What happens when we have too much sugar in our diets?

Diabetes is just one of the consequences since we develop insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.

Many sugars are ok for us when taken in small amounts. Foods like apples, strawberries, and oranges have natural sugars such as fructose that are absorbed slowly because of the pulp in the fruit.

Processed foods do not have any mechanism slowing sugar absorption and some sugars, such as fructose corn sugar found in many foods are known as stereoisomers while chemically, they are the same as the naturally occurring sugar, they are not similar in chemical configuration. As a result, many of these sugars are not digested or used the same way and offer us bloating and other side effects instead of nutritional benefits.

Natural sugars also occur in vegetables and juicing which also releases too much too fast into our systems. The natural bulk of the plant material also slows the sugar absorption.

Sugar affects the pleasure centers of the brain and too much makes you crave sugar. Carb addicts are a perfect example. Sugar also causes systemic inflammation which is bad for our cardiovascular system and in the gut grows the wrong types of bacteria which may have an effect on our overall weight and gut health.

Recently, the NY Times published an article on what happens to your body when it takes in sugar. Check it out below

This Is Your Body on Sugar

By Alice Callahan Animations by Rosa Sawyers Oct. 30, 2024

For all of human history, the natural sugars in fruits, vegetables, and other plants have served us well. They have provided essential fuel for our body’s most important processes.

But now that sugars have been processed into more potent forms and added to so many foods and drinks — sodas, candies, breakfast cereals, salad dressings, breads — most of us are getting more sugar than our bodies were meant to handle.

Read the entire article below