How Does Sugar Affect Health?
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Provides Energy
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The first, most basic, most important, and most abused function of sugar is to provide energy. It does provide energy; it is what our bodies convert into energy, whether we get it from a candy bar or a baked potato or a bowl of oatmeal. However, the body does not need nearly the amount of sugar that the average American (or European, for that matter) consumes. And the worst way to get sugar - or energy from sugar - is to eat food that is high in sugar or composed of only simple carbohydrates. Eating that type of food results in what is called "a sugar buzz." The body gets a brief energy rush from the simple sugars that it receives in a high level and processes quickly because they are in such a simple, absorbable form. But the energy rush soon ends, causing the body to "crash," usually resulting in an energy level that is lower than the original, pre-sugar-rush level.
Raises the Insulin Level
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Insulin is a hormone produced by our bodies to retrieve and process the glucose, or sugar, that is floating around in our blood streams. Insulin lowers our blood sugar level by processing the glucose and sending it to be stored in your liver and muscles as glycogen (a small amount) or storing it in the body as saturated fat.
Insulin is a good thing, and an essential part of the body, but too much sugar in the diet causes the body to produce very high levels of insulin. Too much insulin in the body can result in health problems like high blood pressure, sodium retention, and osteoporosis. -
Depresses Immune System
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Too much sugar depresses the immune system by preventing Vitamin C from doing its job. Vitamin C is an essential part of the immune system. White blood cells need high levels of Vitamin C within the cell structure in order to fight virus and bacteria. Sugar, however, has a chemical composition very similar to Vitamin C. When there is too much sugar floating around in the body, it takes the place of Vitamin C in entering the cells, which doesn't leave much room for the Vitamin C in there.
Causes Tooth Decay
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You know your dentist doesn't like it when you eat candy and drink sodas, but do you know exactly why? Simply, bacteria attaches itself to your teeth and becomes plaque, that nasty stuff that they scrape off when you go for a dental check-up. Our bodies use sugar as energy, remember? Well, so does the bacteria that forms plaque. They like it. They gobble it up. And sometimes they convert it into a glue-like substance that they use to stick onto the surface of your teeth.
Upsets the Body's Mineral Balance
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Refined sugars contain no nutrients (vitamins and minerals) of their own. So in order for them to be absorbed by the body, they have to use the nutrients already stored in the body. They thus reduce the levels of essential minerals and vitamins in the body without providing any benefits.
Contributes to Weight Gain
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When the body receives an appropriate amount of sugar, in more complex forms, throughout the day, it can absorb and process the sugar as energy over the course of the day. However, when the body has too much sugar, two things happen: first, the body will concentrate on burning the sugar, because it is a toxic substance, instead of burning the fat reserves you already have. Second, what the body can't burn right away, it will store as additional saturated fat stores. So too much sugar not only keeps you from maintaining a good weight or even losing weight, but it definitely adds to the fat you have to carry around.
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Resources
- Photo Credit Uwe Hermann at Flickr.
