10 Harmful Effects of Eating Too Much Sugar

Most of us love indulging in sweets, desserts, or any favourite sugary food or beverage.

Yes, I agree – it tastes heavenly!

Treating yourself occasionally is not bad. A little bit of sugar is okay but the problem arises when we start consuming it in excess and it becomes a part of regular or daily diet. Be it a direct sugar intake in tea, coffee, milk or hidden sugars in processed foods; we are surrounded by sugar in various forms.

Too much sugar can affect our health in multiple ways. This blog is about helping you understand these effects and health issues to make you more mindful of your dietary choices.

10 Side Effects of High Sugar Intake

Here is how excess sugar intake can affect your body.

Weight Gain

Sugar is a type of simple carbohydrate, in 5 grams (1 tsp), you get 20 calories.

Excess sugar intake can increase your calorie load and you may end up consuming more calories than your daily requirement. These extra calories get stored in our body as fat which increases the risk of overweight and obesity.

As per WHO, 1 in 8 people in the world were living with obesity in 2022. 37 million children under the age of 5 were overweight¹. This figure is expected to go up every year.

Studies suggest that sugar-containing beverages, colas, juices, etc. are the major contributors to obesity globally².

Solution?

Start reading nutrition facts and ingredient lists before buying any packaged product. Check the added sugar content. Avoid consuming high-sugar foods like cakes, cookies, pastries, pudding, desserts, chocolates, candies, etc. regularly.

Cardiovascular Disease Risk

Those consuming excess sugar are at risk of developing heart diseases³.

High sugar intake increases inflammation in the body which can affect heart functioning. Additionally, it can cause clogging of the arteries and increase harmful triglyceride and blood pressure levels.

All these risk factors increase the chances of cardiovascular disorders and stroke.

Diabetes Risk

High sugar intake also makes you more prone to diabetes. It increases inflammation which has been shown to inactivate the insulin-signaling pathway causing insulin resistance⁴.

Although there are several risk factors of diabetes but obesity is the major contributor.

Therefore, it is important to keep your sugar intake in control to minimize these metabolic disorders risk like obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. People with a family history should be more cautious.

Ageing and Wrinkled Skin

Ageing is a natural process and we all should embrace it. But that does not mean opting for poor food options, they may accelerate skin ageing.

High sugar intake can damage the skin’s natural collagen and elastin, causing premature visible signs of ageing like wrinkles, sagging, and fine lines.

This happens because of the production of advanced glycation end products formed as an interaction of protein and sugar. Studies suggest that these products may speed up skin ageing, especially during high sugar and refined carb intake.

Therefore, if you want a youthful skin and maintain its hydration and elasticity, keep a check on your sugar intake.

Fluctuation in Energy Levels

Being a simple carb source, sugar provides instant energy.

On consuming any sugary food or beverage, you may feel energetic as it causes a sudden blood sugar spike. However, this temporary rise is followed by an energy crash making you feel drained and lethargic.

This pattern is commonly observed in consuming refined carbs that lack dietary fiber.

For a constant energy supply, prefer a complex carb source containing fiber like whole grains. You can also pair your carb-rich food with lean proteins and healthy fats to prevent fluctuations in your energy levels and keep them stable.

Depression Risk

Low sugar intake has been linked with better psychological health⁵.

Several studies have been conducted to examine the link between sugar intake and depression. Experts suggest that people consuming high-sugar diets are at risk of developing depression.

As explained earlier high sugar intake increases inflammation in the body, which may affect our neurotransmitters and cognitive functioning.

When we eat something sweet, it is pleasurable and makes us feel happy. But after a certain period, the sudden crash in energy levels further accelerates sweet cravings because you feel low and end up loading more sugar.

This combined effect of food cravings, altered energy levels and neurotransmitter signalling affects overall brain health and memory resulting in depression, mood swings, anxiety and other emotional disorders.

Tooth Decay

Sugar will spoil your dental health – this has been a constant warning since childhood.

The natural bacteria in our mouth feed on the sugar we eat. More sugar we eat, higher are the chances of bacteria spoiling your teeth, causing dental cavities and tooth decay.

