20 Good Reasons to Eat Less Sugar That Have Nothing to Do With Weight Loss

20 Good Reasons to Eat Less Sugar That Have Nothing to Do With Weight Loss

Don’t be shocked—but something’s hiding in your food.From the Murmura(Indian snack made with jageery and puffed rice) you eat to the ketchup on your somosa(India’s Favourite snack), an addictive substance is lurking in many foods that you'd never suspect.



In its natural state, sugar is a relatively harmless—even necessary—carbohydrate that our bodies need to function. It's found in fruits, vegetables, and dairy as a compound known as fructose or lactose. The problem comes when sugar is added to foods during processing for added flavor, texture, or color. This is more common than you may realize—you don't have to be in the candy aisle to be surrounded by added sugar.



Added sugar drives your insulin levels up, messes with your metabolism, and causes those calories to turn right into belly fat. And while losing weight is well and good, that’s just the beginning of the health benefits of cutting back on the sweet stuff.



1. It can lower your blood pressure...
Obesity, one of the main consequences of excessive added sugar intake, is a major risk factor for high blood pressure. New researchshows that added dietary sugars—independent from weight gain—can also raise blood pressure. And this is no small thing: High blood pressure increases the workload of the heart and arteries and can cause damage over time to the whole circulatory system. Eventually, this can lead to heart disease, heart attacks, stroke, kidney damage, artery disease, and other serious coronary conditions.


2. ...As well as your bad cholesterol.
People who consume a lot of added sugar are more likely to have lower levels of HDL, or good cholesterol, higher levels of LDL, or bad cholesterol, and higher levels of triglycerides, or blood fats. Bad cholesterol and blood fats clog up arteries and blood vessels, leading to heart disease.


3. It decreases your heart attack risk.

4. It keeps your brain sharp.
You may have been warned that sweets can eat away at teethenamel, but what's even scarier is that sugar can eat away at your brain power too.Research shows that eating too much sugar can cause impair cognitive function and reduce proteins that are necessary for memory and responsiveness. In one particular study, rats who were fed sugar were slower and showed less synaptic activity in their brains than those in the control group. “A high intake of sugar is assocaited with metabolic syndrome, a cluster a conditions associated not just with decreased cognitive function, but possibly even with changes to brain structure," Long Gillespie says.


5. You'll be less likely to have Alzheimer's and dementia...
A diet high in added sugar reduces the production of a chemical known as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which helps the brain form new memories and remember the past. Levels of BDNF are particularly low in people with an impaired glucose metabolism (diabetics and pre-diabetics) and low BDNF has been linked to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.


6. ...And depression.
When your brain experiences continuous sugar spikes (from your breakfast of Lucky Charms to your post-dinner ice cream sandwich), insulin becomes more immune to its effects and therefore less effective. This in turn leads to depression and anxiety.


7. You'll break your addiction to the sweet stuff.
The problem is that eating too much sugar shuts down healthy dopamine signaling, meaning it takes more and more sugar to fire off those pleasure signals.


8. It will keep your skin looking young...
“In this case, you truly are what you eat—it shows on your skin,” Long Gillespie says.AGEs damage collagen and elastin, the protein fibers that keep skin firm and elastic, and that damage leads to skin wrinkles and sagging.They also deactivate your body's natural antioxidant enzymes, leaving you more vulnerable to sun damage.


9. ...And clear.
Sugary foods with a high glycemic index have been found to have an effect on the severity of acne because of the hormonal fluctuations they trigger. “Inflammation caused by excess sugar intake has been linked to other skin conditions as well, like psoriasis,” says Marisa Moore, R.D., an adjunct professor at Georgia State University.


10. It will lower your risk of diabetes.
Because of the high insulin resistance caused by excess sugar intake, fructose, glucose, and other forms of sugar can’t get into the cells and become “stuck” in the bloodstream. This high blood sugar leads to pre-diabetes and eventually the threat of actual diabetes.


11. It can help prevent fatty liver disease.
Basically, that spike in insulin caused by sugar also drives fat into the liver cells, causing inflammation and scarring. This disease is a major risk factor for diabetes, heart attacks, and even cancer.



12. It can help reduce your risk of certain cancers.


13. Your breath will be sweeter.


14. You'll breathe easier.
Studies suggest that certain dietary patterns, including a high-sugar diet, can make you more likely to suffer from asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is the third leading cause of death in the U.S.


15. You'll have more energy.
Studies show that added dietary sugars can decrease the activity of orexin cells. These cells are basically the Energizer Bunnies of our bodies, and induce wakefulness, stoke the metabolism, and keep our system movin’ and groovin’. When orexin cells are turned off or absent, we’re sleepy and sluggish, which explains why you want to nap after a carb- and sugar-laden lunch.


16. You'll have fewer cravings.
Since over-consumption of sugar triggers the production of ghrelin—the hormone that signals to your body that it’s hungry—cutting down on sweets means you won't feel like a bottomless pit of hunger. Focus on whole, unprocessed foods, sans sweetener, to minimize that annoying "hangry" feeling and feel full for longer.


17. You'll make fewer trips to the dentist...

18. ...And the doctor.
Eating or drinking too much sugar also lowers your immune system. Excess sugar can inhibit phagocytosis, the process by which viruses and bacteria destroyed by your protective white blood cells. Simple sugars like glucose, table sugar, fructose, and honey all cause a drop in the ability of white blood cells to destroy bacteria. Less illness means fewer trips to the internist and less time spent in waiting rooms reading germy copies of old magazines.


19. You'll save money.
And not only on junk food—those trips to the dentist and doctor will add up. Plus, your health insurance premium could rise if chronic diseases caused by excess sugar start to appear.


20. You'll help Planet Earth...
The process of growing sugarcane requires a ton of water and its often very destructive to the habitat it grows in—not to mention a history of issues with chemicals and pollution in the sugarcane industry. Plus some of the regions sugarcane grows in (like the Mekong Delta in Vietnam and the Atlantic Forest in Brazil) are already fragile habitats.