Sugar is delicious and helps with energy slumps and low moods. But it is also unhealthy. What effects does high sugar consumption have on the body and what effects does giving up sweets have?
A donut here, a scoop of ice cream there – sweets are good for your mood and give you energy. That’s why we crave them especially when we’re stressed or need a mood booster. However, the effect is only short-lived. And in the long run, high sugar consumption is detrimental to your health and is suspected of promoting diseases such as diabetes, obesity, Alzheimer’s and depression.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the German Nutrition Society (DGE) recommend that children should not consume more than ten percent of their daily calorie intake from sweets. For adults, the maximum is 25 to 50 grams of sugar. That’s about three to six teaspoons. Maximum – but ideally as little as possible. In fact, Germans consume an average of 95 grams of sugar per person per day. No wonder, since this type of sugar, including honey, syrup, fruit juice and agave syrup, is found in almost all foods – including sausage and bread.
Is sugar addictive?
Giving up sugar is in. People are reporting on their own detox experiments on social media, blogs and YouTube. They talk about pounding headaches and extreme tiredness at the beginning, but also about an energy boost and better sleep after a few days of sugar abstinence. Can that be true?
Whether sugar is addictive or not is a controversial issue in science. There are also factors that speak against it. While researchers have observed that rodents experience withdrawal symptoms when they are deprived of sugar, there is no such evidence for humans. For example, headaches are often reported in connection with giving up sugar, but studies do not prove this. Instead, it has been found that people who thought they were consuming sugar but were actually given sweeteners did not complain of headaches. So are these supposed withdrawal symptoms nothing more than a product of our imagination?
Not necessarily. Sweets activate the reward system in our brain. Dopamine is released, which is also known as the happiness hormone. The result: the increase in dopamine levels makes us feel better. If the dopamine boost disappears, it affects our mood.
Sugar causes highs and energy slumps
At the same time, sugar consumption can also trigger a sugar high, because the increase in blood sugar levels makes us feel more awake for a short time and our mood improves. Blood sugar levels are regulated down by the release of insulin. If the blood sugar curve rises very steeply, due to the consumption of products with a high sugar content such as soft drinks, a blood sugar spike occurs, which in turn leads to a higher release of insulin and a very rapid drop in blood sugar levels. This sometimes causes us to fall below our normal level, and the body counteracts this with adrenaline. This can lead to us feeling stressed on the one hand and cravings on the other. A condition that is also known as “hangry”.
Then there is the issue of getting used to it. If we change our diet as part of a sugar abstinence and suddenly eat only hearty foods instead of sweet ones, then the blood sugar curve after eating will not rise as much as usual. The body and brain must first get used to this situation. It is therefore conceivable that a feeling of exhaustion and general malaise will arise, especially at the beginning of this adjustment period.
These are the effects of avoiding sugar in the short and long term
- We taste different: After just a few days, the brain adapts to the change in sugar consumption. This has an impact on taste perception – it becomes more subtle and sweetness is perceived more intensely, even in small amounts. The longer you go without sugar, the greater this effect becomes. People who previously consumed a lot of sugar also feel it more strongly than those who already consumed little sugar.
- Bye, bad breath: Oral bacteria love sugar, for many it is the basis of their diet. If they are denied sugar, their reproduction is also reduced. The fewer odor-producing bacteria there are in the mouth, the fresher the breath.
- Blood pressure drops: Blood pressure begins to drop in the first two weeks. The strength of the effect depends on the amount of sugar consumed beforehand. Some people notice little or nothing of the lower blood pressure, while others experience circulatory problems and feel tired and weak. Once this transition period is over, giving up sugar leads to, among other things, an increase in energy and better sleep.
- The kilos are falling off: Giving up sugar can lead to weight loss after just one week. Several studies have shown this. This is due, among other things, to insulin, which is released in response to the increase in blood sugar levels. Insulin blocks fat burning. “In the short term, giving up table sugar prevents your blood sugar levels from rising quickly and sharply. Your pancreas only has to release a small amount of insulin to transport the sugar into the cells. This means that there is no excess blood sugar, which would otherwise be converted into fat in the liver and fatty tissue,” explains nutritionist Claus Leitzmann.
- The inflammation levels decrease: Studies have shown that sugar consumption can also cause some inflammatory levels in the blood to rise and that these levels decrease when you stop eating it. This means that avoiding sugar can also help reduce inflammation in the body.
- The body rehabilitates itself: After just ten to 14 days, the body begins to recover. This also includes the fact that certain physical complaints caused by too much sugar can be alleviated or even reversed. Improvements have been observed in people with fatty liver disease or insulin resistance.
A short-term, radical avoidance of sugar is of no use to your health in the long term. A seven-day abstinence is a nice attempt, but if you then eat as much sugar as before, you have gained nothing. It is better to change your diet so that sugar consumption is permanently lower. As is so often the case, the dose makes the poison.
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Source: Stern
I’m Caroline, a journalist and author for 24 Hours Worlds. I specialize in health-related news and stories, bringing real-world impact to readers across the globe. With my experience in journalism and writing in both print and online formats, I strive to provide reliable information that resonates with audiences from all walks of life.
