The debate over sugar and overall health continues to rage around the globe. Multiple studies have exemplified the harmful effects of excess sugar on the body and mind, and more evidence appears daily. Smart decisions lead to a healthy state of being, but unhealthy food choices, especially sugars, can destroy healthy brain tissue, affect the intestinal tract, cause obesity, and result in memory loss. Consider how sugar affects the following critical areas of your body. Sugar addiction just like many other addictions is a tough on to break
This Is Your Brain on Sugar Addiction…
Excess sugar consumption, and therefore, obesity is one of the greatest risk factors in the development of type 2 diabetes. Unfortunately, type 2 diabetes is diagnosed by the body’s natural cells becoming unable to respond to insulin. Insulin, produced in the pancreas, facilitates the transmission of glucose from the bloodstream into cells. When cells are unable to recognize this marker for accepting glucose, they will starve.
Much talk exists on the topic of fructose versus glucose versus lactose. Ultimately, sucrose is table sugar. When the sugar becomes modified into a more complex form of sugar, it gains a new name according to its new configuration. Sucrose and fructose combine to form glucose etc. Unfortunately, the confusion results in avoidance of glucose and failure to abstain from alternate, more complex forms of glucose. For example, excess exposure to fructose, which is a primary component of high fructose corn syrup, has been linked to reduced memory function in those without diabetes, or pre-diabetes. Additionally, excess sugar can contribute to the deterioration of cognitive awareness and result in dementia.
This Is Your Body with a Sugar Addiction…
With the starvation of cells from inability to respond to the presence of insulin, type 2 diabetes can affect the whole body. In the intestinal tract, microscopic, “finger-like” projections, called “villae” lose part of their ability to absorb nutrients from digested food. In the colon, the lack of nutrition from the villae causes an imbalance in the rate of which peristalsis moves stool from the cecum to the rectum. The eyes begin to lose their vitality as cones and rods become unable to sense light, and therefore, the resulting nerve impulse on the optical nerve becomes distorted. Sensation in the extremities begins to falter as nerve connections die due to starvation. Ultimately, diabetes causes your body to starve even though you eat.
What’s Next?
Finding out sugar addiction can cause all these problems is devastating, and some research has indicated that Americas may consumer up to 0.5 pounds of sugar daily. The key to avoiding diabetes and sugar-related problems is moderation. It’s okay to have concentrated sugars now and then, but it should be paired with exercise and healthy food choices in a comparable amount of time. For example, 30 minutes of walking every other day can alleviate some of the concern over having a piece of strawberry shortcake on Saturday. In most cases, you may want to try to limit your sugar consumption to less than one ounce, or approximately 28 grams, per day. If you are obese, or have pre-diabetes, limit this amount to one-half of this recommendation.
You can beat the sugar addiction. You just have to understand why you need to.
