Are you a person who
eats the frosting,
but leaves the cake untouched?
Or steals all the sugar packets
at restaurant?
If your sweet tooth
decides your meal plan,
chances are you're not concerned about
having a vegetable medley on the side.
What you want
is the dopamine hit
that comes with
every spoonful of that delicious white gold.
But what if you ate only sugar for a month?
The American Heart Association
recommends that women eat less
than 25 g (0.9 oz) of added sugar daily,
and 36 g (1.3 oz) for men.
So considering a 355 ml (12 oz) can of soda
contains 47.2 g (1.7 oz) of sugar,
you might be living above average already.
But if the only thing you eat is sugar,
you'll need about 2,000 calories each day
to keep your body running.
And if you were to hit that magic number,
Your inner child might be overjoyed
at an all-sugar diet,
but your inner organs
would be screaming for mercy.
Let's be clear.
We're not talking about replacing
asparagus with Twizzlers,
and using Dr Pepper
as your mouthwash.
This diet is only refined sugar,
not sugar-filled foods.
We'll let you drink water too.
So if you're going to get the calories
you need to keep your body functioning,
you'll have to consume
532 g (18.7 oz) of sugar per day.
That's 222 sugar cubes
for breakfast,
lunch,
dinner,
and all your snacks in between.
And if you want to avoid cavities,
you'll need to brush your teeth
more than twice a day.
If you don't brush more often,
the bacteria in your mouth
will feed off the sugar,
and leave behind an acid
that will destroy the enamel
on your teeth.
In the short term,
the release of endorphins
would give your body a surge of energy
after every meal.
And you might not be able
to sleep at night.
But over time,
all that sugar
could have a downside
you might not expect.
Your body could get addicted
to this white stuff.
When the month ends,
and you return to eating real food,
you're likely to go through withdrawal.
So prepare to feel intense irritability,
fogginess,
moodiness,
and low energy.
You may not gain any weight
from eating 2,000 calories
of sugar each day,
but you could develop
a chronic condition like diabetes.
According to Harvard Health Publishing,
a high-sugar diet
may even stimulate your liver
to dump more harmful fats
into your bloodstream.
With all this sugar
pouring through your body,
and more harmful fats,
you would have a higher risk
for heart disease.
Your blood pressure
and your insulin levels
would raise so high,
your blood vessels
would become less flexible.
Your kidneys would store
excessive water and sodium.
And if blood isn't pumping
properly through your body,
it could affect your love life as well.
Just saying.
And let's not forget about
your red blood cell count,
which would be significantly lower.
Why does that matter?
Well, with fewer red blood cells,
you wouldn't be able
to heal from wounds.
You could lose a lot more blood
due to excessive bleeding,
or get infections.
Every bruise,
scrape,
or paper cut
could send you to the hospital,
or even the morgue.
And a 2018 study
from New Zealand's University of Otega
suggests that glucose
hurts your cognitive abilities.
While your body may be awake,
"No sleep,"
a sugar coma takes a toll
on your attention and your memory.
And without vitamin C in your meals,
you're likely to develop scurvy,
which will make you feel tired.
On top of that,
since you're not eating protein,
your muscles will start to waste away,
and your bones will get weaker
without minerals in your diet.
The sugar would also attach
to the proteins you already
had in your blood,
and create
harmful molecules known as
Advanced Glycation End Products,
or AGEs.
These end products would damage
the collagen and elastin in your skin,
leaving you wrinkled and saggy.
Now, if you're an 81 kg (180 lb) American,
and you eat 2.5 kg (5.4 lb)
of sugar in one meal,
you've got a 50/50 chance
of a lethal overdose.
Those odds aren't sweet.
So stick to a healthy diet plan,
and you won't come close
to that lethal amount.
Realistically though,
a month is about all your body
could take of this kind of abuse,
before you succumb
to disease or malnutrition.
But, you don't have to give up
sugar completely, though.
As long as you're not putting your health
in harm's way,
you can safely enjoy
an occasional treat,
or sugary reward.
Just quit dipping your finger
in the frosting
before the cake is served.
Gross.
So now you're back
on a regular meal plan,
veggies and all.
But...
what if you stopped
brushing your teeth?
Well,
that's a story
for another
What If.