Sugar is one of the most harmful and addictive substances that you can consume. Excessive sugar consumption is associated with chronic metabolic problems, such as Type 2 diabetes, obesity and heart disease

When you eat sugary foods, the reward centre of your brain, known as the nucleus accumbens, is stimulated through increased signals of dopamine

As you consume excessive amounts of sugar on a regular basis, your body’s dopamine signals become weaker, causing you to develop tolerance and eventually addiction

Sugar is found in almost everything you eat, the average person consumes around 17.4 teaspoons of sugar per day, around 75% of packaged foods sold in supermarkets contain added sugar. This includes processed foods like sweet snacks, cereals, energy drinks, fruit juices and baked goods. It’s even present in infant food and baby formula, exposing children to numerous health issues at a very young age.
But avoiding sugar is not as simple as skipping sweet foods, as savoury foods, like salad dressing and pizza contain this ingredient as well. Sugar hides behind 61 different names in food labels, the most common of which include sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup, molasses, maple syrup, glucose, maltose, lactose and fruit juice concentrate, among others.

“What makes sugar so addicting?”

When you eat sugary foods, the reward centre of your brain, known as the nucleus accumbens, is stimulated through increased signals of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a role in your perception of pleasure.
Because eating sugar makes you feel good, you’re likely to eat it often. As you consume excessive amounts of sugar on a regular basis, your body’s dopamine signals become weaker and you develop tolerance, so you have to eat more sugar to get the same level of reward, eventually resulting in sugar addiction. This is why manufacturers use sugar to drive your behaviour.
There have been many studies regarding the addictive potential of sugar. “sugar has been found to produce more symptoms than is required to be considered an addictive substance.”
It exhibits drug-like effects such as bingeing, craving, tolerance, withdrawal, cross-sensitization, cross-tolerance and cross-dependence. A study says that intermittent bingeing on sucrose and abusing drugs can both increase extracellular dopamine in the nucleus accumbens.

60 ways sugar can ruin your health

Excessive sugar consumption is associated with chronic metabolic problems, such as Type 2 diabetes, obesity and heart disease, there have been many studies spanning decades that demonstrate the other ways in which eating too much sugar can lead to detrimental effects to your health.

“Nutrient imbalance or deficiency”

1. Upsets the mineral relationships in your body

2. Causes chromium deficiency

3. Interferes with the absorption of calcium and magnesium

4. Increases total cholesterol, triglycerides and bad cholesterol levels

5. Decreases good cholesterol levels

6. Lowers vitamin E levels “Behavioral changes”

7. Leads to addiction and intoxication, similar to alcohol

8. Increases hyperactivity and depressive symptoms

9. Causes difficulty in concentrating and drowsiness

10. Reduces learning capacity and can cause learning disorders

11. Increases the risk for antisocial behaviour

12 Decreases emotional stability

13. Increases the risk for alcoholism

14. Promotes cancer cell growth

15 Increases fasting levels of glucose

16. Increases blood pressure levels

17. increases platelet adhesion, which could put you at risk of arterial thrombotic conditions

18. Leads to the formation of kidney stones and gallstones

19. Promotes excessive food intake through rapid sugar absorption

20. Increases the risk of obesity

21. Decreases insulin sensitivity, leading to high insulin levels and eventually diabetes

22. Causes reactive hypoglycemia

23. Triggers dizziness and headaches, including migraines

24. Makes you more prone to gastrointestinal tract problems

25. Promotes chronic degenerative diseases

26. Causes atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases

27. Causes cataracts and nearsightedness

28. May lead to autoimmune diseases like arthritis, asthma and multiple sclerosis

29. Increases the risk of lung cancer

30. Contributes to osteoporosis

31. Promotes the progression of Parkinson’s disease

32. Increases the risk of gout and Alzheimer’s disease

33. Increases acidity of the saliva and causes tooth decay and periodontal diseases

34. Promotes uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infection)

35. Leads to toxaemia in pregnancy

36. Worsens symptoms of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

37. May lead to epileptic seizures

38. Impairs metabolic processes in a normal healthy individual

39. Suppresses the immune system, which increases the risk of contracting infectious diseases

40. Reduces tissue elasticity and function

41. Leads to weaker eyesight

42. Accelerate ageing

43. Increases advanced glycation end products wherein sugar molecules attach to proteins and end up damaging them

44. Impairs DNA and collagen structure

45. Alters collagen structure

46. Worsens signs of skin ageing

47. Lowers the ability of your enzymes to function

48. Promotes fat accumulation in the liver

49. Increases the risk for kidney and pancreatic damage

50. Contributes to salt and fluid retention

51. Affects urinary electrolyte composition

52. Impairs normal function of the adrenal glands

53. Compromises lining of capillaries

54. Weakens your tendons

55. Can cause an increase in delta, alpha and theta brain waves, which results in the inability to think clearly

56. Causes hormonal imbalances

57. Increases free radicals and oxidative stress (biological rusting)

58. Leads to a substantial decrease in gestation, with a twofold increased risk for delivering a small-for-gestational-age infant

59. Causes dehydration among newborns

60. Affects carbon dioxide production when given to infants

“How to manage sugar addiction”

It’s never too late to kick your sugar-loading habits to the curb. Here are some of my recommendations to help manage or limit your sugar consumption:

1. Limit your sugar intake — Sugar in its natural form is not bad provided that it’s consumed in moderation. Generally, your total sugar consumption should be below 25 grams per day from all sources, including sugar that you get from whole fruits. However, if you have insulin or leptin resistance, it’s ideal to limit your fructose intake to as little as 15 grams per day until you’ve normalized your insulin and leptin levels.
2. Avoid high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) — This sweetener is made from corn and is found in many of the food items that you eat and drink today. It’s considered to be dangerous not only because of the amount of sugar that it contains, but also because of the health risks that it can cause, most of which are mentioned above.

3. Increase your consumption of healthy fats — Healthy fats, such as omega-3 fatty acids, saturated fats and monounsaturated fats, are your body’s preferred source of fuel. The best sources of these include grass-fed butter, coconut oil, free-range eggs, wild-caught Alaskan salmon, avocado and raw nuts like pecans and macadamia.

4. Add fermented foods into your diet —Eating fermented foods like kimchi, natto, organic yoghurt and kefir may help reduce the negative effects of excessive sugar on your liver by supporting your digestive function and detoxification.

5. Drink pure water — Instead of drinking sweetened beverages like soda and fruit juices, I recommend that you rehydrate your body with pure, clean water.

Apart from the recommendations mentioned above, I recommend exercising every day, along with optimizing your vitamin D levels, getting enough sleep and managing your stress levels. These strategies may help minimize the effects of excessive sugar intake. Exercise, in particular, is known to improve insulin sensitivity, reduce stress levels, suppress ghrelin (the appetite hormone), speed up metabolism, strengthen bones and boost your mood.

It can be quite difficult to say no to sweets, especially if you have been consuming them on a daily basis, but once you feel the effects that lowering your sugar intake has on your body, it will all be worth it.

Sugar has also been shown to cause the release of “endogenous opioids”
in the brain, which leads to a rush similar to that experienced when a person injects heroin. All of this leads to a vicious cycle of cravings and needing more sugar to feel good.
When you cut out sugar, your cravings get more intense and you experience withdrawal symptoms — at least at first.

Eating sugary or carb-rich raises glucose which triggers the release of insulin, then insulin pusses glucose out of your bloodstream causing your blood sugar to drop, this change sends a single to your brain, which you experience as hunger, a vicious cycle pang !!! pang !!!