#1. Sugar is Very Addictive - Refined sugar can have a drug like effect on us as a "feel good" chemical to our brain. This causes us to "crave" more sugar. Have you ever experienced that overwhelming craving for something sweet? or felt the major crash after of consuming to much sugar? Our body is responding to it's dependency on the refined sugar resulting in a vicious cycle of over consuming sugar. It is like trying to break yourself off of a major drug usage habit. The more you consume the harder it will be to stop.
#2. Sugar can Cause Diabetes - Diabetes is a major problem in today's society and we seem to be getting this horrible illness at an increasingly younger age. The sugar that we consume in massive quantities wreaks havoc on our sugar levels in our blood stream and can cause very serious problems. With prolonged abuse this over consumption can lead to the pancreas to not do its job properly and presenting us with a huge overload of insulin in the blood stream, which than causes us to become insulin resistant which is a contributing factor starts the process of type II diabetes.
#3. Sugar Can Aid in The Development of Cancer - When we consume lots of sugar, a lot of insulin is pumped into the blood stream which encourages the growth of cells both good and bad. In the case of free radical cells this is not a good thing. Excessive sugar consumption has been linked to increased risks of certain cancers such as colon, breast and pancreatic cancers.
#4. Sugar Can Affect Cholesterol Levels - One of Americas number one killers is heart disease which can be caused by high cholesterol levels. High sugar consumption can lower levels of good cholesterol (HDL) which helps eliminate the bad cholesterol (LDL) from the artery walls and can even increase levels of triglycerides which can lead to major health problems.
#5. Sugar Can Cause Premature Aging - Collagen and Elastin are properties in our skin and cells that help maintain our skins elasticity and youthfulness. Consume a lot of sugar can create AGEs (Advanced Glycation End Products) that damage collagen and elastin resulting in premature aging and skin problems.
Cutting sugar from your diet can be a difficult task but is not impossible. Taking a few small steps to decrease your sugar consumption can go a long way in helping your over all health. Try cutting back on two sugary things per day and replace them with some fruit or a natural sweetener like Agave Nectar or Stevia both of which are natural sweeteners that have little to no effects on blood sugar levels. Changing your sugar consumption habit can make a huge impact on your health and well being and should become a major priority in overall preventative health care practices. Go ahead, give some of that sugar the boot and enjoy the rewards of better health and maybe even a little bit of weight loss to put the cherry on top!