Why Should I Eat Less Sugar?
While the American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugars to no more than 6 teaspoons per day for women and 9 teaspoons for per day for men, the average American eats way more than that.
In it’s natural state, sugar is relatively harmless. The problem comes when sugar is added to foods for processing for flavor, texture, or color. Eating too much added sugar has many health effects, the most obvious being weight gain. Weight loss is just one of the many possible side effects of cutting back on the sweet stuff.
Below are 5 more reasons to tame that sweet tooth for good.
1, It might lower your risk of diabetes.
Eating sugar doesn’t cause diabetes but a high sugar diet contributes to weight gain, which does increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The buildup of fat makes your body more resistant to the effects of insulin. To compensate, your pancreas pumps out more insulin. Eventually, your pancreas can’t keep up with your body’s increased demand, and your blood sugar rises.
2. It may help reduce your risk for cancer.
Although research hasn’t proven that sugar directly causes cancer, there are some pretty compelling links between the two. Cancer cells — like other cells in your body — use sugar as fuel. And eating a high sugar diet leads to weight gain, which is a definite risk factor for cancer.
3. You’ll have more energy
A European meta-analysis of 31 studies found that sugar didn’t provide any energy boost. In fact, participants felt even more tired and less alert after they’d consumed sugary foods and drinks. For a real pick-me-up, rely on slow-burning carbs and high protein foods.
4. Your skin may clear up
Sugar doesn’t cause acne, but it can aggravate breakout-prone skin. That’s because sugary and highly processed foods cause inflammation, which helps fuel breakouts.
5. You may be less likely to get dementia.
There’s a strong link between blood sugar and dementia, which researchers have been trying to figure out for years. People with diabetes are at higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease. The connection could have to do with the way your brain responds to insulin, a hormone that moves sugar from your blood into your body’s cells. A 2018 study illustrated the connection. After following more than 5,000 people for 10 years, the authors found that participants with high blood sugar had faster rates of mental decline than those with normal blood sugar.Trusted Source
