Scary Things Sugar Does To Your Body

Before you submit to that sugar craving over and over again, consider these damaging health effects that may result.

- Nicola Watson

A fizzy drink here, a decadent chocolate muffin there. We often reach out for these sweet treats, but it’s not often we stop to consider the amount of sugar we’re consuming on a daily basis. Our bodies need sugar to function, but that should come from natural sources such as fruits and vegetables, rather than refined sugar that’s added to your soft drinks, pastries and desserts.

Fitness and nutrition expert phil Snowden of virgin active, Singapore, tells us about the detrimental effects of sugar: “Sugar breaks down in the body (and turns into a) glucose molecule. The pancreas is an organ that releases the hormone insulin, which picks up the glucose molecules and transports them around the body — first to the muscles until they’re full and then to the liver — and then after both are full, they are stored as body fat.”

So the more sugar you constantly consume, the more likely your muscles and liver will become full, which means body fat will start to burgeon. Many more issues will arise as a result, most of which are equally damaging. here are some of them.

OBESITY

This is an obvious outcome when the body starts to store too much sugar. Besides, sugar-sweetened beverages contain fructose, a simple sugar that increases your hunger and desire for sweet food, leading to a vicious circle of consuming even more sugar. An accumulation of body fat also increases your risk of heart disease.

DIABETES