Good Lifestyle

You finally struck the habit of ice cream. There is no way you eat too muchsugar, law? Not so fast. While obvious sugar bombs requiring sugar bombs like Candy and the cake are a huge step towards a healthier diet, there are many moresneaky foods where sugar is hiding. Which understands everything, corn syrup with fructose, found in salad dressings with fruit juice added to "all natural"protein bars.

The average American consumes 17 teaspoons of sugar a day, which equates to 270 calories, according to theDisease and Health Prevention Office Health Promotion. And it's a major problem because added sugars contribute additional calories to your diet and have no essential nutrition to help your body work at its best.

Some preliminariesresearch Suggested that a high sugar diet increases your blood glucose, which increases free radicals and compounds that stimulate inflammation. Over time, too much sugar increases your risk ofobesity, increasing your risk of diabetes and can even on its own increase in your risk of conditions likecertain cancers and chronic diseases likecardiopathy, saysBrigitte Zeitlin, MPH, RD, CDN.

Before arriving with the subtle signs to search for you to consume too much sugar, thoroughly what exactly and how it affects your body.

What is sugar?

Sugar is acarbohydrates in its simplest form. There is a lot ofTypes of sugars, maple syrup toFructose-rich corn syrup. Whatever type, your body breaks down these sugars in glucose, the preferred energy form of your body.

There are two main sources of sugar: natural and transformed.

• Natural sugar is in whole natural foods. You probably associate fruit like the food group closely related to natural sugar, but vegetables such as carrots, beets, squash, zucchini and onions also contain natural sugar. Examples of natural sugar include sugars found in dairy products, fruits and vegetables.
• Treated sugar Is the sugar tinkered in one way or another and is extracted from its natural source. Examples of processed sugar include white cane sugar, high fructose corn syrup and agave.

Why is he added bad sugar for you?

It is important to note that when we talk about too much sugar, we are talking about added sugar, no natural sugar in the food.

The mainDifference between sugar and added sugar is simply if the sugar is added or not to a food or that it is naturally found in this diet. For example, honey is simply called sugar if I'm consumed alone. Once you use honey to soften a product, whether there is yogurt or cookies, honey is considered "added sugar". Added sugar can be a natural or transformed sugar, explainsKaren Ansel, Rd, author ofSuperfoid healing for anti-aging.

As for the natural sugars found in a soft potato or an apple, "most of us do not even come near the excretion," says Zitenslin. Experts are not worried about the sugar content because you get so many other advantages, such as vitamins and fibers to slow down and how your body absorbs and uses sugar. As a general directive, it suggests limiting yourself to about two cups of whole fruits per day.

What happens to your body when you eat sugar?

While your body can not tell the difference between these types of sugars, it does not mean that they are all treated in the same way.

Simple sugar alone moves quickly in your bloodstream, which causes a touch of your body insulin production to transfer glucose into your cells. "We discover more all the time on the negative effects on the health of too much insulin in our sangs," said Ansel.

Complex carbohydrates Like whole wheat, on the other hand, are made from long glucose chains that take your body longer to break down. This longer digestion time gives youmore sustained energy And helps you avoid blood glucose and insulin spikes.

Another difference is in the dosage. "You can not find food in the nature that have the insane amounts ofadded sugar found in processed foods. Putting the more sugar in your system is not natural and your body is not designed to digest it, "says Ansel.

What foods have added sugars?

Ultra-processable foods with added flavors, colors, sweeteners, emulsifiers and other additives contribute nearly 90% of our sugar consumption, according to oneBmj journal to study. The main sources of sugars added in the ultra-transformative foods are:

• soft drink
• fruit drinks
• Drinks based on milk (chocolate milk)
• Cakes, cookies and pies
• bread
• desserts
• sugar snacks
• breakfast cereals
• Ice and ice cream

As you can see, sweet drinks are the three main sources of sugar in our diet. In fact, almost half of the added sugars of our diet come from drinks like soda and fruit drinks.

Check both the nutrition label and the ingredients to find sugary foods added. "It's not because a label says" No added sugar ", you always want to read the label and see how many grams of sugar in this portion," says Zitenslin.

How much sugar is too much?

