45 Ways Sugar Can Ruin Your Health

Why do we eat so much sugar?

Obviously, sugar tastes good. We crave it. We enjoy treats to reward ourselves or celebrate special occasions. Foods high in sugar are easy and convenient (they are everywhere). The list goes on and on . . .

In addition to throwing off the body’s homeostasis, excess sugar may result in a number of other significant consequences. The following list reveals some of sugar’s metabolic consequences from a variety of medical journals and other scientific publications.

1. Sugar can suppress your immune system and impair your defenses against infectious disease.
2. Sugar upsets the mineral relationships in your body, causing chromium and copper deficiencies and interfering with absorption of calcium and magnesium.
3. Sugar can cause can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline, hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children.
4. Sugar can produce a significant rise in total cholesterol, triglycerides, and bad cholesterol and a decrease in good cholesterol.
5. Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function.
6. Sugar feeds cancer cells and has been connected with the development of cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostate, rectum, pancreas, biliary tract, lung, gallbladder and stomach.
7. Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose and can cause reactive hypoglycemia.
8. Sugar can cause many problems with the gastrointestinal tract including: an acidic digestive tract, indigestion, malabsorption in patients with functional bowel disease, increased risk of Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis.
9. Sugar can cause premature aging.
10. Sugar can lead to alcoholism.
11. Sugar can cause your saliva to become acidic, tooth decay, and periodontal disease.
12. Sugar contributes to obesity.
13. Sugar can cause autoimmune diseases such as: arthritis, asthma, multiple sclerosis.
14. Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections).
15. Sugar can cause gallstones.
16. Sugar can cause appendicitis.
17. Sugar can cause hemorrhoids.
18. Sugar can cause varicose veins.
19. Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.
20. Sugar can cause a decrease in your insulin sensitivity thereby causing an abnormally high insulin levels and, eventually, diabetes.
21. Sugar can increase your systolic blood pressure.
22. High sugar intake increases advanced glycation end products (AGEs) (Sugar molecules attaching to and, thereby, damaging proteins in the body).
23. Sugar causes food allergies.
24. Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.
25. Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.
26. Sugar can cause atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.
27. Sugar can make your skin age by changing the structure of collagen.
28. Sugar can cause cataracts and nearsightedness.
29. Sugar can increase the size of your liver by making your liver cells divide and it can increase the amount of liver fat.
30. Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney such as the formation of kidney stones.
31. Sugar can damage your pancreas.
32. Sugar can increase your body’s fluid retention.
33. Sugar can compromise the lining of your capillaries.
34. Sugar can make your tendons more brittle.
35. Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.
36. Sugar can cause depression.
37. Sugar can increase your risk of gout.
38. Sugar can increase your risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
39. Sugar can cause hormonal imbalances such as increased estrogen in men, exacerbated PMS symptoms, and decreased growth hormone.
40. Diets high in sugar will increase free radicals and oxidative stress.
41. Your body changes sugar into 2 to 5 times more fat in the bloodstream than it does starch.
42. Sugar adversely affects urinary electrolyte composition.
43. Sugar can slow down the ability of your adrenal glands to function.
44. Sugar has the potential to induce abnormal metabolic processes in a normal healthy individual and promote chronic degenerative diseases.
45. High sugar intake can cause epileptic seizures.

So, the next time you want to reach for a soda or candy bar to fulfill a craving, think about what it might be doing to your body in the long term. You can reduce sugar cravings by nourishing your body with the natural vitamins and minerals it needs.