Before we laud the benefits of a sugar free diet and encourage a collective intake of sugar free chocolate, you should probably know why sugar is so bad for us. From being high in calories, to being responsible for the rise in diabetes and diabetes related issues like heart disease, sugar truly is poisonous.
But the problem is so many of us rely on ready meals and convenience food because time is a precious commodity and we don’t want to waste it cooking when food is so readily available.
But that ready made food we choose to eat is processed and mass produced, with limited nutritional value and jam packed full of sugar to add flavor. As such, convenience food, while being very convenient, isn’t known for its health properties.
How much sugar do we eat?
Currently, in the US alone, we adults get 17% of our total calorie intake from sugars. Dieticians believe we need to lower that level to less than 10%. Why? Because sugar is so bad for us.
Sugar is the main cause of the obesity epidemic we are living through, not to mention the key factor in type 2 diabetes, a self inflicted illness mainly brought on by poor diet and bad food choices.
But that isn’t all that sugar does to our bodies. No, sugar really is bad for us in so many ways.
Sugar makes us gain weight
If you’re wondering why you’re dieting but you’re not seeing the fruits of your labor, take a look at the ingredients of those ‘diet’ food products you’re consuming. Chances are the manufacturers have removed fats and other tasty ingredients to make them ‘low calorie’, and in the process removed all the flavor. So to put the flavor back, the food has been packed out with sugar.
Don’t eat diet products? How about that soda you have every day?
Sugar sweetened drinks are one of the worst culprits for sneaking extra sugar into our diets, causing us to gain weight.
Sweetened with fructose, the worst kind of sugar, fizzy sodas don’t quench your thirst and curb your appetite, they have the opposite effect. They not only dampen your body’s innate ability to tell when it’s full, they also contain a high number of calories, so you tend to consume more calories than you ordinarily would.
Sugar causes acne
Remember when your mom used to tell you that chocolate causes spots? She wasn’t lying.
A diet high in sugar causes your blood sugar levels to spike, resulting in inflammation in your body, which leads to increased androgen secretion and oil production. Both of which are responsible for blocked pores and an onset of acne.
Sugar is linked to cancer
How is sugar linked to cancer you may wonder.
Well, sugar is the catalyst that can kickstart a chain of events that result in cancer. Because sugary foods have an inflammatory effect on your body, as well as leading to insulin resistance, and both of which are known to increase the risk of developing cancer, in particular esophageal cancer and small intestine cancer.