Joint Inflammation

Dietary sugar is one of the main causes of chronic inflammation.

Therefore, people with conditions like high uric acid, arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome (IBS) should avoid too much sugar intake.

Sugar can increase the levels of inflammatory cytokines in the body and worsen the symptoms like joint pain, swelling, redness, and stiffness⁶.

Fatty Liver

Yes, that’s correct! Not only alcohol, but sugar can also damage your liver.

Fructose is a type of sugar which is processed in our liver. Most of the carbonated beverages, sodas, and sugary drinks contain fructose.

When we consume carbohydrates, they are stored in our liver as glycogen for future use.

But what happens when the sugar load is high? The extra sugar – fructose gets converted to fat and is stored in the liver, causing fatty liver. This is termed as Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD).

You will be surprised to know that the prevalence of NAFLD has increased by 25.2% globally and by 2040, it is expected to affect 50% of the population⁷. Based on a recent study conducted in 2021, the overall pooled prevalence of NAFLD in India is 38.6% among adults and 35.4% among children⁸. 

Acne

Excess intake of sugary foods and beverages can also cause or aggravate skin acne. Too much sugar causes a spike in blood glucose and insulin levels. This stimulates more oil production, inflammation, and androgen secretion in the body, resulting in acne.

How Much Sugar is Too Much in a Day?

The amount may vary from person to person depending on various factors like physical activity, age, medical condition, lifestyle and many more.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends the following daily limits for added sugars:

• Men: No more than 9 teaspoons or 36 grams of added sugar per day.
• Women: No more than 6 teaspoons or 25 grams of added sugar per day.

As per the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), India; our sugar intake should be less than 10% of daily calorie intake.

However, based on current lifestyle, food choices and eating patterns, you may try limiting your sugar intake to 1-2 tsp (5-10 grams) daily.

To satisfy, your sweet cravings, consider better options like whole fruits, raisins, dates, dried fruits, and dark chocolate (70% or more cocoa content). Include whole grains and protein-rich foods in your diet to prevent unwanted cravings.

Conclusion

To sum up, the consequences of consuming excessive sugar extend far beyond just weight gain and tooth decay. While it is essential to acknowledge that sugar can be enjoyed in moderation, it is crucial to prioritize whole, nutrient-dense foods in our diets and minimize our intake of added sugars.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

1. World Health Organization: WHO. (2024, March 1). Obesity and overweight. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight ↩︎
2. Lin, X., & Li, H. (2021). Obesity: Epidemiology, pathophysiology, and Therapeutics. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2021.706978 ↩︎
3. Yang, Q., Zhang, Z., Gregg, E. W., Flanders, W. D., Merritt, R., & Hu, F. B. (2014). Added sugar intake and cardiovascular diseases mortality among US adults. JAMA Internal Medicine, 174(4), 516. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.13563 ↩︎
4. Basu, S., Yoffe, P., Hills, N. K., & Lustig, R. H. (2013). The Relationship of Sugar to Population-Level Diabetes Prevalence: An Econometric Analysis of Repeated Cross-Sectional data. PLOS ONE, 8(2), e57873. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0057873 ↩︎
5. Knüppel, A., Shipley, M. J., Llewellyn, C., & Brunner, E. J. (2017). Sugar intake from sweet food and beverages, common mental disorder and depression: prospective findings from the Whitehall II study. Scientific Reports, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-05649-7 ↩︎
6. Ma, X., Fang, N., Liang, H., Shu, P., Fan, X., Song, X., Hou, Y., & Zhang, D. (2022). Excessive intake of sugar: An accomplice of inflammation. Frontiers in Immunology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.988481 ↩︎
7. Huneault, H. E., Tovar, A., Sanchez-Torres, C., Welsh, J. A., & Vos, M. B. (2023). The impact and burden of dietary sugars on the liver. Hepatology Communications, 7(11). https://doi.org/10.1097/hc9.0000000000000297 ↩︎
8. Shalimar, S., Elhence, A., Bansal, B., Gupta, H., Anand, A., Singh, T. P., & Goel, A. (2022). Prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in India: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hepatology, 12(3), 818–829. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jceh.2021.11.010 ↩︎