1. Increases inflammation in the body: Our bodies aren’t designed to consume the quantities of sugar we see in modern western diets and our digestive system goes into a frenzy trying to cope. Inflammation is our body’s reaction to this. Inflammation has been linked to many diseases such as arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, certain cancers and degenerative conditions. The pharmaceutical industry focuses on coming up with anti-inflammatory drugs and other cures for this inflammation, instead of looking at what may be causing the inflammation. One of the biggest offenders of inflammation is sugar. By sugar we mean table sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, honey (even raw), maple sugar, corn sweetener, dextrose, glucose, fructose and any other word that ends in an “ose”, barley malt, rice syrup, liquid cane sugar, concentrated fruit juices etc. Every time we eat as little as 2 teaspoons of sugar we change our body’s chemistry and disrupt homeostasis (the wonderful balance in the body needed for maintenance and repair)
2. Sugar depletes essential vitamins and minerals: When our body chemistry changes it causes our minerals to change relationship with each other. No mineral is an island; minerals can only function in relation to each other. When one of the mineral levels drops in the bloodstream, it’s a sure thing that other minerals cannot function as well and can become toxic or deficient. As a result of this vitamins and minerals depletion, our overall health can be compromised. Think irregular periods, lower immunity, increased infection, anxiety, depression and gut health issue like irritable bowel syndrome.
3. Reduces fertility: Around this time of year we are bombarded with little treats filled with refined sugar at every turn; cakes, biscuits, cocktails, wine, fudge, sweets, the list goes on. It can be difficult to not indulge, even a little! But if you are worried about fertility issues it may be a good idea to look into alternatives to sugary foods, most importantly refined white sugars. So how does sugar affect your hormone levels? When you consume sugar it is broken down quickly by the body, this raises your insulin levels too quickly; which in turn causes your sugar levels to plummet, leaving the body drained and exhausted. This is what is referred to as “fight or flight” reaction in the body. The drop in sugar levels signals our adrenal glands to release the hormone cortisol and adrenalin in an attempt to replenish sugar levels. Repeated stimulation of the adrenal glands can cause them to weaken and become sluggish, which may result in hormonal imbalance. Other endocrine glands are not being signalled to release their hormones and the entire communication of the endocrine system becomes broken. The repeated stimulation of the adrenal glands affects the hormone levels of estrogen, progesterone and the androgens DHEA and testosterone. This goes for both men and women. It also impacts women’s fertility on another level. Because progesterone and cortisol compete for the same receptor binding sites in the body. And as we all know, when there’s a fight no one really wins.
4. Sugar leads to insulin resistance: the more sugar we eat, the more insulin we release, eventually leading to insulin resistance. We rely on the pancreas to secrete insulin in order to convert the sugar in our blood to energy in our cells. Over consumption of sugary foods requires the pancreas to work harder producing more and more insulin. Insulin resistance is linked to issues with ovulation and puts women at a much higher risk of miscarriage. Women with insulin resistance are 4-5 times more likely to have a miscarriage. It is also a key factor for most women suffering with PCOS.
5. Increases PMS symptoms: ‘That’ time of the month means hormones need to be happy in order to keep everything running smoothly. Too much sugar will not only create unhappy hormones but also bad cramps and crazy cravings.
