Do you know that you could be addicted to sugar? You probably don’t realize it. Try out this experiment. See if you can go without sugar for 5 days. You will soon find yourself desperately seeking a cake or a soda drink.
Sugar is everywhere. It’s in our drinks, it’s in our food and it’s hidden in places we never would think of. Sugar is not just the sweets, candy, chocolate or soda. It is also the simple carbohydrates in our food such as white rice, pasta, noodle and vermicelli. Alcohol is also “ hidden sugar”.
How does sugar addiction happen?
Sugar stimulates the brain to produce the feeling of contentment and dulls the emotional and physiological pain. It is the same pathway as alcohol, cocaine and heroin. So, it is like a drug!
What are the symptoms of sugar addiction?
- Nagging headache
- Unexplained mood swing
- Getting sick easily
- Weight gain
Why is sugar bad?
Sugar are simple carbohydrates which are easily digested into the simplest form called glucose. Our body secretes insulin to control the glucose in the blood by triggering the cells to absorb the glucose.
A diet of excessive refined or simple carbohydrate cause insulin level to be high at all times. This produce undesirable consequences:
- Cells become unresponsive to insulin and the body cannot control blood glucose level. Abnormally high blood glucose level leads to Type II diabetes.
- Glucose absorbed in the cells is converted into fat. Excess glucose in the blood is carried to the liver where it is converted to fat. Both pathways cause weight gain.
- Fat from the liver is then sent circulating around the blood vessels and get deposited on the vessel leading to heart diseases and high blood pressure.
- Glucose is a highly active molecule, which are easily oxidized producing free radicals. Free radicals are highly reactive molecules that cause damages in the cells and degenerative diseases such as arthritis.
- Excess glucose binds onto protein and cause aging by stiffening of tissues in the body. Wrinkles can be formed this way.
I will talk about how to overcome the sugar addiction in my next post.
Do you know of other reasons why sugar is bad?
Was wondering what effect sugar overload is having on my body, after a
massive binge I have heart palpations and a pain on my right side plus
feel ill…do not have a gall bladder, I am losing weight but now and
then have this urge to eat bad things! am curious to know..
Hi Carolina,
You have the urge to eat or snacks because you are not feeding your body with the right nutrition. That is why the body is screaming for food and feeding it with bad foods just negatively downward spiral. You should start by converting to healthy diet of at least 5 portions of fruits and vegetables a day. Take lean protein from plant base and increase Omega rich fish such as salmon and tuna.
You may be losing weight, but I suspect it is muscle and water loss rather than fat loss.
You experience heart palpitation due to the excessive sugar load on the blood. The sugar is coming from refined carbohydrates such as cakes, biscuits, potato, pasta etc.
Hope this helped.
To the best of health, Su Lee