When it comes toHow much sugar added to eat a day, the answer is not so clear.

The most recentDietary directives Recommend that added sugars do not represent more than 10% of your daily calories. This equates to 38 grams (10 teaspoons) for women on a 1,500 calorie or 50 grams diet (13 teaspoons) for men on a diet of 2,000 calories.

Both theAmerican Heart Association andWorld Health Organization are more conservative, recommending about 25 grams (6 teaspoons) per day of added sugar for women and 36 grams (9 teaspoons) a day for men.

RELATED: The easyGuide to sugar cup is finally here.

What are the symptoms of eating too much sugar?

So, how do you know you eat too much sugar? What are the symptoms? Here are 16 signs that you eat too much sugar and exactly what to do if you think overdos on sweet stuff. And if you are looking to make more changes, be sure to check these21 best healthy cooking hacks of all time.

Someresearch suggests that sugar could decrease the diversity of healthy bacteria intone instinct In a week as little as a week, making your slow digestive system. "Too much white sugar will not help you if you are trying to promote healthy bacteria in your system," adds Zitlin.Naturally high fiber foods Having a positive impact and people who ate a lot of sugar did not usually eat a lot of fiber, said Ansel.

While experts say that severe acne has nothing to do with the diet for the vast majority of people,some studies Have raised eruptions to eat too much sweet food. In theory, Declare Ansel, the sugar increases the production of hormones - especially androgens, linked to an inflammatory hormonal acne, which usually appears around the jaw and mouth, saysBruce Robinson, M.D., Certified Board Dermatologist in New York.

"If you have trouble sarriffs and you do not know why, it may be helpful to cut sugars added into your diet," Ansel said.

Somestudies have sugars related to mood disorders such as depression. In addition to the swings of blood glucose, sugar can ruin neurotransmitters from your brain that regulates your moods. The sugar, in particular, causes a point in severe-good serotonin hormone. "Because we know that we know that carbohydrates affect neurotransmitters, it only follows when you upset your carbohydrate balance by having so much entering your body at a non-natural rate, it could make you feel better at the beginning . But what goes up comes, and they can make you feel worse in the long run, "says Ansel. Result: You feel grainy and tired.

Zeitlin says the best way to stabilize your blood glucose and mood is to eat more foods that take longer digest, like whole grains, fibers andprotein.

Eating a cookie or a cupcake with added sugar loads too close to bedtime can make it more difficult to fall asleep, at least in the short term. "It will give you a boost ofenergy By rotating your sugar in the blood, which always makes the bed harder when you try to relax, "says Zitlin. This could have the opposite effect shortly after, because the sugar triggers the release of the neurotransmitter of serotonin, which makes you feel relaxed and even sleepy, Ansel adds. But even if it is easier to harm, theto sleep You are probably not satisfactory. "You may not wave you may not feel so good because your blood glucose dives overnight," says Ansel.

A good basic rule, says Zeitlin: Stop eating fully sugary foods - two hours before bedtime, so you do not get indigestion and sugar has time to browse your system - and you can Relax and enter standby mode. .

A high sugar diet has been shown to accelerateaging of the skin. This is because too much food sugar reacts with proteins in your blood and forms advanced glycation ends (ages), damaging the structural proteins of the skin collagen and your elastin that make your valve and swelling. "A high sugar diet can certainly make your skin ride faster, allowing you to look older. Limit sugar can make a difference," says Ansel.

This one is not obvious, but the sugar isA major cause From the dental carriage, according to the American Dental Association. When the sugar is sitting on your teeth, it nourishes plate bacteria that are already naturally there, producing acids that stop at your enamel of your tooth (the hard surface of your teeth), which leads to cavities. "The worst is a combio of sugar and acid that you get from sports drink or soda, then destroy the teeth enamel," Ansel said. "People who drink a lot of these drinks tend to have a lot of dental problems."

Solution: Exchange the soda for sparkling water or mineral infused from your favorite fruits and / or herbs, such as watermelon and basil, blackberries and currency.

The more sugar you eat, the more likely you are to believe it. "The sugar increases the feeling of good hormones. Because your brain feels good, it will wish it again," says Zitlin. "You also have peaks and dishes in your blood glucose, which leads you to want to eat more."

