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You have just finished indulging yourself with your favorite dessert and sugary drink. Speaking of dessert, you decided to have seconds. Then, you crash – feeling tired and depleted. What happened? You just came off a sugar “high.”
You likely know that sugary foods and drinks aren’t really good for you. However, you might not realize just how bad sugar can be for your immune system and body.
1. More cravings for sugar
The problem with eating even a little sugar is that it leaves you craving more. In fact, some health studies have found that sugar can potentially be more addictive than cocaine. Therefore, you can end up consumed with thoughts of consuming your favorite sugary foods and drinks. Unfortunately, that can make it hard for you to eat sensibly and keep your blood sugar at healthy levels.
2. Greater risk of depression
The addictiveness of sugar is a result of what it does to your brain’s chemical messengers. For example, when you binge on sugar, your brain releases dopamine, which gives you a “high.” Unfortunately, once that initial euphoric feeling passes – you can be left with symptoms of depression. You can end up at a point where you have to consume sugary foods and drinks just to be able to feel happy.
3. Greater risk of getting sick due to nutrient deficiencies
Another problem with sugary foods and drinks is that they tend to be low in nutrients that are needed to support healthy immune system. In fact, nutrient deficiencies can significantly increase your risk of getting infections. Furthermore, sugar-rich processed foods can actually deplete nutrients from the healthier foods that you do eat. That means you can get into a vicious cycle of eating sugary foods that lack nutrients, but also remove vital nutrients from your body.
4. More prone to diseases due to inflammation
The risk factors of getting many serious illnesses – like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, dementia, and diabetes – increase with chronic inflammation. Unfortunately, consuming sugar, especially sugary drinks, is one of the biggest inflammation triggers.
When you consume refined sugars, they eventually break down into two simple sugars – glucose and fructose. While the cells that make up your body can use glucose, fructose can only be metabolized by liver cells. Health studies have found that fructose can significantly increase inflammation – putting you at greater risk of developing the above-mentioned diseases.
5. Higher risk for obesity
Finally, consuming large amounts of sugary foods and drinks puts you at much greater risk of obesity, as well as obesity-related illnesses, like heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. Furthermore, being overweight can weaken your immune system – making it harder for your body to fight off infections.
In short, since sugar can be quite addictive, it can be tough to control how much you consume. Furthermore, once your sugar “high” is over, you can be left with feelings of depression. Sugary foods and drinks can put you at greater risk of developing serious illnesses, as well as chronic inflammation, which further increases your chances of getting infections. Also, eating sugar makes you more prone to obesity.