How Eating Less Sugar can Change Your Life

According to experts, Americans consume 22 teaspoons of carbohydrates in sugar daily. A number of individuals are falling prey to heart diseases, diabetes, and other disorders. Scientists have agreed that increased intake of sugar increases the liver’s production of triglycerides and cholesterol, both of which increase the chance of suffering from various cardiac diseases.  

One of the benefits of consuming less sugar carbohydrates is that it can cut the risk of developing heart disease and other related diseases in half. Eliminating carbohydrates in the form of sugar from your diet is essential to lower the body fat percentage and to reduce diabetes. 

 Here are some additional benefits of eating less sugar:

1. Increase in energy levels and productivity: Avoiding intake of sugared carbohydrates actually increases energy, allowing you to do more productive things. Although sugar is highly essential for the body, processed sugar is harmful to the body’s digestive system because it forces the body to spend most of its energy digesting it. The energy gained by eating sugar is short lived. Eating large amounts of sugar can cause our body to become used to it, which increases our insulin levels. This can be quite dangerous, as the body gets used to excess sugar and is not able to survive on lower levels of sugar. Excess sugar consumption can also lead to conditions such as diabetes.
 

2. Weight loss: Reducing your sugar intake generally leads to weight loss due to the decrease in overall calorie consumption. Since sugar is mostly carbohydrates, the decrease in carbohydrates can ensure that you burn off excess calories. However, to effectively burn calories, you need to do physical exercise.
 

3. Lowers risk of heart disease: Replacing the sugar in your diet with other alternatives can actually reduce the risk of heart disease by as much as 25%. It also lowers the triglyceride level by as much as 50% and increases the level of artery-clearing HDL cholesterol.
 

4. Prevents yeast infection: One of the most common types of yeast infections is Candida. This infection is common in people who are taking antibiotics. Candida feeds on sugar and carbohydrates. Reducing sugar intake decreases your risk of developing this infection.
 

5. Better Dental Care: The first sign of excess sugar intake, especially among children, is deteriorating dental hygiene. Increased intake of sugar causes a lot of problems, especially related to the teeth and gums, and may lead to easy infection by tartar.
 

Eating lesser sugars has benefited people in different ways and can be an important step towards leading a healthier life. Nutrition and medical experts agree that Americans eat too much sugar, and the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend cutting back on the sweet stuff. If you reduce the amount of sugar you eat, you may have more energy, lose weight or stay at a healthy weight more easily, see your triglycerides drop, have fewer dental cavities and even look younger.

Fewer "Crashes"

Reactive hypoglycemia is the “crash” -- sleepiness, hunger, anxiety and other symptoms -- that some people experience one to three hours after eating a meal. Avoiding sugary foods, especially on an empty stomach, can help stave off these dips in blood sugar, according to the Mayo Clinic. So can eating smaller, more frequent meals, and eating more protein and high-fiber foods instead of simple sugars.

Healthier Weight

Sugar contributes to weight gain in one obvious way -- sugar-laden treats tend to be high in calories and often high in fat, and low in fiber and other nutrients. But evolving research also supports the idea that sugars and refined carbs may independently contribute to obesity and metabolic syndrome, a precursor to diabetes, regardless of how many calories you eat, says "The New York Times" science writer Gary Taubes. Unlike glucose, fructose is processed mostly by the liver. Animal studies have shown that the liver will turn an overabundance of fructose into fat. The two sweeteners most commonly added to foods, table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, are roughly half fructose and half glucose.

Lower Trigylcerides

Eating too much sugar can raise the level of triglycerides, or fats, in your blood, according to the Mayo Clinic. Higher triglyceride levels may boost your risk of heart disease.

Fewer Cavities

It’s well known that sugar is bad for your teeth. When you eat sugar, a sticky combo of carbohydrates and protein forms on your teeth and traps bacteria. The bacteria use fructose to create lactic acid, which wears away tooth enamel. Besides brushing and flossing regularly, eating less sugar, especially between meals, can help prevent cavities.

Youthful Looks

Dermatologist Dr. Fredric Brandt, author of “10 Minutes/10 Years,” claims that sugar contributes to the breakdown of two skin proteins, elastin and collagen, and that simply cutting out the sweets can make you look younger. He recommends cutting out all kinds of sugar, as well as wheat and other grains with gluten, yeast, most fruit and foods high on the glycemic index, a scale that measures how quickly a food raises your blood sugar.

A low-sugar diet isn't just about a great smile anymore; according to studies found in some of America's leading medical publications, including the Journal of the American Medical Association, switching to a low-sugar diet is one of the best things you can do for heart, your appetite, and even your mind.

Better Cholesterol Numbers

A low-sugar diet is associated with higher levels of HDL, or "good" cholesterol, according to an April 2010 news release by the "Journal of the American Medical Association." The key finding of the study, as reported by Jean Welsh and colleagues at Emory University was that sugar consumption has a strong association with HDL cholesterol levels. People who consumed higher levels of added sugar in their diet tended to have lower levels of HDL.

Weight Control

According to Richard J Johnson, MD, chief of the Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension at the University of Colorado in Denver, fructose adversely alters the balance of two hormones, leptin and ghrelin, which control human appetite and satiety. Fructose, especially high fructose corn syrup, is the type of sugar most commonly used in the production of processed foods and sugar-sweetened beverages. Mayo Clinic nutritionist Katherine Zeratsky recommends reducing fructose consumption by limiting consumption of processed foods and choosing whole fruits instead of soda or sweetened juices.

Possible Protection Against Memory Problems

In a study published in 2007 by the "Journal of Biological Chemistry," Dongfeng Cao and colleagues describe tests done with two groups of mice. One group was given low-fat rodent food and water; the other was given low-fat rodent food and free access to a liquid sweetened with the same types of sugar usually used in soda. The relative sugar concentration of the liquid--about 11 percent--was the same as that of soda.

The study found that after six months, the mice in the water group did significantly better on memory tests than the mice in the sugar group. Also, the sugar group had developed beta-amyloid protein plaques in their brains, which in humans are associated with Alzheimer's disease. Although findings from animal research don't necessarily transfer to humans, this is nevertheless an interesting finding.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/195483-what-are-the-benefits-of-a-low-sugar-diet/#ixzz2WRuFAxLU

http://www.newsmax.com/FastFeatures/carbohydrates-diabetes-calorie-sugar/2010/11/24/id/378085

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/benefits-lowering-sugar-intake-4563.html