This is How Sugar Might Be Affecting Your Health
By Genevieve Cunningham
Everywhere you look in today's world, you're going to find sugar. It's in our drinks. It's in our bread. It's in our pasta. And of course, it's in our desserts. As a whole, we consume massive amounts of sugar -- and this doesn't even include the extra that we sprinkle on top of our favorite foods. For the most part, we don't really give our sugar consumption a second thought. What's it going to hurt, right? But as it turns out, sugar is likely affecting our bodies in more ways than we realize. If you're guilty of loving sugar a little too much, take a look at these possible side effects that might have you changing your mind and cutting back.
It Might Be Hindering Weight Loss
Even if it's not causing you to actively gain weight, it's possible that eating too much sugar is keeping you from losing. Sugar tends to cause weight gain around the middle, and this is among the hardest weight to lose. If your weight loss efforts just aren't working, it might be a good idea to cut back on sugar even more. Once you find the right amount for your body, it may propel your weight loss forward, causing you to finally drop those pesky pounds.
It Might Be Causing Mental Fog
Sugar isn't good for the brain. When we consume too much, it can actually make it hard to concentrate. Our ability to pay attention dwindles. Our focus becomes shorter and shorter. Unfortunately, we often blame this on other factors -- a lack of sleep, moodiness, boredom. And it's true that these can all contribute to brain fog. But we often skip the idea of sugar altogether. If we cut back on sugar and improve our diets as a whole, we may find our focus improve without making much change in any other areas at all.
It Might Be Rewiring Your Brain
Eating sugar isn't going to completely transform your brain, but it does create addiction -- which is a form of rewiring of the brain. Sugar is addictive, there's no way around it. When we consume sugar in large amounts, we begin to want more and more. And if we indulge the craving, the addiction becomes stronger. Though we need a little bit of sugar -- especially natural sugars such as those found in fruit -- we don't want our entire diets to be packed with the sweet substance. Keep sugar consumption under control so that this little addiction doesn't become a problem in your life.
Sugar changes the body. We don't like to admit it or think about it because it's delicious! But the effects on the body really can't and shouldn't be ignored. Consider cutting back and eating only healthy amounts. The more control you have over your sugar consumption, the less these problems are likely to show up, and the better your health is likely to be as a whole.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Thornton, Colo.