Sugar has negative effects on our bodies and impacts how we show up in the world.
It affects everything from our energy levels, productivity, and even how our skin looks as we age.
This post will bring awareness of the effect sugar has on your body so that you can better monitor your intake.
It’s about being mindful of how you treat yourself. 😉
You get to decide how you show up and feel throughout the day.
So, let’s start paying attention to what we put into our bodies so that we can show up as our best selves.
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Body
Consuming too much sugar can negatively affect our overall health.
According to Harvard Medical School, consuming too much sugar can lead to:
- Higher risk of heart disease
- Raises your blood pressure
- Increases chronic inflammation
- Weight gain
- Diabetes
- Fatty Liver Disease
You don’t have to cut out sugar from your diet completely, but it’s good to be mindful about your intake to avoid these long-term negative effects.
Mood swings
Can’t stop, won’t stop! Sweets are so addictive.
Yes, the taste is good, but we also get hits of dopamine and opioids from sugar.
Sugar stimulates cravings for more and lowers our self-control.
Studies have shown that sugar has an addictive effect on people meaning that you can go through withdrawal symptoms like mood swings, binging, cravings, etc.
These withdrawal symptoms can start a cycle of overeating and dopamine spikes, resulting in mood dips, agitation, and weight gain.
Studies have even found that sugar increases the chances of recurrent mood disorders in both men and women.
Anxiety
Many of us turn to sugar when we’re stressed, and studies show that sugar does reduce our ability to react to stress.
(Although it is worth noting that studies have found that higher concentrations of saturated fats and added sugars can lead to higher feelings of anxiety in people over the age of 60.)
Overall, you should not get too reliant on sugar to ease your anxiety, especially since it is also linked to depression and is highly addictive.
So, again, it’s all about moderation and being mindful of your intake.
Acne & Aging
The effects of sugar on the skin are significant.
Sugar causes inflammation due to the increased insulin produced to balance your blood sugar levels.
A sugar diet can create a perfect environment for acne development because it:
- Suppresses white cell production, which typically helps to fight off infection
- Increases inflammation in the body, which causes you to produce stress hormones like cortisol.
- Increased cortisol levels boost our skin’s oil production.
Inflammation also breaks down the collagen and elasticity in your skin, which speeds up the aging process.
Energy Levels
Large amounts of sugar can give you a huge energy boost and drain the life out of you afterward.
The more sugar you consume, the higher your energy spike, and the bigger your energy crash.
Your body produces a large amount of insulin to stabilize your blood sugar levels.
This puts your body to work, and the inflection of your blood sugar levels can leave you feeling exhausted in the end.
Sleep Quality
Studies show that people with a high sugar diet sleep less deeply and are more restless at night.
The sugar in your system pulls you out of deep REM sleep and makes you feel exhausted.
On top of that, you’re also likely to have strong cravings for more sugar the next day.
Related Post: Nighttime Routine Habits for Better Sleep Quality
Productivity
Sugar probably isn’t the best thing to consume if you want to be productive.
A UCLA study showed that sugar could cause brain fog and affect how well we remember things.
The increased tiredness also doesn’t help when you need to get things done.
Key takeaways
The negative effects of sugar are good for us to be aware of to recognize when we’ve had too much.
We get to decide how we show up in the world by paying attention to how certain foods affect us.
You don’t have to cut sugar out completely.
It’s all about being mindful of what we put into our bodies so that we can be the best versions of ourselves!
Leave a comment
Have you noticed how your mood or body feels after consuming sugar? What are some methods you’ve used to wean sugar out of your diet?
Leave a comment down below with your thoughts!
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