Reasons to Quit Sugar: It’s Not Just About Healthy Teeth
Reasons to Quit Sugar: It’s Not Just About Healthy Teeth?
Are you a sugar junky and need some GOOD reasons to quit sugar for good – or at least take a holiday from it? Here are 7 reasons to quit sugar today.
Reduce wrinkles
A diet high in sugar can accelerate the aging process and lead to an increase in wrinkles, sagging skin and dark circles under your eyes. When sugar enters your blood stream it binds with proteins to form a complex known quite literally as AGEs. AGEs or advanced glycation end products are toxic compounds produced every time you eat sugar. They fast track aging and wrinkles by damaging collagen and elastin, the proteins that keep your skin soft, supple and youthful. AGEs also make your skin more susceptible to sun damage. Quit sugar today and kiss AGEs goodbye.
Healthier from the inside out
Every organ in your body is happier and healthier when you quit sugar. Here’s a quick run down of how your body will be healthier from the inside out when you give up high sugar foods.
Liver – a diet high in refined sugars can increase your risk of developing the same type of liver damage caused by too much alcohol. Regular sugar is 50% fructose and high levels of fructose from simple, refined sugars found in cakes, biscuits, soft drinks and sweets (not fruit) are linked to non alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Pancreas – sugar forces your pancreas to work harder to produce more insulin. The more sugar you eat the harder your pancreas has to work. Flog your pancreas with a high sugar diet over many years and one day it will simply decide it’s had enough and quit. A worn out exhausted pancreas is a fast track to developing diabetes.
Kidneys – AGE’s, the toxic compound formed when sugar binds with proteins also slowly damage your kidneys. As your kidneys become progressively damaged by AGEs, their ability to remove and clear out these nasty age accelerators decreases so you age even faster.
Brain – whole books have been written comparing the addictiveness of sugar to cocaine. Thanks to modern neuroscience research we know that sugar literally hijacks and rewires your brains reward pathways making you crave more and more sugar. The effects on your brain don’t end there, it also slows brain function, hindering learning and memory and the inevitable blood sugar crash from that chocolate bar or can of fizzy drink also makes you cranky, irritable and tired. There is now good evidence that chronically elevated blood sugar levels leads to brain inflammation which can contribute to some forms of depression and increase your risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
Lower your risk of the leading cause of blindness in Australia
Age related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness amongst Australian and there is currently NO cure. It’s a chronic and progressive disease that leads to a loss of central vision and effects your ability to drive, recognise faces, read and perform day to day activities that require detailed vision. Whilst the visual problems caused by AMD don’t become evident after the age of 50, the damage starts long before then and there are no symptoms until it’s become so advanced that your vision is affected – and then it’s too late.
A diet filled with high glycemic and sugary foods increases your risk of developing AMD. Regular eye checks, not smoking, eating plenty of leafy greens AND quitting sugar all significantly reduce the risk and may slow the progression of AMD.
Quit sugar for healthy teeth and sweeter breath
If you still need more reasons to quit sugar, how about reduced dental bills due to healthier teeth and gums? Quitting sugar can also help with chronic bad breath problems as sugar literally feeds bad breath bacteria in your mouth that produce the volatile sulphur gases responsible for halitosis.