What does excess sugar do to you?

Posted on by wemitch1

I just covered the fact that sugar can be addictive and that that only became a problem when sugar became affordable and plentiful. In the 1700’s the average person only consumed about 4 pounds of sugar per year in 2005 the average person consumed about 100 pounds per year. 74% of Americans get 10% of their total daily calories from added sugar and 10% get 25%of more from added sugar. (1) So this points to a dramatic shift from the way our bodies were designed. This extra sugar is absorbed into the blood stream fast and causes blood sugar spikes which in turn cause insulin spikes. What else does it do? Excess sugar consumption has been linked to: type 2 diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and triglycerides, heart attack, and for some worst of all premature wrinkles! (1,2) It can also cause fatty liver like excess drinking(3), and total body inflammation.

I know it sounds bad; you have a substance that is everywhere, is as addictive as street drugs, and will make you look old and kill you young. I also realize that telling you to just lower your intake to less than 100 calories per day for women and 150 for men is worthless advice. You have to consciously attempt to lower the amount of added sugar you eat. Please note that I am talking about added sugar either by you or during production, not naturally occurring sugar like in a carrot.  This can be a slow process if needed, take your time and allow yourself to get used to the changes. I will give you some suggestions for ways to cut back and the internet is full of suggestions, some more radical than others. I do promise that the this will get less discouraging.

 

  1. Yang, PhD Quanhe. “Sugar Intake and Cardiovascular Diseases Mortality.” Sugar Intake and Cardiovascular Diseases Mortality | Cardiology | JAMA Internal Medicine | The JAMA Network. N.p., 01 Apr. 2014. Web. 22 Feb. 2017.
  2. Danby, F. William. “Nutrition and Aging Skin: Sugar and Glycation.” Clinics in Dermatology28.4 (2010): 409-11. Web.
  3. Thuy2, Sabine, Ruth Ladurner3, Valentina Volynets2, Silvia Wagner3, Stefan Strahl4, Alfred Königsrainer3, Klaus-Peter Maier4, and And Stephan C. Bischoff2. “Sabine Thuy.”Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Humans Is Associated with Increased Plasma Endotoxin and Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1 Concentrations and with Fructose Intake. N.p., 01 Aug. 2008. Web. 22 Feb. 2017.