In recent years, consumption of white-sugar is on the rise, worldwide, and India as well. This is in the form of sweets made from white-sugar, white-sugar added to beverages like coffee and tea, in various savoury recipes to enhance their taste, added to ready-to-eat foods, processed foods, snacks and condiments, cold drinks, fruit juices, sugary sodas or colas, confectionery or baked items, and cold desserts. Less-reputed, bottled-water manufacturers are known to add some sugar into the water to mimic the natural sweetness of fresh-water. In short, white-sugar is present in practically everything that we consume today. Little wonder that diseases and ailments are on the rise in India and worldwide too.

Health risks from excess sugar-consumption

It is common knowledge that white-sugar is a high risk-factor for heart ailments, weight-gain, type-2 diabetes and cancer.

• Excess white-sugar consumption leads to frequent blood sugar spikes that stress the body’s cells and increase the risk for type-2 diabetes.
• Excess blood sugar that is not burnt by the body is stored as fat which leads to weight-gain and all the associated health-risks.
• The excess fat also increases the risk of fatty liver disease.
• Further, liquids such as sodas, beverages and fruit juices with added sugar suppress the appetite-control mechanism in the brain because liquids are not as filling as solids. So, the person tends to consume more and more sugary beverages.
• Excess of white-sugar can raise blood pressure and lead to chronic inflammation, both of which increase the risk of heart ailments.
• People with mental-health conditions such as depression and anxiety find solace in sugary foods, so their consumption of such food increases.
• Excess blood sugar also increases the risk of cancer as cancer cells need nutrients and glucose to grow, similar to body cells. Further, obesity, type-2 diabetes and heart ailments induced by excess sugar consumption are themselves risk factors for cancer.
• Finally, excess sugar consumption can be as addictive as drugs. People who frequently indulge in sweets create a vicious cycle of satisfaction, craving and indulgence with consequences as listed above. For such people, giving up sugar can be difficult and presents the same withdrawal symptoms that quitting drugs do.

Also Read: Diabetes & Fruits Consumption – Should You, or Shouldn’t You?

Giving up white-sugar

Needless to say, cutting down on white-sugar can be one of the best things one can do for their health. While 2-3 tea-spoons of white-sugar per day is still OK for a human being with average BMI (Body Mass Index), anything in excess of that can be a red flag. People with diabetes, prediabetes, obesity or cancer are not even recommended these 2-3 teaspoons. In recent years, doctors, dieticians and nutritionists are cautioning people against excess white-sugar consumption. At the regulatory level, governments around the world and in India too are forcing F&B (food and beverage) companies to mention the quantity of sugar, among other items, on their labels.

Cutting down on white-sugar is not very difficult, but is a long-term program. To begin with, one should avoid consuming sugary confectionery or cold desserts as much as possible, then gradually limit addition of sugar in beverages and snacks, and finally limit the consumption of such snacks and beverages. One is encouraged to try natural sweeteners like jaggery, palm jaggery, honey and molasses. In addition to sweetness, natural sweeteners contain a whole lot of vitamins, minerals and nutrients that is missing in industry-manufactured white-sugar.

As one starts cutting down on white-sugar, the craving also reduces, creating a virtuous cycle of avoiding and limiting sugar. Gradually, one by one, the person can experience the following health benefits.

12 Health benefits from cutting down white-sugar

Your risk of diabetes reduces

High blood-sugar causes insulin resistance in your body’s cells, and this is called type-2 diabetes. Insulin resistance stresses out the pancreas, liver and all internal organs as now they are not getting enough sugar for proper functioning. Cutting down white-sugar reduces the risk of such an eventuality.

You can lose and maintain weight easily

As you cut down white-sugar, the sugar present in the blood is burnt up efficiently. The quantity of excess sugar that is stored as fat in the body reduces. As a result, you gradually start losing those excess folds of skin around your body. In the long run, it becomes easy to maintain a healthy weight.

