InfoPurr: Ways Sugar Harm Your Health (Daily Intake Of Sugar).

It is very important to make the distinction between added sugars and natural sugars that occur naturally in foods like fruits and vegetables. These are healthy foods that contain water, fiber and various micronutrients. The naturally occurring sugars are absolutely fine.

However, added sugars are those that are added to foods. The most common added sugars are regular table sugar (sucrose) or high fructose corn syrup. Added sugar is the single worst ingredient in the modern diet. It provides calories with no added nutrients and can damage your metabolism in the long run.

Safe Amount of Sugar to Eat Per Day

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), the maximum amount of added sugars you should eat in a day are :
• Men: 150 calories per day (37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons).
• Women: 100 calories per day (25 grams or 6 teaspoons).
To put that into perspective, one 12oz can of coke contains 140 calories from sugar, while a regular sized snickers bar contains 120 calories from sugar.

Harmful Effects

In addition to throwing off the body’s homeostasis (state of balance), excess sugar may result in a number of other significant consequences. The following is a list of some of sugar’s metabolic consequences:

1. Sugar causes blood glucose to spike and plummet.

Unstable blood sugar often leads to mood swings, fatigue, headaches and cravings for more sugar. Cravings set the stage for a cycle of addiction in which every new hit of sugar makes you feel better temporarily but, a few hours later, results in more cravings and hunger. On the flip side, those who avoid sugar often report having little or no cravings for sugary things and feeling emotionally balanced and energized.

2. Sugar increases the risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

If you want to lose weight and optimize your health, then you should do your best to avoid foods that contain added sugars. Large-scale studies have shown that the more high-glycemic foods (those that quickly affect blood sugar), including foods containing sugar, a person consumes, the higher his risk for becoming obese and for developing diabetes and heart disease.

3. Sugar interferes with immune function.

Bacteria and yeast feed on sugar and that, when these organisms get out of balance in the body, which leads to infections and illness.

4. Sugar accelerates aging.

It even contributes to sign of aging: sagging skin. Some of the sugar you consume, after hitting your bloodstream, ends up attaching itself to proteins, in a process called glycation. These new molecular structures contribute to the loss of elasticity found in aging body tissues, from your skin to your organs and arteries. The more sugar circulating in your blood, the faster this damage takes hold.

5. Sugar causes tooth decay.

With all the other life-threatening effects of sugar, we sometimes forget the most basic damage it does. When it sits on your teeth, it creates decay more efficiently than any other food substance. For a strong visual reminder, try the old tooth-in-a-glass-of-Coke experiment—the results will surely convince you that sugar isn't good for your pearly whites. Sugar also cause gum disease.

6. Sugar can lead to heart disease.

Increasing evidence shows that chronic infections, such as those that result from periodontal problems, play a role in the development of coronary artery disease. The most popular theory is that the connection is related to widespread effects from the body's inflammatory response to infection.

7. Sugar increases stress.

When we're under stress, our stress hormone levels rise; these chemicals are the body's fight-or-flight emergency crew, sent out to prepare the body for an attack or an escape. These chemicals are also called into action when blood sugar is low. For example, after a blood-sugar spike (say, from eating a piece of birthday cake), there's a compensatory dive, which causes the body to release stress hormones such as adrenaline, epinephrine and cortisol. One of the main things these hormones do is raise blood sugar, providing the body with a quick energy boost. The problem is, these helpful hormones can make us feel anxious, irritable and shaky.

8. High-sugar diet often results in chromium deficiency.

If you consume a lot of sugar and other refined carbohydrates, you don't get enough of the trace mineral chromium, and one of chromium's main functions is to help regulate blood sugar. Chromium is found in a variety of animal foods, seafood and plant foods. Refining starches and other carbohydrates rob these foods of their chromium supplies.

9. Sugar takes the place of important nutrients.

According to USDA data, people who consume the most sugar have the lowest intakes of essential nutrients––especially vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, vitamin B-12, calcium, phosphorous, magnesium and iron. Ironically, those who consume the most sugar are children and teenagers, the individuals who need these nutrients most.

10. Other Effects

Other harmful effect sugar can cause are: kill your sex life, exacerbate premenstrual syndrome, decrease growth hormone, contribute to mild memory loss, hemorrhoids, decrease in insulin sensitivity, interfere with the absorption of protein, contribute to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, increase emotional instability and so on.

Now that you know the negative impacts refined sugar can have on your body and mind, you'll want to be more careful about the foods you choose. And the first step is getting educated about where sugar lurks—believe it or not, a food needn't even taste all that sweet for it to be loaded with sugar. When it comes to convenience and packaged foods, let the ingredients label be your guide.

How to Minimize Sugars in the Diet

Cut down processed Diet
Avoid these foods, in order of importance:
1.    Soft drinks: Sugar-sweetened beverages are awful, you should avoid these like the plague.
2.    Fruit juices: This may surprise you, but fruit juices actually contain the same amount of sugar as soft drinks!
3.    Candies and sweets: You should drastically limit your consumption of sweets.
4.    Baked goods: Cookies, cakes, etc. These tend to be very high in sugar and refined carbohydrates.
5.    Fruits canned in syrup: Choose fresh fruits instead.
6.    Low-Fat or Diet Foods: Foods that have had the fat removed from them are often very high in sugar.
7.    Dried fruits: Avoid dried fruits as much as possible.
Drink water instead of soda or juices and don’t add sugar to your coffee or tea.
Instead of sugar in recipes, just be creative and use google to find recipes. You can eat an endless variety of amazing foods even though you eliminate sugar from your diet.

Note

Some people can handle a little bit of sugar in their diet, while for others it causes cravings, binge eating, rapid weight gain and disease.
We’re all unique and you need to figure out what works for you.
Just keep in mind that when it comes to a harmful substance like added sugar,

The less, the better and the healthier you will be!