Don’t Eat The Cake! The toxic truth about sugar.

We all know that sugar’s not great for you. More than just empty Calories, excessive sugar consumption actually puts your life in danger, initiating heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and many other chronic conditions. And unfortunately, over the past 50 years, sugar consumption has TRIPLED worldwide.

Our current sugar consumption is a huge contrast to that of our ancestors. Think about it: evolutionarily, sugar was only available as fruit for a few months a year during harvest or in honey, protected by bees.

Today, sugar is added to nearly everything, making it challenging for consumers to avoid – and slowly deteriorating our health.

Keep reading to discover the toxic truth about sugar, according to science. It might make you second-guess that second slice of cake…

“Added sweeteners pose dangers to health that justify controlling them like alcohol.”
Robert H. Lustic, Laura A. Schmidt and Claire D. Brindis

This quote was written by three influential scientists who study nutrition and obesity for a living. Their thoughts¹ about the toxic effects of sugar, published in 2012, have had an enormous impact on how we view food today.

Their reasoning? Mainly the fact that sugar is up there with tobacco and alcohol in its ability to trigger non-communicable diseases.

Sugar has been shown to induce every single disease associated with metabolic syndrome, including:  

• Hypertension
• High triglycerides and insulin resistance
• Diabetes
• Accelerated aging process
• Obesity
• Liver disease

Some research in the beginning stages has also found links between sugar, cancer, and cognitive decline (dementia), but these findings still require more research. 

OK, but why can’t I stop eating sugar? 

Believe it or not, addictive tendencies toward sugar are widespread. One of science’s great controversies is sugar’s addictive nature: People can’t seem to give it up, but scientists aren’t 100% sure why.

This gives sugar a considerable potential for abuse, similar to tobacco or alcohol – Except the latter are controlled substances.

Here’s what happens to your brain when you eat sugar. 

Picture this: You eat a rich, delicious slice of cake. Immediately, your tastebuds are activated, and your neurons² rapid-fire signals to your brain. Interestingly, one of these signals turns off your brain’s stress response³. This reduces cortisol⁴ and increases serotonin⁵ levels in your bloodstream, temporarily making you feel more relaxed and content.

While this might seem like a good thing at first glance, sugar’s adverse health effects make these psychological results very dangerous, especially in those suffering from chronic stress. If you’re often tense or anxious, you might get hooked on sugar’s immediate relaxing effects. This makes you more vulnerable to obesity and the other terrible diseases listed above.

On top of that, studies⁶ have shown that overeating sugar for an extended period can change your brain chemistry, so it takes longer for your body to feel full. This leads to dangerous patterns of compulsive overeating, triggering weight gain and metabolic symptoms.

Furthermore, a fascinating 2001 study⁷ found that ingestion of a sugar-rich diet decreases serotonin production in female rats. Though this effect hasn’t been studied conclusively in humans, these results suggest that a sugar-rich diet might make women more unhappy in the long run.

Don’t get us wrong… 

The human body still needs sugar. The fructose in fruits is paired with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals that help slow aging and keep us healthy. Carbohydrates, a form of sugar, keep our brains fed. The issue isn’t the molecule itself – It’s how much of it we consume.

After all, as our favourite scientists would say,

“Nature made sugar hard to get; man made it easy.”
Robert H. Lustic, Laura A. Schmidt and Claire D. Brindis

Today’s Daily Task

Make sugar a rare treat instead of an everyday staple. For example, skip the grocery store bakery section, and head to the produce section instead. The fructose in fruit will satisfy your sweet tooth, minus the harmful effects of sugar.