Published:

03/19/2015 01:07am

Five Ways Sugar Sabotaged Your Health

You know how dangerous sugar is. It doesn't help matters that eating sugar is physically addicting. But the damage goes beyond weight gain and cavities. This is just the beginning. The truth is it can lead to some serious and even deadly conditions. Here are five little known ways sugar sabotages your health:
1. Heart Disease: Too much sugar can lead to obesity. But even more dangerous is the inflammation that comes with eating it. In fact, you don't even have to be overweight for sugar to raise your heart disease risk. One study found that people who got at least 25 percent of the daily calories from sugar were two times more likely to die from heart disease in the next 15 years. (1) And this was regardless of age, sex, physical activity and even BMI. (2)
2. Liver Damage: You probably think that you don't have to worry about your liver unless you are an alcoholic. But sugar can even be more damaging. Just look at what soda can do to your liver. One study found that people who drink it have a 45 percent greater risk for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). (3)
Another study found that people with NAFLD consumed at least twice the amount of soda as people without the disease. (4) But it's not just soda. High Fructose corn syrup is also in fruit juices and sweet teas.
3. Type II diabetes: It might seem obvious, but you may not realize how little sugar it takes to send your risk through the roof. Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health found that women who drink just one sugar sweetened beverage a day are at up to 83 percent greater risk for type II diabetes. (5)
4. Cancer: Eating too much sugar causes insulin levels to spike. And that can fuel cancer growth. Research shows that eating sugar leads to greater breast cancer mortality risk, especially in older women. (7) Another study found that sugar can cause a 59 percent increase in colon cancer. (8)
5. Alzheimer's: Experts call this "Type 3 diabetes." Sugar rots your brain. High insulin levels are directly linked to dementia and neuron death. You don't have to be diabetic or overweight. (9) High blood sugar levels may actually turn beta amyloid (the protein in the brain tied to Alzheimer's) more toxic than it already is. This means what starts out as early signs could accelerate into a severe case just because of the foods you eat. (10)
References:
(1) http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/artucke.aspx?articleid=1819573
(2) http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/eating -too-much-added-sugar-increases-the -risk-of-dying-with-heart-disease-201402067021
(3) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168827807004278
(4) http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/76/5/911.short
(5) http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=199317
(6) http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/76/5/911.short
(7) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii
(8) http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/6/9/677.short
(9) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2769828/
(10) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/ 2013/10/131029090345.htm