3. Weight Gain
Excess sugar consumption makes you fat. Of course, there are other factors such as activity level and metabolic rate that come into play, but the body burns sugar first for energy. What it can’t immediately use, it stores for when you need it—as fat.
In addition, eating too much sugar makes you overeat by suppressing the hormone leptin, which tells the body when to stop eating. If you feel tired and lethargic from consuming sugar, you’re less likely to exercise, too.
A rise in blood glucose stimulates insulin production to get it back down to normal levels. Insulin decreases blood sugar levels: when it fluctuates or gets too low, your body thinks it needs more fuel. So you eat even when you don’t really need to. (5)
On the other hand, proteins keep us active and awake. Eating protein stimulates orexins, which make you feel alert and promote active metabolism to burn calories. (6)
4. Frequent Cold and Flu
Too much sugar depresses the immune system. That’s because glucose reduces the activity of white blood cells, which are responsible for killing pathogens like viruses. (7)
Eating too much sugar on a regular basis makes us more susceptible to whatever contagion may be floating around because our bodies are less able to fight it.
Read more: foods to avoid with diabetes
5. Dull Taste Buds
Many people define a sweet taste as pleasant. Our tongue gets used to different flavors and sugar is no exception.
British researchers found that overweight people have a dulled sensitivity to tasting sweets and a liking for sweet food. In the same study, healthy and fit people who began to drink 2 soft drinks a day had dulled taste buds and sugar cravings after only 4 weeks.
“Our subconscious drive plays a huge role in what food choices we make, and as overweight people feel hungrier they are more affected by their subconscious drive for sweet high calorie foods,” wrote the study. (8)
Similarly, a 2016 study found that after a month of cutting down on dietary sugar, the experimental group found they were more sensitive to sweet flavors. Therefore, if you cut down on sugar, food will begin to taste sweeter without it. (9) Sweet!