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Let’s admit it, we all know sugar is bad for us. But just in case some of us didn’t know, we have strung together a whole lot of words to paint it out loud and clear for all. Sugar is bad, it’s unhealthy, it’s toxic, and a huge red flag. That’s a fact. Follow along and we’ll tell you just how bad it is.
Why sugar is bad for you
Before we get into why sugar is not good for you, we have a question.
Did you know that India is known to be one of the earliest producers of sugar?
Well if you didn’t, now you do.
This is important because humans as a race have evolved into becoming sugar-loving creatures.
To clarify, sugar is a carbohydrate, or in gym slang, a carb. We’ll get to why this carb makes you fat and the other reasons why too much sugar is bad for you in a bit. But before that, a history lesson.
See, our ancestors when jungles were jungles of trees and not concrete, found sugar, or more specifically sweetness, in fruits. Unlike today where we can find sugar added in almost anything & everything, they only found it in a select few fruits.
Table/ Refined Sugar (also called sucrose) – a 50-50 breakup of glucose (the thing that gives us energy but excessively causes insulin production to fail leading to diabetes) & fructose (the thing that gets stored as fat in the liver when in excess).
With sugar giving energy and not being available all the time, having it made our ancestors happy, meaning, it gave them a dopamine hit.
Years of this has made us crave sugar. Our brain & body equate sugar to energy and happiness.
Now this is where the problem lies. With the advent of refined sugar, we kind of lost control of ourselves. We added sugar to everything. Previously in fruits, the sugar came in lower amounts and was accompanied by other nutrients, fibres and the like. But now, this sugar was empty calories.
Let’s take a look at soft drinks. One serving size or 500 ml of the most popular beverages like pepsi, coke, sprite, and dew have anywhere upwards of 35 grams of fructose, the thing that gets stored as fat in the liver.
Remember, sugar is fructose + glucose. And this is just the amount of fructose in one 500 ml can.
Even the most fructose-heavy fruits like apples & bananas have only around 10 grams of fructose. You’d have to eat 3 to 4 apples or bananas in one sitting to consume similar amounts of fructose present in a 500 ml bottle of pepsi or coke. The thing with fruits is they provide satiety, they fill your stomach and are heavy but pepsi & coke are empty calories.
This is not the end of the story. The WHO (World Health Organization) recommends 6 to 8 teaspoons of sugar consumption per day. Notice the usage of the word sugar and not fructose. (Table Sugar (Sucrose) = Glucose + Fructose)
6 to 8 teaspoons of sugar = 24 to 32 grams of sugar = 96 to 128 calories per day
The IMA (Indian Medical Association) says that the average Indian consumes around 16 to 20 teaspoons of sugar every day.
16 to 20 teaspoons of sugar = 64 to 80 grams of sugar = 256 to 320 calories per day
Average Indian daily calorie consumption ~ 2000 to 2200.
See the issue? The amount of sugar we should consume in a day, we consume in 1 can of pepsi & cola. Worse still, most of it is fructose. Those ultra-processed snacks we eat? They are also loaded with sugar. This is not all, while less than fructose, these sugary foods also hold a lot of glucose. Glucose does give energy but to properly distribute it across the body, the body produces insulin. Insulin regulates this entire process so that the energy can be delivered and used optimally. But the more sugar you take, the more insulin your body needs to produce. Do enough of this and the pressure becomes too much for the body to handle and it gives way. This leads to less or no insulin production which leads to raised blood sugar levels or in other words, diabetes.
The other thing is with food regulation so lax in India, companies have made other harmful compounds that can act as sugar but don’t need to be classified as such on the back label. This makes us think that we are not eating too much sugar but in truth, our health is being put at dire risk while the food authorities sit and watch.
Now you know what is worrying us.
Not a fun fact: We, India, are the diabetes capital of the world.
No need to cheer, nothing to be proud of.
We haven’t even begun talking about how bad sugar is for you but now we will. Lo and behold the next section.
Reasons why too much sugar is bad for you
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Obesity & Diabetes
(Source: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
Revisiting what we talked about above, too much added sugar means too much fructose which means load on the liver and then eventual weight gain. It’s not just fructose that adds to your weight gain. Sugar itself is super addictive. If eating it gives you a dopamine hit and makes you happy, after some time not eating it or the lack of it will make you sad, thus leading to more sugar consumption and weight gain.
