How is refined sugar bad for you

In particular, foods enriched with HFCS may cause you to become resistant to leptin , a hormone that signals your body when to eat and when to stop. This may partly explain the link between refined sugar and obesity 6. Many studies also associate diets high in added sugars with increased heart disease risk 7. Additionally, diets rich in refined sugar are commonly linked to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, depression, dementia, liver disease, and certain types of cancer 8 , 9 , 10 , Refined sugars may increase your risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.

Refined sugars are typically added to foods and beverages to improve taste. Moreover, refined sugars are commonly added to packaged foods and drinks, such as ice cream , pastries, and soda, all of which tend to be heavily processed.

In addition to being low in nutrients, these processed foods can be rich in salt and added fats, both of which can harm your health when consumed in high amounts 12 , 13 , Sugar is naturally found in many foods. Two popular examples include lactose in dairy and fructose in fruit.

From a chemistry perspective, your body breaks down natural and refined sugars into identical molecules, processing both similarly For instance, unlike the fructose in HFCS, the fructose in fruit comes with fiber and a variety of vitamins, minerals, and other beneficial compounds.

The fiber helps slow how quickly the sugar enters your bloodstream, reducing your likelihood of blood sugar spikes 16 , Similarly, lactose in dairy is naturally packaged with protein and varying levels of fat, two nutrients also known to help prevent blood sugar spikes 18 , 19 , Moreover, nutrient-rich foods likely make a greater contribution toward your daily nutrient needs than foods rich in refined sugars. Natural sugars tend to occur in foods rich in fiber, protein, and other health-promoting nutrients and compounds, making them more beneficial than refined sugars.

Natural sugars can also be processed in a way that removes virtually all of their fiber and a good portion of their other nutrients. Smoothies and juices are good examples of this.

Blending or juicing them breaks down or removes almost all of their fiber, as well as any chewing resistance, meaning you likely require a larger portion to feel satisfied 21 , Blending or juicing also removes some of the vitamins and beneficial plant compounds naturally found in whole fruits 21 , Other popular forms of natural sugars include honey and maple syrup.

These appear to offer more benefits and slightly more nutrients than refined sugars. However, they remain low in fiber and rich in sugar and should be consumed only in moderation 24 , 25 , 26 , Maple syrup and honey are typically viewed as sources of natural sugars but should only be consumed in moderation.

Refined sugars are added to many packaged foods. Therefore, checking food labels can be instrumental in reducing the amount of refined sugar in your diet. A wide array of names can be used to label added sugar. The most common are high-fructose corn syrup, cane sugar, cane juice, rice syrup, molasses, caramel, and most ingredients ending in -ose , such as glucose, maltose, or dextrose. Eating fewer of these processed foods and opting for whole, minimally processed ones instead will help reduce the amount of refined sugars in your diet.

Will it cause any harm? Here's why you should avoid it: Addiction: Just like drugs, refined sugar can be addictivemainly because it releases dopamine that makes you feel good.

The more you eat, the higher will be the cravings and you will be in a vicious circle of sugar consumption. Poor immunity: It damages your immune system by reducing the overall efficiency of your white blood cells. It makes you vulnerable to diseases and infections. Mineral deficiency: It robs your body of potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, and other essential minerals. You will have weaker teeth and bones if you consume sugar in large quantities.

Cancer: It may cause cancer because it makes your body to produce more insulin, which promotes the growth of cancerous cells. Several studies believe there is a link between excessive sugar intake and colon, breast, colorectal, pancreatic, and endometrial cancer. Liver disorder: It damages your liver mainly because it is half fructose and half glucose, and your liver can metabolize a limited amount of fructose only.

Excessive intake of sugar will overload your liver and lead to disease. Elevated blood glucose: It elevates your blood glucose level and makes your pancreas to secrete more insulin, which will eventually lead to insulin resistance.

This causes type II diabetes and leads to storage of fat that causes obesity. Rapid fluctuations in blood glucose levels can make kids hyperactive. Aging: It makes you look oldeven though you're not. It attaches to proteins in your blood and damages collagen. This makes your skin to lose its elasticity and look old. Mood swings: It makes you feel anxious, depressed, and irritable. It will make you feel good initially but your cravings will increase and you will experience a 'crash', which will cause mood swings and other issues.

This may lead to a heart disease. How to Reduce Refined Sugar Intake? Environmental triggers, such as constant increased refined sugar intake or chronic stress in life can cause inflammation to go haywire. It is this chronic or long-term inflammation that ages us.

It is now believed that successful suppression of inflammation through lifestyle may be the most important driver of successful longevity, actually increasing in importance with advancing age.

They stay in the bloodstream where they can undergo more inflammatory transformations. FOXO3 is a master regulator of hundreds of genes that are involved in stress resistance, stem cell production, and autophagy a type of self-destruct mechanism that maintains healthy cells.

People with a particular variation of this gene have a nearly three times more likely chance of becoming a centenarian. It is currently thought that refined sugar may inhibit this gene in humans. Though more human research is needed, it has already been proven true in fruit flies. A new study concerning refined sugar and hormone production has proven to be a staggering one for men.

For some men, that is a noticeable and perceptible drop in testosterone, which is crazy when talking about hormones. The brains of obese children are much more responsive to refined sugar than non-obese children. This has negative implications since it has been shown that increased refined sugar intake is linked to memory problems, specifically compromises of spatial memory in rats.

Obese children are more inclined to eat more sugar and are therefore more likely to have reduced brain function. Excessive long-term sugar intake can change the structure of a type of nerve cell, called medium spiny neurons, in the nucleus accumbens.

The nucleus accumbens is a part of the brain associated with reward circuitry. These structural changes from sugar are very similar to the changes caused by powerful stimulant drugs, such as amphetamine, cocaine, and nicotine. The parts of the brain associated with memory and emotion actually begin to shrink when a person has higher than normal blood sugar. High fructose corn syrup HFCS prevents neurons in the brain from being able to communicate and also prevents brain rewiring after a traumatic brain injury.

This is likely due to the beneficial effects of polyphenols and fiber in the fruit. HFCS, like sucrose, is also a mixture of fructose and glucose, but with a higher percentage of fructose and a lower percentage of glucose. Glucose and sugary foods containing glucose can be metabolized or broken down by every cell in the body. When glucose is eaten the body responds in the pancreas by producing insulin.

In contrast, fructose is metabolized primarily by cells in the liver and does not require insulin. This means there is no insulin response, and therefore no leptin to create the feeling of satiety.

You will continue to eat because there is no feeling of fullness. Your liver struggles to keep up and produce enough triglycerides in order to store that excess energy, which elevates the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Not totally. Fruits contain both glucose and fructose, and fruits are good for you, in moderation. Fructose in fruit is bound up in the food matrix, a complex mixture of fiber and other compounds such as polyphenols Polyphenols are a class of chemical which confers many health benefits.

Additionally, fiber itself increases satiety. The only good thing about consuming refined sugar is the short-lived buzz you feel after consuming it, due to a release of the neurotransmitter dopamine.

This is in ways that are similar to the effects of drugs like nicotine, cocaine, morphine. Sugar is less dramatic of a response but similar, and over time you begin to crave more of the drug or another substance with a similar response.

You eventually build up a tolerance to the effects and you crave even more and more of it. This is why so many people have trouble quitting sugar cold turkey. The same drugs effective in helping people quit hard drugs are effective in treating addiction to sugar. Sounds like a great reward for children when they get a good grade in social studies. Start slow, cut one beverage a day, and go from there.