The sugar diaries - troubles of the sweet tooth.

When I was a kid, we had different sweets for every season. Whether it be Rasgulla and kulfi (ice cream) in summer or gajar halwa (carrot pudding), til laddoo, gajak, etc. in winter, or Ghevars and choorma in monsoons, every season had its own special sweet. 

We were allowed to overindulge in these seasonal delicacies as kids until our excesses sent us straight to the dentist's waiting rooms.

While growing up, I saw most people in my family struggling with Diabetes, Hypertension, Obesity, Heart disease, and even cancer. I wondered how to prevent or delay them as they tend to run in families. I came across a staple that is kept in every kitchen worldwide and is used at alarming levels in the food processing industry.

Sugar

Sugar comprises two molecules of sucrose. Sucrose is an easily assimilated macronutrient that provides a quick source of energy to the body, provoking a rapid rise in blood glucose upon ingestion. Its excessive use leads to adverse health effects:

1. Dental caries - The most obvious is tooth decay. Sugar feeds bacteria that live in the mouth. When bacteria digest sugar, they create acid as a waste product. This acid can erode tooth enamel, leading to cavities.

2. Weight gain / Obesity - All sweets contain calories, but liquid calories are their hidden source. We don't know how many more calories we ingest when we drink sodas and other sweetened beverages. Many people rely on quick, processed foods for meals and snacks. Since these products often contain added sugar, it makes up a large proportion of their daily calorie intake. High sugar intake causes leptin resistance. The hormone leptin is responsible for alerting the brain when the stomach is full.

3. Type 2 Diabetes -Prolonged high-sugar consumption causes resistance to insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas that regulates blood sugar levels.

Insulin resistance causes blood sugar levels to rise and strongly increases your risk of diabetes. 

4. Risk of heart disease- Consuming too much sugar, especially from sugar-sweetened drinks, has been linked to atherosclerosis, a disease characterized by fatty, artery-clogging deposits. Even if your calorie intake is not high, if it comes mostly from added sugars, then it increases the risk of a heart attack.

High sugar consumption is linked to increased inflammation, high levels of triglycerides, and elevated blood pressure levels. All these lead to increased vulnerability to heart disease.

5. Accelerate the skin aging process- We get wrinkles naturally with age, but increased sugar consumption leads to the formation of AGEs (Advanced Glycation Endproducts), compounds that result from a reaction between sugar and protein molecules in the body. These AGEs damage the skin’s collagen and elastin which are responsible for the elasticity of the skin.

6. Cellular aging- Telomeres are protective caps on the ends of the chromosomes that shorten with age. Usually, this is a natural process, but it is accelerated when we consume a diet high in sugar. In other words, we age faster when we eat sweets in high quantities. 

image

7. Acne -Increased androgen secretion, oil production, and inflammation are all effects of high-sugar diets that might increase your chance of getting acne. 

8. Increases the risk of fatty liver - Excess calorie intake results in storing all the sugar as fat in the liver. This condition may develop in liver cirrhosis and is irreversible.

9. Drains energy - You will feel refreshed by the quick boost in blood sugar after that coke, but it will pass just as quickly, leaving you feeling lethargic and seeking more sugar. These swings in energy levels cause mood swings and decreased attentiveness.

10. Adverse effects on mental health- Researchers have found that mental health is interlinked with high sugar intake and diabetes. People with uncontrolled diabetes have higher chances of depression, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's.

12. Dementia- It has been observed that the earlier you develop diabetes, the higher the risk of dementia. 

13. Increases risk of inflammatory diseases like gout- Gout is an inflammatory disease that results in joint pain. The symptoms intensify as a result of an increase in uric acid caused by high blood sugar levels.

14. Disturbed sleep cycle - Eating sugar late at night overstimulates you and hence disturbs sleep.

Now that we know the effects, we can avoid sweets as far as possible. But what happens if they are hidden in our products? How do we find them? 

Lookout for the next post to know more.

Till then, be healthy, be curious.