Sugar comes in a wide range of forms and names from corn syrup to cane juice. Because of its prevalence in mainstream diets, the majority of Americans consume over 50 teaspoons of sugar each and every day. Studies show that consuming this volume of sugar on a regular basis can negatively affect your health and cause a variety of diseases or conditions. Although leading health experts believe that limiting your daily sugar intake is imperative for maintaining positive health and avoiding diseases, cutting it out of your diet can be difficult.
Negative Health Effects of Sugar
Consuming significant quantities of sugar on a daily basis is proven to negatively impact your short and long-term health. In fact, millions of Americans suffer from the following conditions because of their sugar intake:
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Poor immune performance
- Chromium deficiency
- Tooth decay
- Gum disease
- Heart disease
- Anxiety
- Vitamin deficiency
If these conditions aren’t enough to cause you to rethink your diet, consider the following reasons to refrain from consuming sugar:
- Sugar forces the pancreas to work harder to create insulin. As a result, diabetes has the potential to develop once the pancreas are unable to remove sugar from the bloodstream.
- Hyperactivity in children is directly linked to sugar intake
- Sugar reduces the body’s white blood cell count and the ability to fend off harmful germs or diseases.
- Sugar is proven to cause mood fluctuations, anxiety, and irritability.
- Sugar has the ability to reduce healthy forms of cholesterol and increase low-density cholesterol, which contributes to heart disease and stroke.
Healthy Alternatives To Sugar
There are plenty of ways you can sweeten up your diet without the use of sugar. Instead of sprinkling processed sugar on your meal, replace it with organic honey, dates, or raisins. Sweeteners like Stevia are great substitutes that have zero calories and do not affect blood sugar levels. For more information on how to replace sugar or remove it from your diet, contact our office to schedule a free consultation.
Our Atlanta Chiropractors aren’t just experts at treating musculoskeletal conditions and injuries; we also specialize in health and wellness which includes personal nutrition. We help hundreds of patients each year maximize their health by adjusting their diets and adding more exercise to their routines. If you are interested in supporting your long-term health or would like to address some type of chronic pain, contact our office today – just dial (404) 889-8828 to speak with one of our staff members.