Sugar
is delicious. Anyone who denies that is lying. But because life is
unfair, sugar, especially in copious amounts, is really bad for your
health. In fact, once you learn about all the ways sugar impacts your body, it's difficult to look at it the same way (despite knowing how heavenly it tastes).
So
how do you know if you're eating too much? Here are eight red flags
your body is sending you that it's time to cut back on the sweet stuff.
1. You constantly crave sugary things.
The
more sugar you eat, the more you'll crave it. "More cravings then equal
consuming more sugar—it becomes a vicious and addictive cycle," Brooke Alpert, M.S., R.D., author of The Sugar Detox: Lose Weight, Feel Great and Look Years Younger,
tells SELF. This isn't just because your taste buds have adapted and
left you needing more and more to get that same taste, but also because
of how sugar gives you a high followed by a crash, just like an actual
drug. "By eating a high sugar diet, you cause a hormonal response in
your body that’s like a wave, it brings you up and then you crash down
and it triggers your body to want more sugar."
2. You feel sluggish throughout the day.
What
goes up must come down. After sugar causes an initial spike of insulin
and that "high" feeling, it causes an inevitable crash. "Energy is most
stable when blood sugar is stable, so when you’re consuming too much
sugar, the highs and lows of your blood sugar lead to highs and lows of
energy," Alpert says. Eating a lot of sugar also means it's likely
you're not eating enough protein and fiber, both important nutrients for sustained energy.
3. Your skin won't stop breaking out.
"Some
people are sensitive to getting a spike in insulin from sugar intake,
which can set off a hormonal cascade that can lead to a breakout like
acne or rosacea," Rebecca Kazin, M.D.,
of the Washington Institute of Dermatologic Laser Surgery and the Johns
Hopkins department of dermatology, tells SELF. A sugar binge can show
up on your face in just a few days. If your skin's unruly, Kazin
recommends reassessing your diet, otherwise "you may be treating skin
for other issues without getting to the bottom of what's really going
on."
4. You're way moodier than usual.
The
blood sugar crash that happens when you're coming off a sugar high can
cause mood swings and leave you feeling crabby. Not to mention, if your
energy is also tanking, that just contributes to a bad attitude.
5. You've been putting on some weight.
Excess sugar is excess calories, and since it has no protein or fiber,
it doesn't fill you up (so you just keep eating it). It also triggers
the release of insulin, a hormone that plays a big role in weight gain.
When we eat sugar, the pancreas releases insulin, which carries sugar to
our organs so it can be used for energy. When you load up on sugar,
your body’s told to produce more insulin—over time, that excessive
output can lead to insulin resistance. Insulin resistance means our
bodies can't respond to normal amounts of insulin properly and therefore
can't use sugar the right way. The initial weight gain from simply
eating too many calories from sugar is being compounded by the
disruption to your normal insulin response (there’s a link between
insulin resistance and obesity). What’s more, when the pancreas works in
overdrive for too long you can develop diabetes.
6. You've been getting more cavities.
When
bacteria chow down on food particles in between the teeth, acid is
produced, which causes tooth decay. Our saliva maintains a healthy
balance of bacteria on its own, but eating sugar can impact the pH and
throw off the natural ecosystem. This gives the bacteria a chance to
thrive and multiply, leading to cavities.
7. Your brain tends to get foggy, especially after a meal.
This fog is a common symptom of low blood sugar.
When you eat a lot of sugar, your blood sugar levels rapidly rise and
fall instead of gradually doing so. "Poor blood sugar control is a major
risk for cognitive issues and impairment," says Alpert.
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