Whether you have a sweet tooth or not, sometimes you just feel the need for a sugar fix. This probably comes from the times you guzzled on sweets as a kid, but now that you’re older and wiser, is it time to give white sugar up? A diet high in white sugar can take its toll on your wellness, as you may not be getting the vitamins and minerals you need from a balanced, nutritional diet. Not a good enough reason? Ok, here are seven more:
- Sugar is not food; it’s an empty calorie with little nutritional value. Not only does this mean that you’re not getting any vitamins and minerals from sugar, but it can actually cause your body to steal vitamins from other vital organs so that you can process the sugar, and this will leave you even more undernourished.
- Sugar will make you gain weight. This may be an obvious one to anyone who’s ever eaten their fair share of cupcakes, but the science behind it is that sugar is an empty calorie, and so it will be stored in your fat tissue.
- Sugar doesn’t get rid of stress or nerves. You may want a sugar fix when you’re anxious or stressed, but sugar can actually make you feel nervous. Because it contains high levels of insulin and adrenalin, links have been made between excess sugar and disorders like anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia.
- Sugar increases health risks. Too much sugar can damage your pancreas’s ability to function properly, and so it may cause diabetes, kidney and heart problems.
- Sugar can kill your teeth. As your dentist must have told you, sugar increases the bacteria on your mouth that damages enamel. The scary thing is that many popular types of toothpaste out there contain sugar, and it’s not always clear on the label.
- Sugar suppresses your immune system. Sugar interferes with your body by overtaxing its defenses, leaving you susceptible to illness and disease.
- Sugar causes wrinkles. A high-sugar diet damages collagen, which is what gives your skin elasticity. Therefore, sugar can leave you saggy and wrinkly before your time.