It’s almost amazing how little people know about the harmful effects of sugar and in spite of being so bad for human health, it’s now an inseparable part of the food industry. While we all have a vague idea that eating too much sugar is bad for health and it can add significantly to our weight, we generally don’t have a clear perception of how exactly sugar makes us fat. That’s about to change for you though because you are about to find out.
Insulin Resistance
Primarily tasked with regulating the metabolism and energy usage within the human body, the pancreatic hormone is responsible for getting the glucose out of our blood and into the cells. Insulin is secreted in great amounts by the pancreas when the blood glucose level rises too high and glucose toxicity becomes a possibility. Excess sugar consumption can lead to insulin resistance wherein the cells stop responding to insulin as readily as they did before and, as a result, your blood insulin level is always high. While this may lead to more serious conditions such as full-blown Type 2 diabetes as well, gaining fat is almost an inevitable side effect. What happens can be classified into two categories as follows.
• The excess insulin prevents the burning of fat and glucose as a source of energy since the insulin instructs the fat cells to pick up more fat and store it, instead of letting it burn as energy
• As the fat and the glucose are not readily available anymore, we become even more hungry and overeat to supply the body with the energy it needs to function
Leptin Resistance
Leptin is a hormone that’s secreted directly from the fat cells and it is used by the human brain as a determinant of fat storage. As the blood leptin increases due to fat consumption and consequent storage, the brain detects that and signals the body to stop feeling hungry in order to prevent obesity. A high level of leptin also increases our metabolic rate, which helps us to burn fat naturally. As you can see, leptin is pretty useful and essential for fat control and that’s exactly what sugar prevents. Excess consumption of sugar (fructose in particular) leads to raised blood triglyceride levels and that prevents the leptin from ever reaching the brain and signaling that it’s time to stop eating. Also, excess sugar in any form can also make the brain “blind” to leptin, which means that it won’t be able to detect the leptin anymore and, therefore, won’t signal the body to stop eating when it normally should.
Sugar is More Addictive than Cocaine
A study found that lab rats addicted to cocaine and sugar chose sugar when given an option, so it should come as no surprise that people can’t seem to stop eating sugar. If you can’t stop eating large amounts of something that causes leptin and insulin resistance and doesn’t satiate hunger because it essentially has no necessary nutrients, getting fat is just an unavoidable side effect, alongside many others.
If you think you are addicted to sugar (chocolates, sweets, raw sugar, and even sweet fruits) and you are getting fat because of it, it’s time to act before it’s too late. Check out some of these weight loss programs that will help you to shed that extra weight by not only cutting down on sugar but a lot of other foods that are likely contributing to the excess fat gain.
It isn’t only that sugar is responsible for making you fat because there are ways in which sugar can actually kill you, and in some ways, it’s even worse than alcohol.
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