There are many factors to consider on any disease, some are more hidden than others. When talking about any metabolic disease, such as diabetes, there’s a direct relationship between sugar consumption and metabolic disease. The more food with added sugar you consume, the more potential you have for a metabolic problem. Some changes to your body can point to metabolic disease, like high blood sugar levels, abnormal triglyceride levels, insulin resistance, high blood pressure and a proportionally large waist circumference. These symptoms increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
We’ve become a nation of “sugarholics.”
Sugar seems to be in everything on the grocery shelf that’s processed. It’s even in so-called diet foods, like those low fat options. When the manufacturers take out the fat, they have to replace it with something that makes the food palatable and that something is sugar. When you eat a hamburger, sugar is in the bun, the ketchup and the mayonnaise. If you add fries, they may contain added sugar, especially if you get them from one well-known fast food chain. Top it off with a cola and you have the perfect sugar storm. Even worse, it makes you want even more sugar, because it’s addictive.
Sugar adds calories and stimulates opioid neural receptors.
Sugar stimulates the same neural receptors as opioids, releasing dopamine. Like opioids, that creates a craving for even more. It can dull your taste buds, which makes you need more and more to get that sweet flavor. Not all types of sugar are equal. High fructose corn syrup—HFCS—is the worse. It metabolizes like alcohol and causes inflammation, symptoms of metabolic disease, causes leptin resistance and degenerates the liver. Extra sugar adds calories, but has no nutritional benefit. The more you eat, the more you want.
There are changes that can increase the risk for metabolic disease.
When you eat sugar, a lot of changes occur as noted before, especially if it’s HFCS. Take leptin resistance, for instance. Leptin is the hormone that makes you feel full. When you consume HFCS, it takes more and more before you feel full, causing you to eat well beyond your comfort level. It affects how fat is used and the metabolism of carbohydrates. A high amount of sugar in the diet can also cause obesity. That also leads to more dysregulation of fat and carbohydrate metabolism. The spikes in insulin from high sugar diets can create insulin resistance.
- Non-alcoholic fatty tissue liver disease can be caused by high consumption of sugar. Not only does increased sugar consumption cause the pancreas to overwork, it causes the liver to do the same. That causes inflammation and stress that allows the fat to accumulate.
- The American Heart Association suggest the maximum amount of added sugar per day should be less than 6 teaspoons for women and 9 teaspoons for men.
- While fruit contains sugar, the fiber in fruit slows down the processing of the sugar, so there’s not the spike you get from candy or sweet treats.
- Skip soft drinks and drink water instead. They’re high in sugar without any added benefit of nutrients. Studies show that people who drink diet drinks have a bigger waist circumference, meaning more belly fat that’s the most dangerous type if you want to avoid metabolic syndrome.
For more information, contact us today at LIV Fitness