How Sugar Is Killing You

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It’s in almost everything—from dog treats to soups to barbecue sauce and Asian food. Foods that you’d think it wouldn’t be in, it’s there. Sugar has become something of a staple for our society even though it has absolutely zero nutritional value and contributes to a large amount of health problems. This ingredient has a chemical structure so similar to cocaine it’s eerie. And indeed, sugar produces an effect on the brain that’s as strong as a high from cocaine will give you.

This ingredient has become widely acceptable in vitamins, juices, and salad dressings. But next time you read the label, seeing sugar’s many names on there might scare you after reading this.

Sugar Can Contribute to Unregulated Cell Growth (Cancer)

Insulin is an important hormone in our body. Its role is to control the usage of sugars and fats. Insulin is also an important player in the regulation of cell growth. Cancer, one of the biggest killers on the planet today, is the unregulated growth of cells. Many researchers are now looking at sugar as one of the things that could lead to cancer, especially if you meet other risk factors. Sugar is also highly acidic, which means it’s disrupting whether your body’s PH is alkaline or acidic. Alkaline foods such as avocados, spinach, and other veggies and fruits help to keep your body functioning optimally while acidic foods like wheat, meat, sugar, and eggs make your PH more acidic. Cancer essentially feeds on sugar. This is a huge reason why you should stay away from it.

Sugar Is Giving You Periodontal Disease and Tooth Decay

The idea that sugar is bad for your teeth is an absolutely true one—even if left to sit on the teeth for just a few minutes, sugar can cause damage. Multiply these minutes by hours several times a day (or every time you eat sugar) and your teeth are suffering. Since sugar is highly acidic, it wears down the enamel on your teeth. Once this enamel is gone, it doesn’t come back and cannot be replaced. The loss of enamel on your teeth can cause highly sensitive teeth, staining, root and nerve damage, and many other problems. Gum disease (periodontal disease) can also occur from this damage. Studies have shown that your mouth is linked to your heart—take care of it and stay away from sugar to help prevent heart disease.

It’s Contributing to Other Serious Health Problems

Let’s talk about how sugar influences the body. When you eat sugar, your brain lights up with dopamine and essentially says “more”. It’s very addictive, more addictive than cocaine. So you eat more. Your insulin levels get disrupted and get confused about what sugar needs to be stored as fat and what needs to be consumed immediately for energy. Your fat stores increase. Your liver is under pressure to process the glucose and isn’t sure what to do with it in high amounts. Sugar contributes to obesity. Obesity can be linked to many other health problems such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

Sugar isn’t helping your body out. The truth is that there’s really no safe amount of sugar. Your body will fare much better with fruits if you’re craving something sweet. There are so many recipes out there that can make use of healthy foods such as dates and bananas to make fabulous things such as vegan ice cream or gluten-free donuts without the sugar. Artificial sweeteners aren’t good either—they’re just chemicals that are not natural to your body. Stay away from sugars and see how great you feel without them!

Jenn Ryan
Jenn Ryan is a freelance writer and editor who's passionate about natural health, gluten-free, fitness, and animals. Jenn loves running, reading, and playing with her four rescued rabbits. www.thegreenwritingdesk.com