5 Effects of Sugar

Why Excess Sugar Can Disrupt Your Health

🍰🍩🥤 The average American consumes (eats AND drinks) 34 teaspoons of sugar PER day. This adds up to more than 100 pounds per year.
Excess sugar intake is one of the most common drivers of chronic inflammation and metabolic dysfunction.

Some of these toxic sugars include Fructose, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Truvia, Saccharin, Aspartame, and Sucralose.
Many of these sugars and artificial sweeteners are hidden in processed foods and beverages.

👀 Check out some effects of sugar on your body and stop eating your share of the toxin:

1. Weight Gain

Sugar is inflammatory, which means it causes swelling and therefore weight gain. Stop eating sugar to lose bloating, you’ll also likely lose some water retention that comes along with bloating and inflammation.
Chronic sugar consumption can make weight loss difficult by keeping the body in a constant inflammatory state.

2. Immune System Deterioration

When your gut becomes inflamed (effect #1), your immune system sets out to attack the very thing that caused the inflammation in the first place. This repetitive action (every time you consume sugar) causes your immune system to get fatigued, and therefore becomes less effective in attacking viruses and pathogens. Stop eating sugar and your immune system will be more effective at fighting off colds, flus, and viruses.
Sugar weakens immune defenses by exhausting the body’s inflammatory response.

3. Changes How the Gut Works

Bottom line, sugar changes your microbiome. A large part of digestion takes place in your gut and when sugar messes with it, you may not be able to digest your food properly. Additionally, sugar is an anti-nutrient that leaches the nutrients from healthy foods that are meant to be provided to your body. This adds weight gain and also triggers your immune response, leading to sickness.
An imbalanced gut microbiome can contribute to digestive issues, food sensitivities, and chronic illness.

4. Sleep Problems

Sugar messes with important neurotransmitters that are produced in the microbiome of your gut such as melatonin, which makes you sleepy. Sugar counteracts this property and interrupts normal sleep patterns.
Blood sugar spikes and crashes can disrupt deep, restorative sleep

5. Infections

Most infections are connected to inflammation in some way. Sugar is the food of choice for infections and bacteria. Stop eating sugar equals stop feeding infections.
Reducing sugar intake can help limit the fuel that harmful bacteria and infections thrive on.

Take the First Step Toward Better Health

At our functional medicine clinic in Raleigh, NC, we focus on reducing inflammation and restoring balance through personalized nutrition and root-cause care. Set up a consultation with one of our doctors by using this scheduling link or by calling our office at 919-803-5015. We can’t wait to help you 💚🧩