The 6 Dangers Of Eating Too Much Sugar
Junk foods, sugar and processed carbohydrates
are the leading causes of disease and death in the human body.
When we eat sugar and starchy foods our bodies
break them down and turn them into blood sugar (glucose).
Examples would be foods like potatoes, biscuits, fruit juices, sweets or bread.
Humans only need around 4g (1tsp) of blood sugar to stay healthy,
as this is used to make energy in our cells.
However the average American is consuming over 75g of ADDED sugar every single day,
along with an additional 225g of carbohydrates that also turn into blood sugar.
This is an enormous amount of glucose (sugar) for your body to process,
And it causes inflammation and oxidative damage to trillions of cells throughout your body.
Over time consuming this amount of sugar and carbs will make you gain
visceral fat around your belly, which obstructs the function of your organs.
The extra sugar in your blood binds to water,
causing swelling and fluid retention in your tissues, which can put a strain on
your heart and you may start developing dark circle and bags under your eyes.
Sugar also deplete key nutrients like potassium,
B vitamins, zinc and many other nutrients that you can see here.
And I've talked about how important each of these nutrients are for your health in my other videos.
In this video, we will explore the 6 main health dangers of eating too carbohydrates and sugars.
I'll be explaining how to overcome sugar addiction,
and steps you can take to help your get off sugar completely.
Just a quick reminder this video is for educational purposes only,
so do speak to your doctor if you have any medical concerns.
1. Heart & Circulation Problems When there is too much sugar in
your blood (glucose) it starts to stick to the haemoglobin in your red blood cells,
making them clumpy and thick. (Glycation)
This can cause a blood clot to form in an artery or a blood vessel,
raising the risk of having a stroke or a heart attack.
Sugar is often the underlying cause of most heart disease,
metabolic syndrome and heart attacks worldwide.
Blood cells are supposed to carry oxygen to the tissues throughout your body,
such as your heart, eyes, brain and liver etc..
If the blood becomes too thick and clumpy however,
It carries less oxygen which can cause organ damage, especially your kidneys.
Sugar also causes oxidative damage to the inner walls of your arteries,
making them become stiffer and less flexible.
This further raises the risk of having a heart attack or an embolism,
because blood can no longer flow freely through the body.
2. Nerve Damage
If you have been eating too many processed carbohydrates and junk foods for many years,
You may start to experience tingling, burning, stabbing, or shooting pains in your feet or hands.
This is called peripheral neuropathy,
a type of nerve damage caused by having high levels of sugar in your blood and insulin.
With too much glucose, your blood isn't bringing enough oxygen to your nerves,
which causes them to starve and their outer coating (myelin) gets damaged.
As nerves are like electrical conduits, they start to misfire without their coating,
sending odd signals to your brain through your nervous system,
Causing nerve pain, tingling and numbness.
Eventually the nerves and the tissues around them become completely starved of oxygen
and start to die (necrosis).
Which is why diabetic patients are at high risk of losing a toe or a foot.
If your finding this information useful, please tap the like,
subscribe and turn all notifications on to stay updated with my latest health and nutrition tips.
3. Brain & Eye Problems High sugars can raise the risk of you having
a stroke, because of how it can cause a clot that starves your brain of oxygen rich blood.
When sugar binds with your red blood cells it can cause amyloid plaque inside your brain.
This happens slowly over decades, and eventually causes Alzheimer's disease, dementia
and other cognitive problems because the plaque blocks your neurons from communicating properly.
Sticky proteins can also damage the nerves connected to your eye
such as the retina, making you lose your eyesight, with blurry vision (retinopathy).
Sugar damages the blood vessels in your eyes, as it depletes Vitamin C,
And it also massively raises the risk of glaucoma,
cataracts, dry eyes and macular degeneration as you get older.
Sugar is also highly addictive, because it causes a surge of dopamine,
the pleasure hormone in your brain that makes you feel good temporarily.
This 'pleasure rush' after eating sugar only lasts between 1-2 minutes.
It actually has a similar response to harsh drugs like heroin or cocaine making it highly addictive.
There are simple ways to overcome sugar addiction easily, more on this later in the video.
4. Mental Health Problems
Refined sugars like table sugar, high fructose corn syrup, refined fruit
juices (fructose) and dextrose, causing a massive spike in your blood sugars,
This depletes your Vitamin B1 reserves, which leads to anxiety,
depression, and other mood changes that can make you feel awful.
You'll notice if you cut out the sugar for a few days,
you'll have better mental focus and find that your mood is more stable.
This is because your blood sugars start to even out,
causing your brain to accept more fuel and energy in the neurons and the synapses.
Also, if you cut out sugar, the friendly bacteria in your large intestine become
healthier and start producing more neurotransmitters like serotonin,
GABA and dopamine which makes you feel excellent and brings your brain chemistry into balance.
