“Chocolate, lime juice, ice cream, toffeeya” in succession sounds like a great idea only when you’re watching Madhuri Dixit having a ball in our favourite Bollywood movie. When it comes to your life, real talk ladies, having a strong sweet tooth can have heavy consequences on your health. Take a look at what happens to your body when you let your sweet cravings run loose, and consume excess sugar.
1. Say hello to tooth decay
While some advice we receive in our childhood such as ‘Don’t swallow seeds, or you’ll grow a tree in you’ can be safely dismissed, the one with the ‘too many sweets can break your teeth’ is quite legit. When sugar makes contact with your tooth enamel, the result can lead to cavities, slowly eroding your pearly whites.
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2. A lot of weight gain
Over the years, medical reports and journals have confirmed the association of increased sugar intake to significant weight gain. While the glucose obtained from sugar is necessary for your metabolism, the excess is converted into fatty acids by your body and stored in your adipose cells – also known as the flab you find in your thighs, hips, stomach, and arms.
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3. Increased risk of diabetes and heart disease
Apart from a sedentary lifestyle and an increase of processed ‘fast food’ in our diet, sugar is linked to an early onset of diabetes, as well as heart problems way sooner than you hit your 50s or 60s! There’s a reason many around you are obsessed with fitness and giving their couch a break every now and then.
4. Severe addiction
The ‘feel good’ chemical dopamine that’s released when you eat sugary food (also released during sex) gives you that wonderful sugar rush, you’ve come to love. But the problem arises when you come down from your sweet high, and your body immediately alerts you that you need to get some more of that goodness in your system. This is where your addiction begins.
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5. Perpetual hunger
Artificially processed and refined foods are often loaded with sweeteners, that contain a lot of calories. Eating all those empty calories that don’t necessarily provide good nutritional intake, can cause you to overeat, making it difficult for your brain to signal that it’s time to stop. Psst! Remember this the next time you eat when you’re bored and not actually hungry too!
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6. Increasing mood changes
Following up on the addiction mentioned earlier, you can develop mood changes and even intense withdrawal symptoms if you’ve exposed your body to excess sugar for long periods of time and decide to lay off. Irritability, crankiness, sadness, and even anxiety are some of the symptoms that can occur when you overdo it.
7. Deficiency in nutrients
Think of all the healthy substitutes you should be eating instead! All those essential vitamins and minerals you could be receiving with a healthy diet quietly diminishing from your bones and your organs. The result is going to leave you feeling fatigued, vulnerable to diseases and, quietly sucker-punching your immune system to make you weak!
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Choose your health over everything else, ladies! Those boxes of glazed donuts will come and go, but you only have one life, so live it like a boss! #YOLO
Images: Shutterstock, Giphy
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