15 health problems that occur due to the sugar

In 1957, John Yudkin (John Yudkin), the British professor nutriolog, tried to prove that the main culprit of heart disease and other chronic diseases is just sugar, not fat, as they think.

Book Yudkina "Clean, white, deadly" was a success among readers. But prominent nutritionists, teaming up with food manufacturers, destroyed his reputation and career. Hypothesis Yudkina was buried, and fat has become public enemy number one. Read more about this research injustice we described in the article "Sweet plot: the story of murderous scientific errors».

Today, quite open data and studies confirming that the excessive consumption of sugar has negative consequences. Therefore, the Office for sanitary inspection by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends limit your daily sugar intake to 50 grams per day (4 tablespoons, a little more than a bank "Coca-Cola"). The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends limited to 2 tablespoons per day.

But what if you eat more than the recommended norm of sugar? Let's see what they say about the latest scientific research.

1. Caries

Tooth decay occurs when mouth bacteria feed on simple sugars S. N. Wagoner, T. A. Marshall, F. Qian. In vitro enamel erosion associated with commercially available original-flavor and sour versions of candies. . As a result of their metabolic acid is formed which destroys tooth enamel, and then soft dentin - fabric, which consists of a tooth. Therefore, dentists recommendations on sugar consumption is much stricter than in the popular diets.

2. Constant feeling of hunger

The hormone leptin tells your brain that you are full. But fructose interferes with hit of leptin in the brain and creates a feeling of hunger.

People with resistance to leptin brain does not receive the desired signal, so it is more difficult to control your appetite.

Studies have shown in rats Alexandra Shapiro, Wei Mu, Carlos Roncal. Fructose-induced leptin resistance exacerbates weight gain in response to subsequent high-fat feedingThat animals that consumed fructose, produces more leptin than normal. Therefore, the body's sensitivity to it declined. When fructose was removed from the diet of rats, leptin levels back to normal.

3. weight gain

In addition to a sedentary lifestyle, there is another proven way to quickly and confidently gain extra weight: make sugar one of the main products in their diet.

The sweets a lot of calories, but not enough to satisfy your hunger.

Scientists from New Zealand conducted a study Lisa Te Morenga, Simonette Mallard, Jim Mann. Dietary sugars and body weight: systematic review and meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials and cohort studies. among adult men and tried to find a link between excess weight and other factors: age, total energy intake, sugar, body mass index, alcohol consumption, smoking. The strongest association was between weight gain and consumption of sugar. So if you want to lose weight, for starters give up sugar.

4. Violation of susceptibility to insulin

When you eat a lot of foods high in sugar, such as donuts for breakfast, your body needs more insulin - the hormone that helps convert food into energy. But when insulin levels are constantly high, the body will adapt and become less sensitive to it. This leads to an increase in blood glucose levels.

Scientists quickly called insulin resistance in rats by giving them food with a very high sugar content Sharon S. Elliott, Nancy L. Keim, Judith S. Stern. Fructose, weight gain, and the insulin resistance syndrome. .

Symptoms of sensitivity to insulin - fatigue, constant hunger, blurred consciousness, and elevated blood pressure. Begins to accumulate fat in the abdominal area. Most people usually do not notice their insulin resistance, until it turns into diabetes.

5. Diabetes

At the beginning of 2014 in Russia, such a diagnosis was 3.96 million people, while the real figures are much higher (according to unofficial estimates of the number of patients is more than 11 million).

In one experiment, V. S. Malik, B. M. Popkin, G. A. Bray. Sugar-sweetened beverages and risk of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes: a meta-analysis. scientists tracked health indicators in 51 thousand persons in the period from 1991 to 1999-th. It was found that people who drank a lot of sweetened drinks - lemonade, tea, energy, - the risk of diabetes was higher. The same conclusion was reached by scientists who carried out a similar study among 310 000 participants.

6. Obesity

If you drink a glass of sweet lemonade every day, you have all the chances to score about 6 kilograms per year.

Each additional soda glass can lead to obesity.

Of course, it is likely that people who drink a glass of lemonade on a daily basis, do not consume more calories than it takes people a day. But as a rule, "empty calories" encourage excessive consumption of food in general.

7. Liver failure

The need to process large amounts of fructose may cause load and liver inflammation. Therefore, an excess of fructose - the main reason for the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

People with a diagnosis of fat begins to accumulate throughout the liver. Scientists have found that, as a rule, they drink more soda than the average person Shira Zelber-Sagi, Dorit Nitzan-Kaluski, Rebecca Goldsmith. Long term nutritional intake and the risk for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. . However, scientists are not able to establish exactly what is the main cause of the disease - sugar or overweight (which, as we have seen, often occurs due to sugar).

Most people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease do not usually pay attention to symptoms and may not even be aware that they have this disease. But some stored fat can lead to scarring of the liver, and eventually the disease may progress to liver failure.

