Maybe this New Year’s Resolution Should be to Kick Your Sugar Habit

Change they say is constant in the lives of humans, We tend to perform better and become more effective when faced with a challenge or a duel to overcome. The need to overcome a new challenge or fulfill a new resolution is the best motivations for changing different habits.

The beginning of a new year often denotes a fresh start for different lifestyles, resolutions, and habits. We all have different plans, lifestyle habits, diet regimen, and train routines we would love to kick start every year.

The first step in getting anything done is realizing the need for a change and making efficient plans towards it. There are different aspects of our lives that fall short of our desired level or plan .New year resolutions are ways to shake things up and work towards a better future for ourselves.

The most common source of various diseases and medical conditions is sugar, This is because people are often misguided that staying away from sugary foods and drinks eliminates sugar from our diet.

Sugar often called glucose in medical terminology is the products of carbohydrates digestion. Different types of foods such as pasta, potatoes, and fruits are very rich in carbohydrates.When trying to reduce your sugar intake, much emphasis should be placed on total sugar intakes which includes sugar fro regular foods such as pasta, potatoes and fruits/

There are two different sources of sugar, it could come from regular foods or sweetened foods and drinks. Excessive sugar intake leads to excess calories and fat deposition around the body. This distorted fat to muscle ratio could predispose individuals to different medical conditions such as obesity, diabetes mellitus, and other cardiovascular diseases.

Table sugar is the most common and widely- known culprit for most sugar-related diseases, but sugar can be presented in various forms in different food labels. Food labels write rename sugar in their food ingredients with different names such as glucose, dextrose, and syrups. Excessive sugar can causes diseases related to obesity such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, diabetes, and heart attack.

Diseases Caused by Sugar

Consuming sugar in moderation is safe and necessary for an efficient body metabolism, It becomes dangerous and harmful when taking in excess or when you become sugar addicted. There are different diseases that could result in form excessive sugar intake due to the excess calorie and distortion in fat to muscle ratio. Some of the diseases include:

  1. Diabetes: Diabetes is a condition caused by hyperglycemia( excessive glucose in the blood). This excessive blood glucose occurs as a result of too much sugar intake from carbohydrates, sweetened foods, and There are 2 types of diabetes( diabetes type 1 and diabetes type 2). The hormone called insulin is responsible for reducing and maintaining glucose level in the body hereby preventing hyperglycemia and diabetes.  Type 1 diabetes or insulin dependent diabetes mellitus(IDDM0  occurs when the insulin is insufficient to control or reduce the blood glucose level. IDDM is major due to a pancreatic disease that destroys the pancreas(The organ responsible for producing insulin). Type 2 diabetes mellitus or non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus(NIDDM0 is a  type of diabetes that occurs due to the body,s resistance to insulin.These type of diabetes occurs as a result of bad lifestyle choices and diet regimen. Excessive sugar intake predisposes individuals to type 2 diabetes mellitus.  It has been discovered in 2004 that drinking a minimum of 1  sweetened beverage or drink a day would make your risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus by 2 folds.
  2. Cardiovascular disease: excessive sugar consumption distorts the lipid profile and composition of the body. It increases low-density lipoprotein also called bad cholesterol.

Bad cholesterols could clog the arterial wall and cause heart attack, atherosclerosis or stroke.

  1. Cancer: Excessive sugar consumption could predispose humans to carcinogenic growth and cancers. There are different types of cancer that are caused by excessive sugar consumption. The most common type of cancer caused by excessive sugar consumption is prostate

Effects of Sugar on the Brain

Excessive consumption  of sugar   could  have a lot of negative effects on the cognitive and learning function of the brain . some of the most common consequences include:

  1. Addiction: Rewarding yourself once in a while with your favorite chocolate on sweetened drinks could serve as an extra motivation n to succeed. Excessive consumption of these sweetened rewards could trigger a cascade of addiction in the brain could get used to these sweetened rewards that it turns into an addiction.
  2. Reduced Cognitive function: Over consumption of sugar especially fructose could lead to impaired learning and cognitive Impaired and loss of memory are one of the long-term effects of excessive sugar consumption.

Effects of Sugar on Skin

Overconsumption of sugar irrespective of the source of sugar either from fruits or junks is bad for the skin. These sugars predispose the skin to various dermatological conditions to die of inflammation.The sugar attaches themselves to the collagen fibers of the skin through a process called glycosylation.

Glycosylation cause over aging, acne and   skin wrinkles, If you are interested in having an attractive skin as you grow older, reducing your sugar intake is one of the best ways to achieve this goal

Effects of Sugar on Your Waistline

The length of our waistline is often used to describe our body fat ratio and percentage. The best way to know if the weight increase you see on the scale is fat or muscle increases is to check your waistline measurement. Excessive fat deposits mainly on our waistline in both gender. In females, fat could be stored in special body parts such as breast, thigh, hips, and the gluteus. Increased in waistline measurement is directly proportional to increase in body fat.

 

Sugars are needed for the survival of our body and as a source of energy for the various metabolism going on inside our body, the key to enjoying this benefits is moderation and consuming the right kind of sugar. There is a healthy source of sugar such as brown rice, oats, and fruits. Make a decision for your future. Control your sugar intake today.

 

References

Corliss, J. (2017). Eating too much added sugar increases the risk of dying with heart disease – Harvard Health Blog. [online] Harvard Health Blog. Available at: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/eating-too-much-added-sugar-increases-the-risk-of-dying-with-heart-disease-201402067021 [Accessed 26 Dec. 2017].

Kent, L. (2017). What Diseases Come From Eating Too Much Sugar?. [online] LIVESTRONG.COM. Available at: https://www.livestrong.com/article/473283-what-diseases-come-from-eating-too-much-sugar/ [Accessed 26 Dec. 2017].

Simpson, G. (2017). 5 serious diseases caused by sugar. [online] Esquire Middle East. Available at: https://www.esquireme.com/content/15484-5-serious-diseases-caused-by-sugar [Accessed 26 Dec. 2017].

West | Martin Longevity. (2017). 6 very serious diseases caused by sugar | West | Martin Longevity. [online] Available at: http://www.westmartinlongevity.com/articles/6-serious-diseases/ [Accessed 26 Dec. 2017].