24 ways sugar is making you sick

Ending a bad day with a bowl of icecream may make you feel worse in the long run. In 2015, Columbia University Medical Center researchers found post-menopausal women with diets high in added sugars and refined grains were at an increased risk of new-onset depression, while the risk decreased in subjects who ate more dietary fibre, whole grains, vegetables and unprocessed fruits.

Don’t miss these signs you could be headed for early menopause.

Your childhood dentist was right – sugar causes cavities. Here’s how it happens:

You sip a sweet coffee shop beverage.

Bacteria in your mouth thrive on sugar, which provides them with energy.

Those micro-organisms multiply, creating a film of plaque on the surface of your teeth.

The plaque produces an acid that dissolves the minerals that make up the hard surface of your teeth.

The longer plaque builds up, the worse the damage. Tiny holes appear and expand until they become cavities.

Find out which foods are worse for your teeth than lollies.

Most kids grow up learning about the connection between candy and cavities. As it turns out, a high-sugar diet also inflames your gums and increases your risk of periodontal disease, based on a 2014 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. (Signs of periodontal disease include bad breath, bleeding gums and sensitive teeth.)

Though some researchers quibble with the idea that sugar is addictive, past studies, including a 2015 paper out of MIT, do show that the sweet stuff elevates levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which forms a key part of the brain’s reward and pleasure centres, in a way that’s remarkably similar to the effects of tobacco and morphine. “There’s growing evidence that sugar leads to cravings and withdrawal, which are the hallmarks of addictive disorders,” says Schmidt. “You can see the effects on an MRI.” Now, Australian researchers have discovered that drugs typically used to treat nicotine and cocaine addiction, such as varenicline, could be employed to help so-called sugar addicts kick their habits as well.

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Source: RD Canada