face it: most of us don't have the self control or the time and effort needed to make this happen. However, it is more conceivable to try to keep our sugar intake at a healthy amount.

The average adult eats 22 teaspoons of sugar a day and teenagers on average have 34 teaspoons a day. If we can decrease these amounts to the American Heart Association's recommended amounts of 6 teaspoons a day for women and 9 teaspoons a day for men, we will be in much better shape. I believe this is a plausible suggestion to follow and could definitely be applied to our diets without too much inconvenience. This video gives an even better idea of just how much sugar we consume regularly and gives examples of some sugary foods and drinks that we would do well to stay away from.



As you can see, there are many negative effects that sugar can have on your body and only one good effect it can possibly have: energy. The bad effects far outweigh this single good one, but by drastically lessening the amount of sugar we consume, we can decrease the chances of these bad effects happening to us. Hopefully by heeding these warnings and being wary of sugar, we can all change our health for the better. :)