Most people decide to cut sugar out of their diet because they want to lose weight, but in reality, there are many other surprising changes that can happen when you stop eating sugar.
It pays to resist sugar
We burden our body with a lot of unnecessary calories every day because of the sugar we add to food, not only by consuming chocolates, soft drinks and other snacks, but also foods we think are healthy, such as sauces and yoghurts.
Of course, our bodies need a certain amount of sugar: about 25 grams a day, or about 6 teaspoons, but what changes does someone who decides to give up sugar for a few weeks experience? We’ll tell you in our gallery.
The sooner we give up sugar, the sooner we can say goodbye to acne, blackheads and other skin blemishes. When we consume too much sugar, glycolysis starts, which means carbohydrates are attached to protein.
A component of the skin called collagen makes up 40 per cent of the body’s proteins, so if glycolysis affects collagen, the skin will be affected, too.
Excessive sugar consumption also has a significant impact on sleep. As wellandfit.com reports, sugar shock during the day has a negative impact on the night, as fluctuating blood sugar levels reduce restful sleep. It also promotes the release of the hormone cortisol, which disrupts the natural sleep cycle.
Studies have shown that short-term memory impairment is linked to reduced blood supply to an area of the brain called the hippocampus. What is the cause of this change? None other than increased blood sugar levels, or excessive sugar consumption.
If we don’t want our brain cells to be damaged prematurely and our memory to deteriorate, we should avoid eating refined carbohydrates, which the body immediately converts into sugar.
Among high sugar consumers, the incidence of cardiovascular disease is nearly three times the average. That’s because sugar chronically raises insulin levels, which affect the sympathetic nervous system and increase blood pressure and heart rate. Therefore, by significantly reducing or even eliminating sugar consumption, heart disease can be prevented.