Why Is Too Much Sugar Bad for You?
According to researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, consuming too much added sugar can increase your risk for heart disease and other severe health conditions.
They found that people who overeat sugar are more likely to have a higher blood pressure than those who don’t. This is important because high blood pressure increases your likelihood of heart attack or stroke.
“We know that excess weight contributes to cardiovascular disease risk factors like high blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglycerides,” said Dr. Camille Lassale, lead author of the study. “But until now, no one had examined how sugar intake independently affects these risk factors.”
The new research reveals that women with the highest daily intake of added sugars were nearly 40 percent more likely to have a heart attack or stroke than those with the lowest information, regardless of their overall diet. “Our findings underscore the urgent need for prevention strategies that target Americans’ overconsumption of added sugars,” Lassale said.
The American Heart Association currently recommends men and women consume no more than nine teaspoons (tsp) — equal to 36 grams (g) — of sugar per day. Anything above this number can lead to adverse health effects. This amount is significantly lower than most people eat: On average, American adults get about 15 percent of their daily calories from added sugars, which amounts to almost 300 calories daily.
What happens when you overeat sugar at once:
when your pancreas is overwhelmed with sugar, it releases a massive amount of insulin to convert all the excess glucose in your blood into glycogen. This will cause temporary hypoglycemia or low blood sugar levels.
In turn, you’ll experience extreme hunger pangs and anxiety since your brain won’t have any sugar to work on. At this point, one of two things can happen: either you’re brave enough to fill up on more sugary food, or you run for the hills in shame at having overeaten. If you’ve ever experienced that sinking feeling after that 3rd donut, then congratulations – you managed to keep yourself at least marginally under control!
This happens when people eat large amounts of sugar at once, but what about eating moderate or small amounts?
There are a few different components to the discomforts that people with Dysautonomia experience, which can be directly attributed to blood glucose levels. There’s orthostatic intolerance (a higher heart rate upon standing) and vaso-vagal syncope (passing out). Both these conditions are caused by low blood pressure. And you know where low blood pressure can lead – postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS).
In POTS, the body cannot regulate blood flow properly because pressure receptors in the veins aren’t sensing how much they’re being squished. This results in too little blood returning to the heart, causing an increase in heart rate leading to fainting spells. Both POTS and vaso-vagal syncope are also associated with anxiety; if you’ve ever felt like your heart is pounding out of your chest, you know what it’s like to be anxious.
Is sugar bad for your heart:
the answer is an unqualified yes. Sugar causes inflammation in your body, and that’s terrible for almost everything.
Inflammation doesn’t just make you feel like garbage; it also speeds up the aging process, makes injuries harder to heal, and can damage your organs. This is why doctors recommend antioxidants – they’re molecules that reduce inflammation by breaking free radicals (molecules created when oxygen interacts with cells).
However, there are problems with diets high in sugar:
suppose you’ve ever taken blood glucose levels over time with a glucometer. In that case, you’ll notice that the moment after eating something sugary, your blood sugar peaks at its highest level ever… but then it crashes dramatically within about 30 minutes. This isn’t your imagination – glucose gets absorbed too fast by the time it’s in your system.
Even worse, eating sugar causes insulin resistance. This means that eventually, your body can’t even use all the sugar you ingest. First, this makes high-sugar diets useless because they don’t do anything good for your health (and no matter how much research is done, low-carb diets still won’t). But secondly, what happens to all that unneeded sugar? It goes straight into fat cells and causes more inflammation!
What to do after overeating sugar:
the best thing you can do is eat protein and fat. This slows down digestion and will give your body a chance to reabsorb the sugar before it goes into your veins. Don’t worry. Once it’s sitting in your stomach, that sugar isn’t going anywhere until all of it has been digested.
Also, consider taking milk thistle, which helps keep the liver healthy. If you have any inflammation problems, this herb will help there too!
Finally… everyone should take digestive enzymes with their meals, so they have an easier time digesting what they eat. This way, there won’t be so much sugar leftover from improperly digested food! If you’ve ever felt like a cloud follows you around because you have a terrible stomach, this stuff is the answer.
And you don’t have to keep eating sugar if you can’t stand it! Your liver can only process about 50g of sugar at once – any more than that and the excess becomes toxic to your body. If you want to lose weight, cut out sugar entirely until your appetite adjusts to lower levels. You’ll be amazed at how much better everything feels when there isn’t so much inflammation in your system!