A habit of sugar after dinner can be one of the most difficult food traps to hit. "Habits can be as powerful as hunger in steering food choices. After a meal, you should feel fully complete, but if you are used to treating yourself at dessert every night, your body becomes conditional "said Ansel. If this is the case for you, many people find easier to avoid all the sugar than to have less things, she says.

"If the sugar has no fiber or protein with it, it will not fill you," says Zeitlin. It's because the sugar causes a tip of your blood glucose and dive quickly, then youwander And aspire more sugar bouncing. "If you eat the bread basket before your meal, it will make you feel full first, but when dinner rides around, you will feel heavier," she says.

Instead, go on the rollers and wait to fill you first on a salad or purge of salmon, chicken or lean steak. Foodfiber,healthy fats andlean protein Fill, so you have a better idea of ​​whether or not you want this slice of bread.

Someresearch Regularly connected to have sweet drinks to rheumatoid arthritis in women, possibly due to inflammation.Other searchesfound that people with five sweet or more drinks per week, including fruit juices, are more likely to have arthritis. Ansel notes that these studies have only found an association that does not necessarily mean that sugar directly causes arthritis.

While the sugar of themselves and herself does not necessarily make the kilos stacken, it can prevent you from losing them or maintaining a healthy weight. Of course, weight gain occurs when you eat too much of something. "But the amount ofresearch Located to sugar and weight gain is undeniable, "says Zeitlin. The food with white sugar loads makes you feel less satisfied, so you are more likely to eat more calories per meal.

On the other hand, complex carbohydrates (such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables), healthy greases (such as nuts and seeds) and lean proteins (such as fish and chicken) take your system longer to Digest, keeping your sugar level in stable blood and you feel Fuller faster and longer. "If you have a candy bar at 4 o'clock, you will feel full for a few hours, but in a few hours you will feel happier than if you had an apple," says Ansel.

Your whole body - including your carbohydrates, including sugar, as the main fuel source. Thus, when blood glucose falls after a meal of high sugar, this can cause a brain fog. "When your blood glucose falls, your energy falls, so your ability to stay focused and alert can also fall," says Zitenslin. Excavating cookie for an apple with a tablespoon of naturalPeanut Butter will give you a sustained energy to deal with a 3 m. Marasme.

Salt foods are known to cause inflator, butUpper sugar foodsCan also cause your belly. But once you take control of your sweet caresses, you can embrace the Goodbye of Ballie. It is also important to note that if you have a susceptibility to sugars such as fructose (sugar in fruit) and lactose (in dairy), your belly could feel bloating and other commonIBS symptoms.

ResearchersFound a link between refined sugar and muscle loss related to the age of sugar inhibiting the capacity of the body to synthesize the protein into the muscle. Moreover, aanimal study Noted that sugar-based rats have lost a softer body mass and kept a greater mass than complex-carbon rats. Once you started to curb your sweet caresses and limit your sugar intake, you will start to see a difference in your workouts and feel stronger.

The sugar is worse for your blood pressure than salt, according to a newspaper studyOpen heart. A few weeks on a high sucrose diet can increase systolic and diastolic blood pressure. AnotherBritish Nutrition Journal The study revealed that for each sweet drink, the risk of developing hypertension increased eight percent.

Consuming too much sugar can make you gain weight in many ways, but the strangest way is that it can reduce the actual physical activity. InStudy of the University of Illinois, mice fed from a diet that imitated the standard American regime, that is to say about 18% of sugars - gained more body fat, even if they were not fed more calories . One of the reasons was that the mice traveled about 20% less in their small cages as mice that were not fed by the sweet regime.

Eating sugar too often - including the addition of sugar or even sugar substitutes such as splendid to certain foods - can alter what your taste buds interpret as sweet. "A bowl of strawberries is sweet alone, but if you sprinkle with sugar or stevia, your baseline is so superior to that of the fruit," says Zitlin. "It changes your expectation of how a dessert should taste." Cut the added sugars and false sweeteners as often as possible, allows you to pass on your body to enjoy the natural sweetness of the fruit.