Sugar a bitter poison! Is sugar a sweet defeat?
Sugar is now well known and understood by the people who are aware of the health and wellness as “bitter poison”.
Sugar is a part of conspiracy theory and we were made to believe for all these years that its fat which is responsible for various chronic diseases and not sugar!
Lets understand what it can do to our body:
- It impairs cognitive skills and self-control (having a little sugar stimulates a craving for more). It has drug-like effects in the reward center of the brain. Scientists have proved that sweet foods and fatty salty fast foods can cause addiction in our brain.
- The ability to process emotion is compromised with elevated blood glucose levels.
- High glucose levels diminishes mental capacity, as higher HbA1c levels have been associated with a greater degree of brain shrinkage.
Some more consequences of too much sugar in diet are as below:
- It leads to Insulin Resistance
- Cardiovascular diseases and diabetes are associated with high sugar consumption
- A high-sugar diet often results in chromium deficiency, its a catch 22 situation as low chromium in turn causes more sugar cravings!
- Sugar affects behavior and cognition in children.
- Liver damage
- Causes Increased stress:When we’re under stress, our stress hormone level rises; these chemicals are the body’s fight-or-flight emergency crew, sent out to prepare the body for an attack or an escape. These chemicals are also called into action when blood sugar is low. For example, after a blood-sugar spike (say, from eating a sweet chocolate, doughnut or candy), there’s a compensatory dive, which causes the body to release stress hormones such as adrenaline, epinephrine and cortisol. One of the main things these hormones do is raise blood sugar, providing the body with a quick energy boost. The problem is, these helpful hormones can make us feel anxious, irritable and shaky.Weight Gain
- Has been found to increases cancer cells or cause Cancer
- It Increase Uric Acid and triglycerides
- Sugar accelerates ageing: Increases sagging skin
- Causes Oxidative damage and free Radicals formation.
- It increases cravings and makes you eat more
- It Increases Risk of Getting Alzheimer’s and Dementia
- it causes extreme fatigue
- It causes bone weakness
- Increases Blood Pressure
- Causes Acne
- Reduces Immunity against various infections.
- It feeds candida and can cause chronic candidiasis
- It causes hormone imbalances
Dr Kalpana Shekhawat M.D.
Functional Medicine Specialist