Ok, so we know that adding sugar to food can increase our calorie consumption which can lead to weight gain. What about the direct fattening effects of sugar? It turns out that sugar by itself is not inherently fattening, and many studies have shown this to be true. These people lost weight over the span of 6 weeks. In another study , people were given a high sugar liquid drink as their diet and lost substantial amounts of weight one participant lost over pounds as the participants consumed fewer calories due to the fact the liquid drink was not very tasty.
To wrap this section up, here is what we know about sugar and weight gain: when we add sugar to our food, we often increase our total calorie intake which can lead to weight gain; however, sugar alone is not an essentially fattening thing to consume. If you consume the same amount of calories with different amounts of sugar in your diet, there will be no real difference in weight gain or weight loss.
Why do we care about how sugar might impact weight gain? Well, it turns out that weight gain, and weight loss, make a huge impact on your health. The risk of diabetes, heart disease, and many forms of cancer increase as your body weight and body fat increase. For example, your lifetime diabetes risk increases from 7. This means that weight gain is a great contributor to many dangerous health risks.
Sugar cannot be fully blamed for weight gain, which primarily results from a calorie surplus over long periods of time. However, sugar intake can be one piece of a larger lifestyle that consists of an excessive daily calorie intake. We just showed that sugar can be a contributing factor to caloric surpluses, leading to weight gain, but sugar alone is not considered a fattening nutrient.
Further, we showed that weight gain leads to potentially dangerous health outcomes Figure 2. Now, another important question to answer is whether or not sugar has a directly harmful effect on our health. High sugar intake is widely known as being associated with heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. However, this information needs to be interpreted with a bit of caution.
But the paper was widely accused of misinterpreting the evidence. Still, studies have demonstrated other ways in which sugar affects our brains.
Thos e who drank soft drinks and fruit juices more frequently displayed smaller average brain volumes and poorer memory function. One study found that consuming two juice drinks per day aged the brain by two years, compared to not drinking any Credit: Getty. One recent study found that sugar may even help improve memory and performance in older adults.
Researchers gave participants a drink containing a small amount of glucose and asked them to perform various memory tasks. Other participants were given a drink containing artificial sweetener as a control. The results suggested that consuming sugar can make older people more motivated to perform difficult tasks at full capacity — without them feeling as if they tried harder.
Increased blood sugar levels also made them feel happier during the task. In older adults, consuming a sugary drink may make them more motivated and even happier during a task Credit: Getty.
And turning sugar into a taboo may only make it more tempting. But sometimes foods have other values. Even when sweet foods have little or no nutritional value, they have other values Credit: Getty.
Associate professor at James Madison University Alan Levinovitz studies the relationship between religion and science. When we see things in simple good and evil binaries, it becomes unthinkable that this evil thing can exist in moderation.
We demonise the things we find difficult to resist — including sugar Credit: Getty. Taking sugar out of our diets can even be counterproductive: it can mean replacing it with something potentially more calorific, such as if you substitute a fat for a sugar in a recipe.
And amid the rising debate around sugar, we risk confusing those foods and drinks with added sugar that lack other essential nutrients, like soft drinks, with healthy foods that have sugars, like fruit.
One person who struggled with this distinction is year-old Tina Grundin of Sweden, who says she used to think all sugars were unhealthy. When the amount of sugar in your body is too much for your bloodstream to absorb, it will make its way through your digestive system. Bacteria in your bowels loves to feast on sugar, which can lead to bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhoea and flatulence, and it can also lead to an overgrowth of parasites and harmful bacteria.
Giving up sugar will not only alleviate all of these, but also improve your digestion, regulate your hormone levels and minimise food intolerances. When you eat too much refined sugar your insulin production increases, which can prohibit your body from using fat as fuel. Instead, your body converts excess sugar into fat and weight gain can be a result. One of the benefits of reducing sugar in your diet is that your body will ensure your insulin levels are at an optimal level, which can assist with improving both your blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Additionally, giving up sugar also means you are eliminating a lot of processed foods from your diet, which means you will naturally gravitate towards eating more healthy foods.
These include fruit, vegetables, seafood, nuts, grains, eggs and meat, which are full of quality protein, fibre, fats, vitamins and minerals. By staying committed to avoiding added sugars at home, like breakfast pastries, quick cereals, or loaded yogurts, you may find less cravings for sweets when ordering out.
It might be tempting to trade sugary foods for ones made with low- or no-calorie sweeteners, like diet soda or sugar-free cookies. Consumption of sweeteners like aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose are linked to weight gain , not weight loss, according to an analysis of 37 studies published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
But mounting evidence suggests that they can have a negative impact on blood sugar, make it harder to keep your appetite in check, and even mess with your gut bacteria. And those things could put you at risk for obesity and related health problems.
Sure, limiting your sugar intake can help you reach your weight loss goals. What will help? Choosing unsweetened versions of the foods you normally consume, like plain yogurt instead of vanilla, Fear recommends. Gradually cut back on the amount of sugar you add to foods like oatmeal, coffee, or smoothies. So go ahead and enjoy the occasional sweet treat — without a side of guilt.
Visit her at marygracetaylor. Healthline surveyed over 3, Americans about their sugar consumption habits and what they know about this pantry staple. The results may surprise…. Eating lots of sugar is a surefire way to raise your risk of many different diseases.
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