8. Pancreas cancer

Some researchers argue that the consumption of large amounts of sugar can lead to increased risk N. Tasevska, L. Jiao, A. J. Cross. Sugars in diet and risk of cancer in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. pancreatic cancer - one of the most deadly forms disease.

Although other scientists disagree and argue that cancer and sugar are linked indirectly to: the use of large the amount of sugar leads to obesity and diabetes, and they, in turn, affect the development of cancer of the pancreas gland.

9. kidney disease

There is an assumption that the excessive intake of sugar can lead to kidney disease. Although today it is only a hypothesis, there is cause for concern.

results of the study Richard J. Johnson, L. Gabriela Sanchez-Lozada, Takahiko Nakagawa. The Effect of Fructose on Renal Biology and Disease. among 9358 participants demonstrated: drinking sodas and other sugary drinks may be associated with kidney disease.

A similar study was conducted in rats. The food rats included excessive amounts of sugar (12 times higher than the WHO recommendations). As a result, their kidneys are increased in size and worse functioning.

10. Elevated blood pressure

Sugar can also cause blood pressure. In one study Marilda Mazzali, Jeremy Hughes, Yoon-Goo Kim. Elevated Uric Acid Increases Blood Pressure in the Rat by a Novel Crystal-Independent Mechanism. 4528 adults who have never had high blood pressure, consumed 74 g of sugar each day. The risk of high pressure increased considerably.

In another, the following experiment was conducted a small study of 15 people drank 60 grams of fructose. Two hours later, they observed a sharp blood pressure jump. Such reactions may occur due to the fact that during the decomposition of fructose formed byproduct - uric acid, which adversely affects the blood pressure in large quantities.

11. Diseases of the cardiovascular system

Cardiovascular disease - the main cause of deaths worldwide. Most on their appearance affect smoking and sedentary life, but among the risk factors also have an excessive consumption of sugar, obesity, diabetes.

Recent studies show that eating a lot of sugar, you cause irreparable harm to the health of your heart. This is especially true of women.

according to a study Q. Yang, Z. Zhang, E. W. Gregg. Added sugar intake and cardiovascular diseases mortality among US adults. Center for Control and Prevention of diseases (CDC), which was attended by 11 733 people, there is a link between sugar consumption and increased risk of heart disease and subsequent of death. Participants receiving between 17 and 21% of daily calories from sugar, the chances of dying from heart disease increased to 38% compared with those who restrict calories from sugar to 8% of the total consumption.

12. Addiction

Despite the fact that not all doctors support the idea of ​​the existence of food addictionIt is a very real phenomenon, although somewhat different from alcohol dependence or addiction.

For example, a well-known fact that people who are trying to get rid of dependence on opioids (heroin), or simply quit smoking, start eating more sweet. One hypothesis: thus the brain overrides the action of addictive substances.

Although everything can be much easier: people get used to the food that they like, and it does not matter, is there sugar or not.

13. Cognitive decline

Obesity and diabetes are directly related to impaired cognitive abilities and Alzheimer's disease. It is not surprising that the new study finds a link between excessive consumption of sugar and the impact of such behavior on the brain.

Recently, scientists conducted an experiment: in the diet of rats were injected products with high sugar content. This had a negative impact on their memory, blunted emotional arousal. In humans, we found a similar response: found a link between the consumption of a food high content of fats and carbohydrates and a decrease in productivity of the hippocampus - a brain region responsible for memory E. K. Naderali, S. H. Ratcliffe, M. C. Dale. Obesity and Alzheimer's disease: a link between body weight and cognitive function in old age. .

14. Nutritional deficiencies

When you eat too much sugar, you are likely to waive many of the nutrients that are actually needed by the body.

Products with high sugar substitute natural products - for example, soda instead of juice and milk - and thereby lead to a deficiency of nutrients in the body. You consume a lot of calories from sugar, but are not getting enough vitamin D, calcium or potassium.

Nutrient deficiencies manifested in the form of fatigue, increased fragility of bones, muscle weakness.

In the 1999 study, it was found that people who receive 18% or more of daily calories from sugar, was the Low levels of essential vitamins and minerals, such as folic acid, calcium, iron, vitamin A and vitamin C.Diets of Individuals Based on Energy Intakes From Added Sugars. .

15. Gout

Gout is called the "disease of kings" because it arises from the excesses in eating and drinking. Although our food has changed, this painful form of arthritis is becoming more widespread phenomenon in the different layers of society.

Usually foods that trigger gout, contain high levels of purines. When processed purines, uric acid is formed. Accumulating, it leads to gout.

However, uric acid is formed not only in the decomposition of purines, it is also a by-product of sugar metabolism. Therefore, excessive consumption of sugar increases the risk of gout, especially in men Hyon K. Choi, Gary Curhan. Soft drinks, fructose consumption, and the risk of gout in men: prospective cohort study. .