Too much of anything is bad. The same goes for sugar. Even though your body uses sugar to keep your vital organs functioning, it is not made to consume excessive amounts of sugar. Too much daily sugar may result in weight gain; and being overweight can increase your cancer risks. Further, excess sugar can cause metabolic dysfunction, increase the risk of obesity, sap your brain power, damage your heart and destroy your liver.
The American Heart Association recommends limiting the amount of added sugar you consume to no more than half of your daily discretionary calorie allowance. According to the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, no more than 10% of the calories in one’s diet should come from added sugar — which means Americans should have no more than 10 to 12 teaspoons (about 40 to 48 grams) of sugar a day.
Too much #sugar, flour and processed foods will wreak havoc with the hormones that control your appetite. pic.twitter.com/edULUJrawM
— Cleveland Clinic (@ClevelandClinic) November 16, 2016
Do you know how much added sugar an average American resident consumes per day? While the American Heart Association recommends no more than 6 teaspoons or about 25 grams of added sugar per day for women and 9 teaspoons or about 36 grams of added sugar per day for men, the Harvard School of Public Health says more than 70% of Americans eat at least 22 teaspoons of added sugar daily.
A 2014 report from the University of North Carolina found that about 20% of Americans exceed 700 calories of added sugar on a daily basis. “Not only are we getting added sugar from obvious places like cakes, candy, and soda, but it’s also coming from healthier-sounding packaged products like salad dressing, pasta sauce, and yogurt,” commented Elyse Powell, one of the report’s co-authors.
Last year, Russell Brand compared marijuana, which is 114 times safer than alcohol, to America’s drug of choice — sugar — and raised an interesting question: Marijuana Vs Sugar — which drug is most dangerous? Please watch the video below to get an answer:
What happens when you take sugar out of your diet for 10 days?
In 2015, Dr. Robert Lustig and his team of researchers from the University of California discovered that cutting back on sugar for 10 days decreases triglyceride levels by an average of 33 points and LDL cholesterol levels by 5 points. By reducing the dietary sugar from 28% to 10%, 43 children who participated in the research were able to dramatically reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes as their blood sugar and insulin levels normalized.
While the research was done on children, there’s no reason to believe the positive effects on overall health and wellness of quitting sugar wouldn’t extend to adults. If you quit added sugar (found in candy, soft drinks, and syrups) and eat only naturally-occurring sugar (found in whole fruit, veggies, and plain milk), you’ll notice immediate changes some of which are…
Your energy will improve
Added sugar, especially (and ironically) in energy drinks, increases excess energy, reduces nutrient density in your diet, and blocks your body’s ability to keep your energy stores at maximal levels. Consuming sugar in large amounts results in a burst of energy, known as a sugar high, which ends in a sharp drop in energy levels often called the “crash” that some of you experience one to three hours after eating a meal. When you avoid sugary foods, you stave off these dips in energy.
Study confirms that #sugar is worse than #salt for your #bloodpressure and overall #health. https://t.co/qr1nOP4JZN
— Dr. Joseph Mercola (@mercola) November 25, 2016
Your body weight will stabilize
Consuming high amounts of added sugar leads to weight gain and obesity. When you reduce the amount of added sugar in your diet, you eat less food; when you reduce your urge to eat between meals, your body loses excess weight. Eliminating soda and switching to water could cause you to lose about 2 pounds per month without changing your diet, writes Healthy Eating.
You’ll stop eating sugar
Sugar begets sugar cravings. Since sugar is highly addictive, sharp drops in energy levels after ingesting higher amounts of added sugar affects the part of the brain controlling impulse that in turn leads to a subsequent craving for more sugary and high-calorie foods. After you rid added sugar from your diet, you will lose the desire to eat anything artificially sweetened.
You’ll make your heart healthier
According to the Mayo Clinic, eating too much sugar raises the level of triglycerides in your blood, which increases your risk of dying from heart disease, even if you aren’t overweight. By avoiding added sugar and processed fructose, you can reduce your risk of heart disease by 80%.
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