The effects of over consumption of sugar on our health

Most of us are entirely fascinated to have sugar candies, cakes, sweet drinks, knowingly or unknowingly. I think many people are aware of the detrimental effects of consuming a tremendous quality of the sugar. Some may know that there are some statistics in regards to the limitation of sugar per day. As per the American Heart Association (AHA), six teaspoons per day is adequate for women (added sugar can be in any form) and nine teaspoons for men.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends no more than six teaspoons (25 grams) of added sugar per day for women and nine teaspoons (38 grams) for men.1 The AHA limits for children vary depending on their age and caloric needs, but range between 3-6 teaspoons (12 - 25 grams) per day. Source

But the recommendations according to World Health Organization (WHO) is little different.

World Health Organization's (WHO) recommendation that no more than 10% of an adult's calories – and ideally less than 5% – should come from added sugar or natural sugars in honey, syrups and fruit juice. For a 2,000-calorie diet, 5% would be 25 grams. Source

The numbers seem to be no more than I think each of you must be thinking that no one can cross the limit per day. But the picture is radically different when it comes to reality. The sugar in one 350 grams or 12 oz soda contains sugar as much as it is an orange, sixteen strawberries, and two plums, according to the UCSF. Therefore, it is imperative to have sweet drinks, sodas with the relative information. There are many health hazards for the massive amount of consumption of sugar, one of which is weight gain.

However, many groundbreaking studies are bringing awareness on the various health effects of the massive amount of the sugar. A study from the University of Surrey, even a healthy person could suffer from the cardiovascular disease as much as the nonhealthy person when sugar consumer in larger qualities. They have made an experiment on two groups of men of low liver fat and high liver fat. They were asked to have high and low amounts of sugar for about 12 weeks. As a result, researchers found that people of high-level fat were prone to the risk of cardiovascular diseases, heart attack. The results of the healthy persons are pretty much like this.

Image Source

When the group of healthy men with a low level of liver fat consumed a high amount of sugar, their liver fat increased, and their fat metabolism became similar to that of the men with NAFLD - non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Source

Regardless of the health, everyone is at the risk of cardiovascular diseases, when consumed more sugar per day. One should be aware of all added sugar names mentioned in the ingredients list of any food item. Some of them are dextrose, fructose, glucose, corn syrup, honey, molasses and many.

There are many alternatives to alleviate this problem. You could use natural sugars like fruits, which also contains sugar to some extent but it also has fibre in it. Prepare smoothies by including dates, bananas, or any other natural sources. It not only gives the delicious taste but also offers us an abundance of health.