<br />The bitter side of sugar (the dangers of sugars)<br /><br />Dr. Walid Khaled Abdel Hadi<br />Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences<br />University College of the Future<br />[email protected]<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Sugar is sweet, but too much of it can ruin your health. Whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and grains contain natural sugars. Your body digests these carbohydrates slowly so that your cells have a constant source of energy. On the other hand, added sugars come in packaged foods and drinks. Your body doesn't need any added sugars<br /><br />How much is too much.?<br />The American Heart Association recommends no more than 6 teaspoons (25 grams) of added sugar per day for women and 9 teaspoons (36 grams) for men. Just one 12-ounce can of regular (soda) soda contains 10 teaspoons of sugar — and it has no nutritional benefit.<br /><br />Damage: weight gain<br />Sugar-sweetened beverages are a great source of added sugars for Americans. If you drink a can of soda every day with no added sugar from another source, you will gain 15 pounds in three years. Gaining too much weight can lead to problems such as diabetes and some types of cancer.<br /><br />Harm: heart disease<br />Excess sugar can raise blood pressure or release more fat into the bloodstream. (by an unexplained mechanism) Both can lead to heart attack, stroke, and other heart diseases.<br /><br />Damage: diabetes<br />Sugary drinks in particular can increase your odds of developing type 2 diabetes. This can happen because when sugar remains in your blood, your body reacts by producing less of the hormone insulin, which converts the food you eat into energy. Or to insulin that does not work. If you are overweight, losing 10 to 15 pounds can help you control your blood sugar.<br /><br />The harm: high blood pressure<br />Usually, salt is to blame for this condition, which is also called high blood pressure. But some researchers say another white crystal is sugar - which may be the most worrisome cause. One of the ways in which they believe that sugar raises blood pressure is by excessively raising insulin levels. This can make your blood vessels less flexible and cause your kidneys to retain water and sodium<br /><br />Harm: High cholesterol<br />Sugary diets are bad for your heart, regardless of your weight.<br />Could you:<br />Raising the so-called "bad" cholesterol (LDL) and lowering the "good" type (HDL).<br />It raises the level of fats in the blood called triglycerides and hinders the work of the enzyme that breaks them down.<br /><br />Damage: liver disease<br />Most packaged foods, snacks, and drinks are sweetened with fructose, a simple sugar from a fruit or vegetable like corn. Your liver turns it into fat. If you eat fructose regularly, small droplets of fat accumulate in the liver. This is called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (steatosis). Early changes in diet can reflect this. But over time, swelling and scarring can lead to cirrhosis.<br /><br />Damage: dental caries<br />You know that sugar spoils your teeth. how...? It feeds the bacteria in your mouth, which leaves behind acid that erodes your tooth enamel. Sugary drinks, dried fruits, candy and chocolate are common culprits. Sour candy is the worst. Because it's almost as acidic as battery acid! If you eat tart candy, rinse your mouth with water afterwards or drink some milk to adjust the acid<br /><br />Harm: lack of sleep<br />Eating a lot of sugar during the day can mess with your blood glucose levels and cause energy spikes and crashes. Eating candy or cookies can lead to sugar that can wake you up at night. It can also shorten the time you are in a deep sleep.<br /><br />Hurt: mood problems<br />One study showed that men who ate more than 66 grams of sugar per day — almost double the recommended amount — were 23% more likely to develop anxiety or depression than men who ate 40 grams or less. Excessive sugar intake may fuel depression through swelling or inflammation in your brain, which is more common in people with depression.<br /><br />Damage: gout<br />You may know that you can get this painful arthritis from eating a lot of red meat and organ meats. The same goes for fructose. It can make uric acid build up in the blood, which in turn forms hard crystals in your big toe joint, knees, and other joints.<br /><br />Damage: kidney stones<br />You get these when the chemicals in your pee turn into solid crystals. Your body clears some kidney stones without much pain. The rest can stay in your kidney or another part of your excretory system, thus blocking the flow of urine.<br />Too much fructose — which comes from table sugar, corn syrup, or processed foods — increases your chances of developing kidney stones.<br /><br />Damage: old age<br />Sugary drinks may add years to your biological age. DNA called telomeres coats the ends of chromosomes to protect them from damage. The better. Short telomeres may go hand in hand with age-related diseases such as diabetes. One study found that people who drank 20 ounces of soda per day had shorter telomeres. Researchers think this is like adding more than 4 years to the lifespan of your cells