You won’t fall sick often

Excess sugar in the blood leads to chronic inflammation in the body. This hurts or suppresses your body’s immune system gradually. As a result, you tend to catch a cold or flu easily. All that will reduce now and you can enjoy better immunity than before.

Your mental and cognitive health will improve

The sugar rush in the blood can be satisfying initially, but this is followed by a sugar crash, which is what forces people addicted to sugar, to indulge again. When you start cutting down on sugar, this see-saw effect is reduced. You will feel better without having to indulge in sugary foods, and feel more in control of your life. Signs of depression and anxiety will reduce and you will feel happier and more positive. Inflammation in the brain caused by excess blood-sugar is known to affect memory and some areas of cognitive function, triggering a decline in your cognitive health. All these risks can be reduced or reversed by cutting down on sugar.

You will have fewer oral health issues

Excess sugar in the food is known to stay behind in the mouth in-spite of washing your mouth. Over time, this leads to cavities and gum issues. As a consequence, bacterial growth increases in the mouth leading to a foul odour in your breath. All that can be reversed now.

You will have glowing skin

Excess white sugar consumed by you can cause inflammation in all parts of your body, including the skin. This increases the risk of pimples, acne, rashes, scars, spots and blemishes on your skin. Cutting down on sugar can reverse this process.

Also Read: A Diabetes Friendly Diet: A Comprehensive Guide on What to Eat and What Not to Eat

Your aging will slow down

Your skin and face derive their look from two substances called collagen and elastin in the skin. These make your skin look taut and your face fuller. Excess white sugar is known to consume or eat the collagen in skin tissues, making it look dull, sagging and wrinkled. Further, inflammation caused by excess blood sugar leads to premature aging in all the body’s tissues including the skin. All these can be reversed by cutting down on white sugar, so that you can look younger, for longer in life.

Your heart will be healthier

Studies conducted and published in the US have revealed that people who consume between 10 to 24% of their daily calorie needs from added sugar are 30% more likely to die from heart disease than those who consumed less than 10% (source: JAMA Internal Medicine journal). This is because, excess blood sugar raises blood pressure and causes inflammation in the body, both of which are triggers for heart ailments. Further, inflammation causes the liver to pump harmful fats in to the blood, which increases the risk for atherosclerosis.

Your appetite, hunger and craving will stabilize

Leptin is a hormone produced by the brain which signals us about when and how much to eat. In people with obesity or insulin resistance caused by excess blood-sugar, the leptin’s regulation mechanism is impaired. The person tends to feel hungry often, eat more than before, indulge in bouts of binge-eating, and constantly crave for sugary foods. All that will stop when you cut down on excess sugar. Cravings will disappear, and appetite will be normal or healthy with few to none disruptions in eating patterns. As a direct benefit of this, digestion also becomes healthy.

Your energy levels will rise

The yo-yo effect caused by sugar spikes and sugar crashes leaves the person exhausted, even if he/she is not indulging in physical work. Over time, such a person has less energy compared to his/her peers who do not consume excess sugar, and is constantly tired. Such risks reduce and you can experience higher energy levels when you cut down on sugar.

You will sleep better

Excess blood sugar stresses the body leading to a rise in stress hormones in the blood. This is known to disrupt sleep and cause what is called ‘night sweating’ even in cold weather. Cutting down on sugar will reverse this and induce better sleep in the person irrespective of age and activity levels.

Your sex life will get better

Excess insulin in the blood affects the sex hormones in both men and women. Men tend to experience erectile dysfunction while women experience low libido. All that will change now and one can enjoy a healthy sex-life.

Kauvery Hospital is globally known for its multidisciplinary services at all its Centers of Excellence, and for its comprehensive, Avant-Grade technology, especially in diagnostics and remedial care in heart diseases, transplantation, vascular and neurosciences medicine. Located in the heart of Trichy (Tennur, Royal Road and Alexandria Road (Cantonment), Chennai, Hosur, Salem and Bengaluru, the hospital also renders adult and pediatric trauma care.

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