A week ago, one of my kids brought home some Mike's Hard Lemonade, and after being off sugar and alcohol for years, I decided it would be ok to have one. It was so good that I had one every day for a week. 🥺 Last night, the kids and I decided not to buy anymore. None of us feel very good. Not so much from the alcohol, but from the sugar. 😔 Why is it so easy to be so dumb? grumble grunble grumble.
Mike's Hard Lemonade contains approximately 32 grams of sugar per 11.2 fl oz serving. That's 7.65 tsp per bottle.😱
I have been having unstable blood pressure and heart rate again, and walking even one mile has been really hard for me over the last two day. I know I had to take a week off because I overdid the walking this month (5-8 miles a day), and hurt my hip. Still, I knew it shouldn't be as hard as it has been for the last two days. 🤔
Then I thought, "Well, duh!" "You're on the sugar again, dummy!" I tell ya, if my brain caught on to things any faster, I would be way further ahead in life. 🙄
Anyway, yesterday was the last of the sugar again,and I know I will feel better in a couple of days.🙂
Harmful Effects of Sugar on our Body When discussing about how sugar affects your body, it is important to understand about the harmful effects of sugar, which are numerous. To be honest, too much of sugar can never be good for your body. So, talking about how sugar affects your body negatively would surely make you think twice before having the delicious sugar treats.
Increase Heart Disease According to American Diabetes Association excess sugar intake increases the bad cholesterol levels leading to increased heart attack and cardiac related risks. Cholesterol, heart diseases and diabetes are all inter linked when it comes to blood sugar levels.[5] The researches have shown that maximum deaths among people with type 2 diabetes are caused mainly due to heart attacks and cardiac arrests. This is one of the serious ways in which sugar affects your body.
Disturb Cholesterol Levels Excess of sugar intake lowers the good cholesterol levels that is HDL- high density lipoprotein and elevates the LDL- low density lipoproteins and triglycerides in blood stream which disturb cholesterol levels in body causing serious health issues.[6] This is most disastrous way by which sugar affects our body.
Affects Blood Pressure Too much sugar consumption affects your body by stimulating the pancreas to secrete more insulin in the blood stream. It also stimulates the smooth muscles cells around the arteries to grow faster leading to tension in the artery walls that increases high blood pressure and even might lead to chronic heart attacks.[7]
Causes Diabetes A very common and anticipated disease caused due to excess sugar consumption is diabetes. Sugar affects your body in several ways but leading to very harmful consequences and diabetes is one of them. According to a study, extra 15 calories a day consumed by each person elevates diabetes by 1.1%.[8] Excess sugar intake stimulates excess secretion of insulin in bloodstream making your cells resistant to the insulin and all the glucose remains in your bloodstream leading to diabetes.
Makes You Fat Sugar or calories are directly linked to obesity from a very long time. Foods with high amount of sugar rapidly increase the blood sugar levels leading to obesity which give rise to heart diseases and many more. When excess of insulin secretion blocks the leptin hormones to curb hunger, the glucose gets stored in your stomach but if not burnt it will be stores as fat in your intestine and liver.[9]
Affects Sexual Health Deadly Addiction Sugar intake unleashes the secretion of dopamine in your brain that is a hormone which makes you feel happy and gives you the feeling of well-being. This hormone secretion on regular basis can cause serious addiction for sugar delight treats to crave for more and more sugar causing several health issues.[11]
Damages Liver Excess sugar can also affect your body’s most important organ that is liver. When insulin is secreted it gets absorbed with sugar forms, by the intestine walls to the blood stream providing fructose to the liver. The liver tries to metabolize fructose to be used by body but excess of fructose production can lead to process of formation of fat globules in the liver called lipogenesis leading to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Makes Organs Fat Excess of fructose production not only forms fat globules in liver but also affects other organs by forming fatty cells and tissues in them leading to serious health issues.
Causes Aging Now your beauty and looks are in danger too, if you have a sugar crush. Too much of sugar not only affects your body organs but also your skin. Sugar intake affects your body by causing saggy skin, dark patchy skin and wrinkled skin, which are all the symptoms of quick aging. The sugar we consume gets attached to the proteins in the bloodstream and the phenomenon is called as glycation.[12] This process forms new molecular structures that damage the skin elasticity leading to skin aging.
Damages Brain Power Excess of sugar consumption not only causes skin aging, but also brain aging. Increased levels of glucose and blood sugar levels deteriorate brain cells affecting memory power negatively leading to cognitive impairment, which too is a dangerous way in which sugar affects your body.
Reduces Lifespan According to America’s medical health reports, about 25,000 deaths have been reported in a year only because of increased blood sugar levels causing several diseases such as heart attacks, type 2 diabetes, cholesterol, obesity, liver damage. Sugar intake must be controlled and taken in moderate amount as it affects your body as well as your lifespan.
Increases Arthritis Risk Sugar can now lead to joint problems too – another possible way in which sugar affects your body. High sugar foods accelerate inflammatory cytokines enter to your bloodstream leading to arthritis. According to American Journal of Clinical Association, people with arthritis issues are advised to lower the sugar consumption or go for a low sugar diet.[13]
May Cause Cancer Insulin is one of the key component behind the increased cancer cells in your body. Regular sugar intake or high sugar diet can contribute to cancer as it causes unbalanced metabolic process causing inflammation in all body cells increasing the risk of cancer.
Affects Liver Functioning Sugar affects your body in all possible harmful ways. It doesn’t spare your kidneys even. Excess of fructose in liver leads to fructose metabolic syndrome increasing the uric acid levels in your blood which makes it tough for kidneys to filter, thus increasing the risk of heart attacks and diabetes.
Causes Cavities One of the important ways in which sugar affects your body is that it can result in bad teeth or bad oral health causing plaque and cavities. High sugar diet provides enormous digestible energy for the evil bacteria in your mouth leading to oral problems.
