Eating too much sugar is not only a problem for people with a sweet tooth. Although this addictive ingredient is found in sweet treats, it can also be found in processed food that you wouldn’t necessarily think about. Sugar is found in fruit juices, tomato sauces, ketchup, fruit flavoured yogurts and many savoury ready meals. It can also be found in fruit and honey in the form of fructose. In short it is difficult to cancel out sugar completely from your diet as it is ever present. However we should reduce our consumption as it doesn’t just present a risk for your dental cavities. It can also have a harmful effect on your health. As well as being high in calories, high consumption of sugar can expose you to cardiovascular illnesses, hypertension, obesity, bad cholesterol and diabetes. It can also lead to the development of intestinal bacteria and cancerous cells.
Here are some of the most common signs to look out for that show that you are eating too much sugar!
1) You know that you have eaten too much sugar if you are constantly thirsty or always needing to snack
You body is made well. However when it feels that there is too much sugar in the blood, it uses it’s best technique to get rid of it… through your urine. However in order for this to happen you of course need liquid inside your body. This means that you will constantly have urge to drink excessively and as a result need to regularly get rid of lots of diluted urine. This could indicate that you suffer from Dipsogenic diabetes. At the same time, the constant need to snack could be an indication that you are addicted to sugar. By activating the reward circuit, it makes you want to eat a lot of it often!
2) You have moments of energy drops
Take lunch for example. You feel like you have eaten well but the foods were too sugary and didn’t give you enough filling nutrients like fibre or protein. You will therefore have a big energy drop in the middle of the afternoon when you need to rub your eyes to stay awake in front of your computer. Sometimes you can feel dizzy or have the need to snack. The problem is your sugar levels have peaked and then have sharply dropped. The boosting energy of sugar drops as quickly as it comes. As well as feeling mentally drained, unable to concentrate or be productive, this can also harm your sporting efforts.
3) You have spots or skin problems
The Journal of Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics published a study drawing a link between severe acne and a diet rich in sugar. Sugar consumption can induce hormonal imbalances which can sometimes cause breakouts of acne. However, eating too much sugar in daily can also encourage the development of psoriasis, rosacea and even seborrheic dermatitis!