So if you know someone who suffers with mental health problems, take note of the
kinds of foods they are eating, you'll usually find it's too much flour, sugar, or soda drinks.
I know that there is lots of information in this video to digest, so don’t be afraid to pause,
rewind and take notes whenever you need to. I want you to understand this fully
in order to motivate you to make healthier choices in your life so please don't rush it.
3. Fat Gain & Digestive Issues
The blood should only have around 1tsp of sugar (4g) at all times.
Your body is constantly regulating this level.
It releases hormones called insulin and glucagon from the pancreas to keep this under control.
When you consume too sugar, or foods that turn into blood sugar (glucose)
Your body uses insulin to take this sugar from your blood and it converts it into fat.
This can cause a build-up of fat inside your liver,
which then starts spreading into your belly region and the spaces between your organs (visceral fat).
This can be dangerous as it raises your blood pressure,
and obstructs the normal function of your organs.
So if you want to lose weight, you'll need to cut back on these foods and switch them
for healthy fats and proteins, like pasture raised eggs, avocado flesh, extra virgin
olive oil, ghee (clarified butter), and grass fed beef/organ meats.
Eating high quality proteins,
fats and leafy greens supplies all of the nutrients your body needs.
Your body can even make sugar from protein/fat in a process called gluconeogenesis,
so there is no need to keep eating sugar to keep your energy levels up.
Eating sugary foods, grains, starches, fructose and fillers (dextrose, maltodextrin), can harm
the friendly microbes that live inside/protect your gut lining.
This causes the walls of your intestines become damaged, forming small holes and
toxins from your waste can begin leaking into your blood.
This leads to autoimmune problems like celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease,
hepatitis, type 1 diabetes, lupus, psoriasis of the skin, rheumatoid arthritis, allergies
4. Diabetes
When you constantly bombard your body with sugary foods on a daily basis,
eventually your cells can no longer accept the fuel,
so they put up a wall against insulin. This causes a condition called insulin resistance,
which eventually leads to prediabetes and then diabetes (type 2).
Your pancreas keeps making more and more insulin, and eventually the beta cells become
tired and burn out, and you may have a need for insulin injections. (type 1)
To check if you have any symptoms of prediabetes, be sure to check out my
[12 Early Signs Of Diabetes] video. There is a link in the description box below the video.
5. Liver Disease
Many people are aware that drinking alcohol damages the liver
and can cause fatty liver disease.
However, consuming too much fructose also has the same damaging effect on your liver,
and can cause NAFL (None alcoholic fatty liver disease).
Unfortunately over 80% of the packaged foods contain HFCS,
This overwhelms your liver cells causing inflammation and fat to build up inside the organ.
Over time this raises the risk of diabetes and insulin resistance,
so don’t be fooled by those who say fruit sugars can't harm you. They can and they do.
Also if your liver function is weakened by these sugars, it starts to produce less bile,
which then leads to indigestion, acid reflux, heartburn and malabsorption.
Your stool may begin to float and be pale in colour,
as you're not absorbing enough nutrients due the lack of bile from your liver.
How To Quit Sugar
Now that you've learned all about the damage that various forms of sugar can have on your body,
let's explore some simple tips on giving up sugar.
1. Stop eating sugary/starchy foods and processed carbohydrates like bread,
cereals, potatoes, fruit juices, soda drinks, biscuits, pastries, sweets etc..
You may experience some cravings in the first 48 hours, this is normal.
Your body is beginning to balance out its blood sugars and it can take a little time to adjust.
Start eating 2tsp of chia seeds daily.
These are rich in soluble fiber which helps to even out your blood sugar.
2. Eat lots of foods that are rich in potassium and magnesium,
to get rid of cravings and help to normalise your blood sugars.
I recommend avocados, guacamole and all of the leafy green vegetables like broccoli,
cauliflower, brussels sprouts, cabbage, bok choy, arugula and beet tops.
These minerals help your cells to accept more fuel so that you're
less likely to crash after cutting out the sugar.
3. For the first week,
try to get at least 1 hour of extra sleep each night. Sleep will help to normalise
neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin, to help you feel good through the transition.
After a few days,
your body will start making its own sugar and ketones to fuel your brain and cells.
4. Start eating more high quality proteins and omega 3 fatty acids.
Grass fed beef and lamb wild salmon, sardines, mackerel and excellent choices.
Pasture raised eggs are also one of the best foods to help normalise your blood sugars.
5. If you wish you can take it to a new level by following a low carb diet such as keto.
This involves cutting your carbs down to less than 30g per day.
This not only helps you to lose weight, but it spikes ketones in your body, an alternative
fuel that can trigger healing at the cellular level in your brain, your heart, your liver etc…
To learn more about the healthiest foods in the world that contain
no carbs and no sugar. Go ahead and tap on this video on the screen now.
Thank you so much for watching my video today,
and as always I wish you great health, wealth and happiness.