7 Reasons Why Sugar is Bad for You

You might have heard people say that sugar is bad for you. But a certain amount of sugar is necessary for the different functions in our body to keep running smoothly. So the question is, how much sugar is bad for you?

Barring the sugar that certain fruits and vegetables contain naturally, added sugar should be limited on a person’s daily diet.

For an adult male, 9 spoons of added sugar per day is okay to be consumed. For an adult female, 6 spoons of added sugar per day should not pose a threat to their health.

Anything more than the above-mentioned amount of sugar might create health complications in people.

Foods and drinks like cold drinks, fruit juices, coffees, teas, cakes, muffins, candies, chocolates, donuts and waffles usually have a lot of added sugar in them.

A 12-ounce can of cold drink contains as many as 8 teaspoons of added sugar. Which means that, if you drink more than one can of cold drink in a day, you are putting your health at great risk.

Have you ever wondered why sugar is not good for health? We are here to provide you with answers.

Given below are 7 reasons why sugar is bad for you—

1. Sugar increases the risk of heart disease.

Did you know that the top cause of death all over the world is heart disease? Did you know that diets that are high in sugar have been associated with an increased risk of numerous heart diseases?

There are certain risk factors for heart diseases that increase the chances of a person developing heart conditions.

Those risk factors include obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar levels, high triglyceride and inflammation. And all these risk factors can be caused by a high-sugar diet.

A study in which more than 30,000 people were analysed found that the individuals who consumed 17–21% of calories from added sugar had a 38% greater risk of dying from heart disease, when compared to those that consumed only 8% of calories from added sugar.

2. Sugar increases the risk of type 2 diabetes.

When it comes to diseases caused by sugar, type 2 diabetes is one of the leading ones. There is a very clear link between consuming excessive sugar and the risk of getting diabetes.

People with obesity are considered to be at high risk when it comes to developing type 2 diabetes. And obesity is often caused by overconsumption of sugar.

Additionally, when a person follows a high-sugar diet for a long time, it creates a resistance to insulin. Insulin is the hormone that helps in regulating blood sugar levels in the body.

If your body develops a resistance towards insulin, it can cause your blood sugar levels to rise. This can consequently increase your chances of getting diabetes.

3. Sugar can cause weight gain.

One of the reasons why sugar is bad for your health is because it can cause weight gain.

Drinks like juices, sweet teas and sodas have added sugar in them. These artificially sweetened drinks are loaded with fructose.

When a person consumes fructose, it increases hunger. Which in turn increases the desire for food.

In addition, when a person consumes fructose excessively, it may create a resistance to leptin in the body.

Leptin is an important hormone that regulates hunger and tells your body when it’s time for you to stop eating.

So basically, drinks and beverages that contain a lot of sugar in them don’t curb your hunger or thirst. Instead, you just end up consuming a lot of calories.

And that can lead to weight gain.

And as if this is not enough, drinking a lot of artificially sweetened beverages has been associated with an increase in the amount of visceral fat.

Visceral fat is the deep belly fat that is linked with various health conditions such as heart diseases and diabetes.

4. Sugar increases the risk of getting acne.

Another reason why too much sugar is bad for you is because it can cause breakouts of terrible acne.    

A diet that is high in refined carbs has been linked to an increased risk of developing acne.

Sugary drinks and foods are some of the food-types that contain high amounts of refined carbs.

Sugary foods and drinks spike blood sugar levels rapidly. They also increase the insulin levels pretty quickly.

This results in higher production of certain oils, an increase in androgen secretion and inflammation. All these things eventually lead to acne.

5. Sugar increases the chances of cancer.

Have you been wondering why a lot of sugar is bad for you? You can stop wondering now.

Consuming excessive sugar has been associated with an increased risk for a number of different cancers.

High-sugar diets increase inflammation in the body. They can also lead to obesity. And they can cause insulin resistance as well.

All of the above-mentioned conditions raise the risk of people getting cancer.

A study was conducted where the health of more than 4,30,000 people was analysed.

It was found that amongst the ones who had more added sugar in their daily diets, they were more at risk for pleural cancer, esophageal cancer and cancer of the small intestine.

In a different study, it was found that women who consumed cookies and other similar treats more than three times in a week were 1.42 times more likely to develop endometrial cancer.

The women who consumed the same foods less than 0.5 times each week had lowered risks of developing endometrial cancer.

Currently, more studies are being conducted to establish a link between added sugar consumption and development of cancer in the human body.

These studies would be very helpful in truly understanding the complex relationship between added sugar consumption and cancer.

6. Sugar increases the risk of depression.

Studies were conducted to understand the effects of sugar on the brain. It was found that a high-sugar diet can eventually lead to depression.

Basically, when a person consumes a lot of processed foods, including the ones that are loaded with sugar, the risk of that person facing depression increases considerably.

A study was conducted over a period of 22 years to understand the effects of sugar on mental health. During that time, the eating habits of 8,000 people were analysed.

It was found that men who consumed around 67 grams of sugar every day were 23% more likely to end up with depression than men who consumed less than 40 grams per day.

Various studies have reached the conclusion that fluctuations in blood sugar levels, inflammation and neurotransmitter dysregulation may all be instrumental in the harm caused by consumption of sugar, to people’s mental health.

7. Sugar can cause fatty liver.

Added sugar contains fructose. Fructose is mostly broken down by the liver.

The liver helps in converting fructose into energy. It also turns fructose into glycogen and stores it for later use.

But the thing is, there is a limit to which the liver can store fructose in the form of glycogen. Eventually, the excess amount of glycogen gets turned into fat.

In other words, when a person consumes huge amounts of added sugar, it overloads the liver in the form of glycogen.

Consequently, it leads to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Also known as NAFLD. It is one of the biggest reasons why sugar is bad for you.

A study was carried out with 5,900 people.

It was found that the ones who consumed beverages with added sugar every day had as much as 56% higher chances of getting NAFLD compared to the ones who didn’t.        

Many people have a sweet tooth and just can’t seem to stay away from sugary treats no matter how hard they try. However, avoiding too much sugar is essential for you to lead a healthy and happy life.

One way of consuming less added sugar is by eating less processed food. Click here to learn how to eat less processed food.