There are many reasons why we should reduce our sugar intake but here we’ll concentrate on four important ones which help us maintain a healthy mind and body.
Reduce Your Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
Eating too much sugar doesn’t cause type 2 diabetes but it does cause weight gain which can increase your chances of becoming diabetic. Also, according to Dr David Ludwig, a professor in nutrition and paediatrics at Harvard University, “A diet with lots of fast-digesting carbohydrates, like sugar, requires the pancreas to release lots of insulin, meal after meal, day after day. That excessive demand may overtax insulin-producing cells, causing them to malfunction, eventually leading to diabetes.”
Reduce Mood Swings and Enhance Cognitive Ability
There is no evidence to suggest that excess sugar causes depression or anxiety, but it can certainly heighten these problems, as it’s known that a diet which is high in sugar can adversely affect the body’s ability to cope with stress.
Excess sugar is also known to cause inflammation. This inflammation can also affect the brain, interfering in brain waves and cognitive function, impairing memory and learning processes.
Protect Your Heart
A 2014 study showed that eating too much sugar has a detrimental effect on heart health. The results clearly demonstrated that subjects whose sugar intake composed of 17% to 21% of their daily calories, were 38 times more likely to develop a heart condition compared with those whose sugar intake only constituted 8% or less of their daily calorie intake.
Weight Loss and Obesity Prevention
Cutting down on sugar is an obvious choice if we want to lose weight. Being overweight or obese brings with it a myriad of health problems – from joint and back issues, high cholesterol and heart problems to type 2 diabetes and strokes, to name but a few.