Benefits of Less Sugar
So we have talked about Your Friend Sugar and her twin High Fructose Corn Syrup and we said hello to Miss Refined Sugar and her bud Mr. Processed Carbohydrates.
Now you know some of the things that happen in your body when you choose to have a visit with these so-called friends.
Let’s discuss what we call these things that your Sugar friends bring along.
1. Diabetes
When your body processes glucose, it uses insulin to transport it into the cells to get it out of your bloodstream. The more sugar that is present in the bloodstream the more insulin your body has to make.
Over time the insulin that is created doesn’t connect to the cells as well. It is like a bent key that doesn’t open the cell door all the way. Your body keeps making more insulin for the sugar that is there in the bloodstream but the insulin is a broken key to the cells. This is called Type 2 Diabetes. The excess sugar in the bloodstream can start to harm other parts of your body.
2. Heart Disease
Sugar can be converted into triglycerides in your blood that can gum of the works. The liver process the sugar and sends out more LDL cholesterol. Additionally, sugar over time can cause higher blood pressure. This increases your chance of heart disease and stroke.
3. Tooth Decay
Sugar in the month encourages sugar-loving bacteria to grow. These bacteria like to eat sugar and produce acids that damage your tooth enamel.
4. Metabolic Syndrome
Metabolic Syndrome is that precursor to Type 2 Diabetes. You start to feel sluggish like you have to energy as your insulin doesn’t connect with the cells. This is called insulin resistance. If you have extra weight especially around your abdomen then you have some amount of insulin resistance.
5. High Blood Pressure
As insulin increases in the bloodstream, it impacts the body by decreasing sodium and water removal by the kidneys. With increased insulin resistance less magnesium is stored and vessels can’t relax. Uric acid is elevated causing nitric oxide to decrease and vessel elasticity with it. All these together increase blood pressure. Again with higher blood pressure, you have a higher risk of heart conditions and increased problems with diabetes.
6. Inflammation
Chronic inflammation does not just make you swell up. It can also impact your mood, cause weight gain, fatigue, and digestive issues. Gut bacteria digest sugar and create by-products. These bacteria byproducts can be a cause of poor cell linking in our gut allowing gaps in our gut lining. When we have gaps in our gut lining components of our food get through without being fully digested. These components are seen by our immune system as foreign and cause inflammation.
7. Fatty Liver
The liver has to process toxins and fructose. When the liver processes fructose especially in large quantities it gets overwhelmed. Some of the fat it creates from the fructose doesn’t get shuttled away it just stays there as fat on the liver. This causes inflammation and scarring of the liver and eventually, the liver can’t keep up.
Now, what happens when you choose your friends wisely and based on your and your body’s needs.
1. Healthier weight
With less sugar, the body has the time to process the food you are eating and use it in the cells for fuel. The liver can process and remove toxins. Over time the body can start to heal, decrease inflammation and release some weight.
2. Lower Triglycerides
The liver will have less fructose to process into fat to be placed around your organs and as LDL triglycerides in your blood.
3. Lower Heart Disease
Blood pressure can decrease and with lower weight and less LDL cholesterol, there is less strain on the heart.
4. Healthier teeth
The bacteria will not be pumping out as much acid from digesting sugars onto your teeth to eat your enamel.
5. More Energy
With less sugar to process, the other body functions start to work more efficiently. The liver removing toxins, the insulin gets glucose into cells, blood pressure and triglycerides get in normal ranges. Minerals like sodium snd magnesium exit and stay as needed. All those processes working together get the body what it needs when it needs it and give you more energy.
6. Sharper Memory
Decreasing inflammation allows the brain to get the minerals it needs for processes such as memory.
7. Less chance of Dementia
Higher blood sugar is associated with dementia. Decreasing your sugar intake and maintaining normal blood sugar levels can decrease your risk of cognitive decline.
8. Improved Mood
Inflammation in the body can cause an impact on hormones which in turn can impact your mood.
9. Decreases Addiction to Sugar
Sugar is as or more addictive than cocaine on brain scans. Mice will choose sugar over cocaine in experiments because of its addictive ability. Decreasing your sugar intake will start to remove that addictive hold you have for sugar.
10. Improved and Younger Looking Skin
Sugar creates advanced glycation end products that decrease elasticity and damage collagen causing you to look older and your skin to wrinkle and dull.
That’s Some List of Benefits
I hope this list of things that can be improved in your life from decreasing sugar helps you to make choices about what you are eating that provide you with the health you want.
Continue to read about sugar and its impact on your life with the next post on How sugar impacts your weight.
Join me in May to walk through busting your Sugar Cravings.
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