Overeating Sugar

Sweets and high-sugar foods are one of the favorite foods for many people, children and adults, and there has been a lot of talking about the cons of overeating sugar and how it negatively affects both physical and mental health.

How does sugar work in the body

Sugar is a type of carbohydrate, which is one of the essential nutrients for the body. Carbohydrates work as an energy source that the body utilizes for its biological processes in addition to giving the necessary energy for other movement and activities that a person does. Sugar works by transforming to glucose, and when we say sugar, it doesn’t only mean synthetic sugar, but it includes the sugar in natural foods, such as fruit, honey, and others.

Sugar affects the brain as well by stimulating the secretion of a neurotransmitter called dopamine, which, in turn, leads to a feeling of happiness and positivity, and that’s what pushes people to consume sweets excessively.

Overeating sugar

The impact of overeating sugar isn’t just limited to the blood sugar and body weight, but it also has several effects in the body. The American Heart Association recommends that sugar consumption not exceed 6 tsp (25 g) for women and 9 tsp (36 g) for men.

The effects of overeating sweets include, but aren’t limited to, the following:

• Impacts on the heart: excessive sugar consumption affects the arteries and might cause inflammation and stiffness, and this affects the heart with time and might cause hypertension, heart attack, stroke, elevated cholesterol and triglycerides, and others.
• Impacts on the liver: overeating sugar might lead to non-alcoholic fatty liver because the excessive sugar transforms to fat that is stored in the liver.
• Impacts on the blood sugar: overconsuming sugary food increases the chances of developing type 2 diabetes due to the continuous elevation in the blood sugar, which, in turn, decreases the insulin secretion.
• Impacts on body weight: having sweets unconsciously increases the consumption calories in the body more than it needs and that leads to overweight and obesity.
• Impacts on the joints: overeating sugar increases joint pain as a result of the inflammation in the body, and it also might worsen rheumatoid arthritis conditions.
• Impacts on the kidney: excessive sugar consumption could cause kidney stones and kidney failure.
• Impacts on sexual health: sugar might affect the erectile function in men.
• Impacts on the skin: overeating sugar increases the inflammation in the body, which makes the skin age faster.
• Impacts on the teeth: mouth bacteria feed on sugar; therefore, overconsuming it increases the rate of cavities.
• Impacts on the digestive system: eating sugary foods excessively might cause digestive disturbances, such as diarrhea, and this case was seen a lot during the Eid after Ramadan fasting.
• Impacts on psychological health: many studies showed that overconsuming sugar increases the risk of depression, anxiety, and mood swings, in addition to worsening the symptoms of ADHD. Moreover, overeating sugar causes poor sleep due to the increased activity that’s resulted from increased energy from the sugar.

Recommendations to consume less sugar

• Reduce the amount of synthetic sugar, and it’s better to replace it with other sweeteners that don’t raise the blood sugar.
• Reduce the amount of natural fruit juice and replace it with consuming the whole fruit.
• Don’t eat sugar on an empty stomach, and it’s better to have it after the meal, which must be rich in fiber and protein.