Are Holiday Sugary Treats Harming Your Health?
The holiday season is full of sweet treats, but these sugary delights harm your health more than you realize. Sugar is everywhere during the holidays. Cookies, cakes, and candy canes seem impossible to avoid. The problem is, sugar does harm your health.
As a society, we grew up consuming processed sugar in many foods. It’s in coffee, sodas, pastries, breads, cereals, and other processed foods. Often, we don’t think about the amount we consume. That’s the issue—we need to pay more attention to what we put in our mouths.
The Truth About Sugar
Consuming sugary treats harm your health in many ways. It negatively affects your gut, which is often called your second brain. A healthy gut is essential to overall well-being. Sugar contributes to gut imbalance, inflammation, a weakened immune system, weight gain, diabetes risk, energy crashes, increased cravings, and more.
Sugar’s Effect on the Gut
High sugar intake disrupts the balance of good bacteria in your gut microbiota. Bad bacteria multiply, leading to dysbiosis. This imbalance causes inflammation, which disrupts the intestinal barrier and may lead to infections.
Weakens the Immune System
Seventy percent of your immunity is in your gut. High sugar intake stresses your body creating inflammation that weakens your immune system. Inflammation impacts white blood cells, making it harder for your immune system to fight off illnesses.
Weight Gain
Sugar is a carbohydrate, and consuming excess sugar often leads to weight gain. Excess sugar, or glucose, is stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles. The pancreas makes a hormone glucagon, a hormone that turns glycogen back to glucose to enter the blood stream. The problem with excess sugar can lead to the creation of fat in the body, in the liver or fat cells. Over time, this leads to weight gain.
Increased Risk of Diabetes
It is commonly known that consuming excessive sugar may lead to Type 2 Diabetes. According to Diabetes UK, too much sugar can lead to extra weight, “Increasing your risk of getting Type 2 Diabetes.”
Causes Energy Crashes and More
Have you ever been on a sugar high? When you consume more sugar than usual, your body rapidly produces insulin to stabilize blood glucose levels. This causes a sudden drop in energy, known as a sugar crash. According to Sanford Health, your body “rapidly produces insulin in an attempt to keep the levels consistent.” It causes blood glucose to decrease that results in sudden drop in energy levels. With a sugar crash, you will feel hungry that makes you eat more. As well as having Irritability. fatigue, discomfort, anxiety, headaches, difficulty with concentrating, excessive sweating, jitters, shakiness and dizziness.
Sugar is Addictive
Why do we love sugar, so much? Sugar can be addictive. It activates the brain’s reward system, releasing opioids and dopamine. According to National Institute of Health, sugar ability to release these chemicals gives it addictive potential. Over time, sugar can produce strong surges of dopamine, making you crave more.
Also alcohol contains sugar, contributing to its addictive nature.
Sugars to avoid:
According to UCLA Health try to avoid these types of sugar:
- Sucrose
- Fructose
- Dextrose
- Galactose
- Lactose
- Maltose
- Cane sugar
- Beet sugar
- Brown sugar
- Corn syrup
- Dextrin
Need Guidance?
Navigating a sugar-laden diet can be challenging. As a Certified Wholistic Health Coach, my approach extends beyond physical health to encompass the transformation of your mindset as well. I can coach you for better well-being with customized wholistic strategies, focusing on a clean, toxin-free diet and environment. You will be healthier, more productive. and enjoy life. For support in reducing sugar and improving your health, contact me for coaching via email or schedule a complimentary consultation appointment today.
Want to Learn More About Sugar?
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