The Darker Side of White Sugar

The Darker Side of White Sugar

Here’s the bad and the ugly of white sugar:

1) Where is the nutrition, sweetie?

One of the most obvious and well known reasons why sweetened foods and drinks are considered bad for health is that during the process of its production, refined sugar gets robbed off the vitamins, proteins, minerals, enzymes and other healthy nutrients that the original sugar cane or beet contains. In fact, refined sugar lacks chromium, a chemical needed for our blood sugar levels to be healthily managed. Severe deficiencies of this chemical will mean our bodies could ignore to assess how much sugar is in our blood.

Another huge reason of concern with sugar is that although sugar tends to be high in calories, it is not much filling. That makes it easier to over-consume the sweet edibles, resulting in excessive consumption causing unwanted weight gain.

Sometimes sugary items displace other healthier foods. People, especially kids, often eat sweets instead of other nutritious foods, as a result of which their overall nutrition suffers.

2) The math is simple: Excess sugar equals to weight gain

Excess amounts of sugar can result in undesirable weight gain. Sugar is normally stored in the liver as glucose. But once the liver is full, it sends back the excess glucose back into the blood as fat. The fat cells are then taken by the bloodstream throughout the body and get deposited on various parts, around the belly and hips being the “site of choice”.

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3) Sugar takes a toll on the immune system

A big dose of sugar, like a bottle of cold drink or a bar of chocolate, temporarily brings down the immune system’s ability to respond to challenges. Unfortunately, the effect lasts for several hours. Therefore, when we eat sweets several times a day, our immune system goes for a toss for a much longer duration and consequently the ability to fight disease gets weakened.

4) Sugar and insulin, not the best of friends

An influx of sugar into the body has a fairly predictable result - an increased level of blood sugar. Shortly after this, the pancreas will release a shot of insulin to help clear the sugar from the blood into our cells. As the blood sugar levels go down, insulin returns to its normal level. But when we eat a lot of sugar, we’re constantly calling for insulin, which is not a polite thing to do. Over a period of time, it will take more and more insulin to get the job done. Eventually, our pancreas may just stop responding to the call. And then we become insulin-dependent diabetic.

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5) Sugar promotes “glycation”

Sounds too technical? Well, actually it is a mischievous little act of sugar molecules when they enter our bloodstream. On getting in there, they start looking around for things to hook up with, like attractive protein and fat molecules. This little hook-up or binding is known as “glycation” and the results aren’t that flattering. These glycated molecules produce toxic compounds called advanced glycation end products (AGEs). AGEs essentially throw the aging process into a fast track. Sadly, much of the damage done by AGEs is irreversible.

To put it simply, the more sugar is in our blood, the faster we age.

6) Sugar associated with dental caries

There is a positive association between sugar and dental problems. It causes tooth decay in no time. It is one of the most dental-caries producing foods in the world. Bacteria in the mouth break down sugary foods into acids and cause cavities and tooth decay. The story doesn’t end here. Studies have confirmed that dental problems often lead to heart diseases. Chronic periodontal infections stimulate coronary artery disease.