The effect of sugar on our health

Do you want to know why sugar creates an imbalance in blood sugar levels?

It’s not the first time we speak about the negative effects of sugar on our health.

Sugar has become a modern-day staple in our diet and an ingredient found across many foods. Since it’s become highly consumed in society, today’s post is dedicated to highlighting the imbalances that sugar causes in our body and how to take a healthier route to feel and look great.

So why is sugar so detrimental to our health?

Alongside other refined products such as honey, fructose, sucrose, and a long list of other sweeteners, sugar has an acidifying effect in the blood. In order to balance out this effect, the organism extracts minerals from the blood, and, additionally, from organs like the brain, kidneys, bones and teeth.

When these organs lose a large quantity of mineral salts, they suffer a great deal, especially the kidneys, and as a result, we suffer a decrease in energy and vitality.

In regards to the brain, sugar consumption can have an extremely expansive and dispersed effect, decreasing one’s attention span, concentration and creative thinking. It’s said that sugar can be one of the most detrimental foods for brain health and can cause a decline in brain function.

When it gets into the blood stream, sugar provokes an increase in glucose, therefore, the body responds by segregating a high amount of insulin, and over time, it can cause hypoglycemia. This can result in a spiraling chronic effect.

It’s quite common that when you’re in a bad mood, tired or lacking energy, the comfort food you reach out to is something high in sugar, whether it’s a coffee with sugar, coke, or chocolate bar. Instantly, the body notices the effect of the sugar, and feels excited and satisfied, however, soon after, that sugar high your body has experienced, will have the contrary effect (hypoglycemia), and your sugar levels will decrease dramatically, leaving you wanting more sugar to compensate that effect. This is commonly known as the roller-coaster effect of sugar.

It’s important to understand that putting the body through the stress of chronic hypoglycemia and combat it by feeding it with more sugar products can have a damaging effect on your health over the long run.

The vicious cycle

The repetitive vicious cycle of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia in the body, can produce problems in the pancreas, kidneys, adrenal glands, liver, lungs, and an overall chronic deterioration of the organism.

In addition, proteins and sugars regulate one another, therefore, if protein levels increase, the need for sugar in the blood does as well. If you consume a lot of protein (especially animal protein), your body will be craving more sugary foods, causing a vicious cycle of low levels of sugar in the body, that could result in hyperglycemia or diabetes.

In other words, if you consume a lot of animal products, it’s going to be quite difficult for you to not eat sugar or alcohol. Your body will always try to compensate for the high protein intake, by eating sugary foods.

However, whilst animal protein isn’t recommended if you want to avoid eating sugar, fish is a great substitute to include in your diet. It’s much lighter and doesn’t compromise your health.

Tip

We mustn’t forget that the effects of brown sugar, sucrose and honey on the body are very similar to refined sugar; they are acid forming. In regards to saccharin, it’s worth mentioning that there are many studies that prove the possible negative effects of it on the urinary tract.

Having said that, this doesn’t mean that you can’t eat anything sweet if you want to be healthy- there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Whilst the sugars mentioned aren’t good for you, there are alternatives that we can include in our diet that will allow us to enjoy the sweet things in life.

Sugar Alternatives

We’ve mentioned before that there are several sugar alternatives that can be used to sweeten your favorite dishes. The healthiest options are malty syrups made of cereals like rice, barley and corn, as they contain the essential nutrients to be metabolized by the body.

Other recommended sweets could be cooked fruits, like apple and pear compote, and dried fruit. They’re sweet, and can be enjoyed in reasonable quantities.

Most importantly, it’s not about feeling deprived or that you can’t enjoy eating sweet foods. It’s about enjoying the food you eat, with your health in mind, by choosing healthier alternatives which are good for your body.

Try incorporating the healthier substitutes we’ve outlined instead of the regular sugar you use and see whether you notice the benefits in your body and overall mood and energy.

Once you go off processed sugar, you won’t want to go back!

Recommended posts:

• 8 things we should know about sugar
• Different ways to sweeten without sugar (part I)
• Different ways to sweeten without sugar (part II)