5 facts you need to know about sugar and your health

Most of the foods we eat contain sugar, but not everyone knows how to choose foods containing sugar that are good for health. Below are 5 facts about sugar and health, according to Medical Daily.

Not all sugars are bad

Our bodies process most of the food we eat into sugar. The good sugar, or glucose, from carbohydrates like bread and pasta travels to every cell in our body, including our brain.

The second type of sugar is fructose. When eaten in large amounts in fruits and vegetables, fructose is harmless, but when consumed in foods like soft drinks and most processed foods like snacks, fructose can be harmful to our health. Fructose does not stimulate hormones like insulin, which are important in helping us feel full, says Kathleen Page, PhD, associate professor of clinical medicine at the Keck Institute of Medicine.

Sugar can be addictive

A little sugar can still stimulate the brain to release dopamine, a natural chemical in the brain that increases appetite and the motivation to eat. It is the same chemical that causes addiction like alcoholism and drug addiction. In a study by the University of Southern California (USA), people who ate foods containing fructose experienced more hunger and cravings than those who ate foods containing glucose.

Sugar ages the skin

We can’t blame the sun for premature aging of the skin alone. Too much sugar also breaks down collagen and elastin in the skin, preventing cells from repairing themselves. Worse still, there’s no way to repair the damage caused by premature wrinkles. The only way to reverse the damage is to keep sugar intake to a minimum or eliminate it from your diet.

Touch numbing line

High-sugar diets make us fat. Researchers have also recently found that chronic sugar consumption numbs the brain’s anorexigenic oxytocin system, which helps prevent overeating. When our brains don’t produce this hormone to signal that we’re full, we’re more likely to keep eating.

Sugar reduces BDNF

Brain neurotrophic factor (BDNF) helps our brains learn and form new memories. When BDNF levels are low, we can’t learn new things. Our memory declines. Some studies have even found a link between low BDNF and Alzheimer’s, depression, and dementia.

According to TNO