On the other hand, overconsumption of sugar puts a strain on your insulin and its regulating framework over sugar after which it breaks down and your blood sugar runs free leading to diabetes. It has become a joke to most people because already we are the diabetes capital of the world and the rate at which we are working to keep this top position puts the speed of light to shame. -
Cavities
(Source: 1, 2)
Almost everyone knows this due to having experienced the dentist's dangerously sharp, shiny & pointy-looking mini drills drilling inside their mouths. Do you know how hurtful anaesthesia injections are when taken to the gums? Once the rot starts, it’s difficult to stop. The specific bacteria responsible for the rot is Streptococcus mutans.
This dinosaur-octopus-mutant-like-sounding bacteria colonizes your teeth. Remember the last time you were colonized what happened? Then why are you letting it happen again, if only to your teeth? Why would you let sugar dissolve your teeth like that? -
Inflammation & cardiovascular risk
(Source: 1, 2, )
High intake of sugar not only causes inflammation in the body but the high levels of blood sugar pose a major threat to the well-being of your heart. High amounts of sugar can clog your arteries and make you more susceptible to strokes. As we discussed above, a can of a popular sugary beverage contains more sugar than we should guzzle down every day – nearly 11% of the average daily calorie intake. That’s a lot!
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Cancer
Yes, you heard it right. High amounts of sugar consumption increases the risk of getting cancer. Both obesity & insulin dysfunction increase the risk of getting cancer. Excessive sugar leading to prostate cancer is not unheard of.
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Acne & skin ageing
Granted, this is a much milder cause for concern compared to the rest of the list. But a lot of sugar can lead to inflammation which can lead to acne breakouts. While we all naturally age, too much sugar can increase the rate at which we do so by literally producing more AGEs or Advanced glycation end products that are said to damage collagen and elastin in the skin leading to rather rapid ageing.
If those weren’t enough, here are other reasons why sugar is bad for you:
- Cognitive slump
- Cellular aging
- Low energy levels
- NAFLD or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease which is also called MASLD or metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease
- Kidney disease
- Alzheimer’s disease
Chalo ab bas karte hai, that is more than enough. That’s enough bad news for the day. We understand why sugar is bad for us. But we can’t completely quit sugar. We all need some sweetness in our lives. In our chais & coffees. In our cakes & sweets. In so many things.
We are with you on this. We love our sweets and want to eat our cakes too. And we aren’t saying we should entirely quit sugar. That would be madness. What we are suggesting is to tone down the sugar intake and keep the consumption in balance. Maintaining healthy boundaries is key here and sugar needs to be made aware of and respect our boundaries.
So, one, we’ll decrease our sugar intake. And two, we’ll switch to alternate sweeteners. While yes, this can be a plug-in for our brand Sweetify, if you feel you have found something better, then we are all for you. Our goal is to healthify, so if you have better options, please tell us also.
Conclusion
Alright, so we have gone through a lot today. Sugar ke baare mein itna gossip kar liya ki maza he a gaya. Uska past, uski harkate, sab stalk karke saamne la diya. And this even healthy gossip, like what?! Jokes aside, we desperately want you to live a healthier, wealthier and happier life. Have your sweets but don’t overdose on them. And lastly, try Sweetify and tell us what you think. See you in the next one : )
Sweetifying health : )
FAQs
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Is natural sugar, like that found in fruits, healthier than added sugar?
Natural sugar comes along with other nutrients and is digested slowly. Thus, it doesn’t spike blood sugar like added sugar which is empty sugar and comes without any nutrients.
- Does sugar contribute to hormonal imbalances?
Yes, too much sugar can cause inflammation, stress, weight gain and hormonal imbalance. - Are there any strategies for managing sugar cravings effectively?
Yes, you can find them here (blog link) and here (blog link). - Are there any long-term consequences of excessive sugar consumption that people should be aware of?
Long-term consequences of excessive sugar include diabetes, and increased risk of chronic and heart diseases.
- Does sugar have any addictive properties?
Research has shown that sugar activates similar magnitudes of reward in the brain as other addictive substances.
