A moderate intake of sugar can be an acceptable part of a well-balanced diet. But large doses of sugar, overtime, can have a significant effect on your weight. Brand new research published in the British Medical Journal claims that cutting back on sugar can help with weight control.Added sugars are found in many processed and packaged food these days. You can easily identify them by reading the ingredient label on these so-called convenience foods. Much to your surprise, you’ll find foods such as non-dairy milk substitutes, yogurt, canned soups, salad dressings and uces to be high in sugar. Sugar is nothing but a source of empty, useless calories, providing you about 16 calories per teaspoon. This is not good since Americans eat far too much sugar. An average American consumes 22 teaspoons of this sweet stuff per day. aiming about 52 nutrition less calories a day.
Besides adding unfilled calories to your diet, sugar jacks up your insulin levels, creating an environment that encourages fat storage in your cells Some researchers deem these factors to be sufficient to steer people away from foods that are full of hidden sweeteners. And what’s more, many experts have linked sugar to the obesity epidemic. Now a new study published in the British Medical Journal has established a link between weight gain and consumption of products that contain added sugar.
How Does a High-Sugar Diet Affect Your Weight?
Previous researches showed that consuming sugar-sweetened beverages like soft drinks can lead to weight gain, but they failed to focus on sugar in food and liquid form. A recent meta-analysis published in the British Medical Journal explored this issue in detail. A meta-analysis focuses on several separate but similar studies rather than a single one. In this study, researchers analyzed the results of 68 different studies directed at assessing the effects of sugar intake on body weight. The results of this study showed that people who increased their intake of dietary sugar over a year’s time gained 1.7 pounds. There is no doubt that this is a minor change, but even this small amount of weight gain can add up overtime.
The conclusion drawn from this analysis is that when you consume foods and beverages sweetened with addE sugar, you tend to gain a modest amount of weight. The researchers also discovered that replacing calories from sugar or added sugar with an equivalent number of calories from protein, fat or other macro nutrients didn't affect weight. This observation led the researchers to conclude that people who eat too much sugar gain weight due to its high-calorie density and not due to its effect on metabolism or hormones like insulin.
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Sugar is Not the Only Issue
Despite all these valuable findings, there was one major drawback of this study. The study did not consider the impact of low-fiber, processed carbohydrates on weight gain. It focused only on sugars added to foods and beverages. Nevertheless, it is important to note that a diet rich in processed carbohydrates spikes insulin levels, creating favorable conditions for storing body fat. Therefore, when it comes to controlling weight, reducing intake of processed carbohydrates is as important as reducing sugar intake.
More Reasons to Limit Your Sugar Intake
When you binge on sugary foods, you get too many calories with zero nutritional benefits. Combine this with the fact that overconsumption of sugar causes wrinkles through the process of glycation. Glycation is the process in which sugar in the blood attaches to protein molecules, causing them to become brittle and age faster than normal. Glycation has also been linked to a number of chronic illnesses in addition to premature aging.
Eating a high-sugar diet can also cause your skin to age faster and dry out more quickly. This is so because sugar attaches itself to elastin and collagen, both key skin proteins, in the dermis of your skin, leading to skin laxity and premature wrinkling. Evidences also show that consuming high sugar and high glycemic foods like white bread and white flour products may promote the growth of some tumors. Moreover, sugar can cause dental problems like tooth decay and gum disease. Undoubtedly, these reasons are compelling enough to motivate heavy sugar consumers to reduce the amount of sugar they’re eating.
Tips to Cut Back on Sugar
With drawing sugar suddenly is not always the best solution as it can cause severe headaches, irritability, sleeplessness, sweating and nausea. Also, the coid turkey approach may not work or be appropriate for you, therefore, adopt a practical approach to cut back on sugar. The best thing you can do is to gradually wean yourself off sugar. In other words, try to reduce the amount of sugar ،n your diet slowly and steadily. For instance, decrease the number of teaspoons of sugar you add to your food or beverages weekly. You’ll slowly adjust to this small but significant change in your diet.
Processed and packaged foods are a common source of hidden sugars therefore, aim for a diet rich in whole foods You’ll see remarkable changes in your weight while reducing your sugar intake considerably. If you want to buy a packaged food, first read the label to know how much sugar it contains. Soft drinks are one of the biggest sources of added sugar; hence, it’s better if you replace them with a sugar-free beverage, green tea or water.
Choose whole fruit over fruit juice. Though fruit juice contains natural fructose, it lacks the fiber of whole fruit, which is beneficial to your body in its own way. In addition to promoting healthy bowel function, fiber helps to reduce the insulin response. If you feel the urge to eat something sweet, feast on a bowl of fresh berries instead of a cookie. Barnes not only help satiate your sweet cravings and delight your taste buds, but also help give your body vitamins, minerals antioxidants and fiber it needs to function optimally— unlike sugar which gives you nothing in return.
References
BMJ 2o12;345:e7492 doi: lo.1136/bmj.e7492. Life Extension Magazine. “Prevent Gyration-Induced Skin Aging with Topical Nutrients”