7 Signs You're Eating Too Much Sugar (And 3 Ways to Stop)

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According to the American Heart Association (AHA), the average American adult consumes an average of 20 teaspoons per day. That is 3 times more than the recommended daily consumption! It gets even worse for children where they consume an average of 22 teaspoons of added sugars per day.

The American Heart Association recommends that sugar intake should not be more than 9 teaspoons (150 calories) for men and no more than 6 teaspoons (100 calories) for women and children (AHA, 2018). Consuming more than the recommended amount is considered excessive. Imagine drinking a 12-ounce soda containing 8 teaspoons of added sugar, that’s your whole day of sugar allotment in one can!

Signs and symptoms that indicate too much sugar consumption

How can you know if you are already consuming too much sugar without measuring every single teaspoon of sugar you consume? Here are some warning signs that your body is sending you that it’s time to cut down your sugar intake:

1. You have skin breakouts

Your face says it all. If you are having another breakout yet again after those skincare products, maybe it has nothing to do with your skincare routine. You may have to blame it on your sugar intake! An increase in sugar consumption raises the body’s insulin levels that trigger inflammation. This causes your body to make more sebum making your skin oily. Both the inflammation and the increase of sebum production can lead to the development of acne (AAD).

Other research found that overconsumption of sugar can cause not only acne but also wrinkles and saggy skin. Excess sugar permanently attaches to the collagen in your body. This creates harmful molecules called Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs). The collagen and elastin that is responsible for the firming of skin is damaged because of these harmful molecules. Therefore, causing acne breakouts and aged skin (Hughes, 2019).

2. You feel lethargic and tired all the time

Most people think sugar can make them more alert and focused, but the truth is it does the opposite. You may feel a boost of energy whenever you eat sweets. This is because when sugar hits your bloodstream, it spikes your blood sugar levels. However, since sugar is an empty calorie with no other nutrients aside from carbohydrates, it subsequently causes your blood sugar to crash making you feel tired. Excessive sugar intake will make your blood-sugar fluctuate with series of sugar rush and crash, causing you to feel fatigued.

3. You constantly crave sugary things

Let’s admit it! Eating sweet and sugary food has always felt rewarding and oddly satisfying. This is because eating sugary food is associated with pleasure, thus it activating the reward center of the brain. Thus, if you eat sugar-containing food, your brain produces more dopamine (pleasure hormone) which makes you want and crave more.

As you consume more and more sugar, your tolerance level builds up. Over time, you will be needing more sugar to feel more rewarded. This creates a cycle of sugar consumption and tolerance build-up—making you crave more sweets.

4. You change moods more than usual

Excessive sugar triggers inflammation and consequently triggers the production of different hormones that affect your mood. Research suggests that overconsumption of sugar is associated with depression and mood swings.

Sugary foods affect the gut bacteria which causes them to produce hormones such as dopamine (pleasure hormone), serotonin (happy hormone), and epinephrine (adrenaline) that are involved in mood regulation.

5. You are gaining some weight

This is probably not new to you, consuming more sugar gives you more weight. Many studies suggested that there is a link between excessive sugar consumption and weight gain. Excess calories from any food causes excess weight and sugar is one of the easiest foods to eat in excess

A teaspoon of sugar only has 20 calories. It doesn’t sound much, however, drinking a sugary drink like a can of A&W or Dr. Pepper can have 150 calories! Imagine drinking soda together with your meal every day, you’ll be consuming almost 500 calories with just drinking soda. All of these excess calories will be stored in your body as fat causing you to gain weight.

6. You are hungry all the time

Sugars do not contain any other nutrients except for carbohydrates—no vitamins, no minerals. Just empty calories. Thus, consuming them will not make you satiated or feel full causing you to eat more food than you need. Another reason for your hungry state is the hormone called insulin. It is a hormone that signals our brain that we are hungry. If you eat too much sugar, the level of insulin in your blood will rise to match the amount of sugar you just consumed.

After some time of constant excessive sugar intake, your body will get used to overproducing insulin—causing you to still feel hungry even after a snack. Eventually, this will cause you to overeat and gain more weight.

7. Your high blood sugar is higher than usual

Yup! It’s not just excess sodium that makes your blood pressure high, excess sugar is also a culprit. According to research, sugars may be worse than salt for blood pressure (DiNicolantonio, 2014). The scientific way to explain this phenomenon is the resistance and overproduction of insulin. As discussed in previous points, sugar intake triggers insulin production. If insulin levels rise at a constant pace, insulin resistance may develop. This prevents the blood vessels to relax and function well, causing a rise in blood pressure. Adverse effects of prolonged excessive sugar intake

These signs and symptoms are just warning signs that your body tells you when you have excessive sugar intake over a short time. However, prolonged overconsumption of sugar can develop some chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and obesity (Ndumele, n.d).

Diabetes. The overproduction of insulin in the blood can result in insulin resistance. Once you stop responding to insulin, your body can no longer maintain normal blood sugar levels. This will lead to the development of Type II diabetes. When you are diagnosed with diabetes, you have to constantly watch what you eat to prevent complications.

Cardiovascular disease. The constant rise in your blood pressure hurts your heart and causes blocks in your blood vessels. With your blood vessels not functioning normally, blood pressure rises consequently increasing your risk in developing cardiovascular diseases.

Obesity. One of the warning signs of excessive sugar intake is feeling hungry all the time. This will cause you to overeat and store excessive food as fats. If this overeating goes on, more and more fat will be stored in your body resulting in overweight or obesity.

Ways on how you can reduce or lessen your high sugar consumption

As much as eating sweets gives us the feeling of pleasure, it also gives us not-so-sweet consequences. To avoid these, you must take an action in managing your excessive sugar intake. Here are 3 simple ways you can do it:

1. Avoid processed and sugary food in general

Avoiding foods containing high added sugars is the best way to cut sugar intake. Most foods with high sugar can be found in processed foods like soda, energy drinks, candies, sauces, and dressings. Cutting on these processed foods will drastically reduce your sugar intake.

2. Swap those added sugars

If you can’t live without the sweet taste of sugar, try other alternatives. Instead of adding syrups to your breakfast cereal, try tossing in some fruits that contain natural sugars. You can also try replacing added sugars with extracts such as vanilla, almond, cinnamon, or nutmeg. Can’t live without cookies? You can adjust your recipes and replace sugars with unsweetened applesauce or try using a no-calorie sweetener suitable for baking.

3. Check the label of your groceries

You may be skipping your favorite desserts to reduce your sugar intake but you’re probably unconsciously eating more sugar! This is because sugar is in a lot of foods hiding in different names and forms. Learn how to read nutrition labels. Knowing the names for sugar in your food labels may help you to avoid it. Some names you need to look for in your grocery packs are syrups, nectars, and words ending in “-ose” such as fructose, dextrose, maltose. So read those food labels carefully! Don’t let those sneaky sugar trick you because sugar is sugar, whatever name or form it takes!

Everything excessive is bad. Consuming too much sugar may have adverse effect on health including acne, mood swings, weight gain, and other chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. Sugars are present in many foods, thus, it best to know where you can find these added sugars to avoid it.