Sugar causes obesity, diabetes, tooth decay, age skin and drive disease - but it also leaves you craving more

Our love of sugar is very real. Research shows the average sugar intake is from 15-19 teaspoons per day of free sugars per person.

This is more than two times the World Health Organisation’s recommended daily sugar intake of six teaspoons daily.

Free sugar is not what we add ourselves to our meals, rather sugar added to pre-made food products and beverages.

Sugar has a bad reputation because of its links to increased disease risk. Before I explain how sugar harms us I want to point out that sugar is not always bad for us. Our body does need glucose for survival and our body makes glucose from the foods we eat, one of the many amazing roles of our incredible liver.

The body breaks down carbohydrates into glucose and stores it as glycogen for us to always have energy. Sugar is a carbohydrate.

There are two types of sugar, added and natural. Natural is what is found in the food we eat such as lactose in milk and fructose in fruit. Added sugar is extracted from sugar cane then processed and added to ingredients in prepared foods to sweeten the foods and beverages we consume.

These prepared foods don’t generally contain many nutrients such as vitamins and minerals, rather a quick hit of energy. Added sugar is really popular in the food industry as it thickens, adds taste, bulks and prevents mould forming so it can be seen as a preservative.

But too much sugar in the diet is dangerous and drives diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and tooth decay — and is the root cause of illness.

Consuming sugar increases cravings for more sugar, it speeds up the brain’s reward centre leading to wanting more sugar, overeating and over time becoming obese. This overeating disrupts the feelings of satiety.

We were told as kids sugar leads to rotten teeth. Sugar adheres to bacteria in our mouth forming plaque, the bacteria wears down tooth enamel leading to cavities and decay.

As for the sugar highs and lows, these are from refined carbohydrates such as soft drinks, sweets, cakes, junk foods, white bread and white rice. You feel energetic for a short period of time you will crash after.

Sugar excess can also change how the brain functions. Added sugar is linked to degenerative disorders such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Research shows those with a poor diet full of fat and sugar, no matter what age, have an increased risk of cognitive impairment and this is due to the impact of sugar-related inflammation on the central nervous system and brain.

Weight gain is obvious as sugar is high in calories but also has next to no nutritional value plus you don’t get a feeling of fullness from sugar leading to increased appetite from the sugar highs and lows. This cycle leads to weight gain.

Sugar slows down collagen repair in the skin. Collagen is the matrix holding our skin together, so instead of healthy skin ageing is accelerated, more wrinkles and skin healing is poor.

When it comes to stress, sugar can lower cortisol, our stress hormone but over time of constant stress, the feelings of stress return, more sugar is consumed and inflammation starts, plus weight gain and so on.

For general health too much share will create oxidative stress (damage to cells) damaging tissues and organs increasing the risk of diseases such as fatty liver, cancer, diabetes, cognitive decline and heart disease.

If you have a sweet tooth, see fruit as your sugar. Look at the labels of the foods in your diet and the best tip moving forward is to eat whole real foods.