Balihow – Excessive sugar consumption is often linked to health problems like obesity and tooth decay.
Healthy diet guides and advice on breaking fast often emphasize controlling sugar intake to prevent insulin spikes.
However, some people feel weak if they don’t consume any sugar at all.
So, is sugar harmful or beneficial for the body?
Read also: 5 Types of Dates That Tend Not to Raise Blood Sugar
The Consequences of Too Much Sugar
According to Medical News Today (9/13/2023), excessive sugar consumption can have adverse effects on health.
Here are some health problems that can arise from increased glucose levels in the blood:
- Diabetes
- Heart disease
- Liver disease
- Damage to the retina
- Muscle and nerve damage
- Increased risk of dementia
- Tooth decay
- Colon cancer
- Pancreatic cancer
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Kidney disease
- Inflammation
- Skin aging
- Obesity
Read also: What Vegetables Lower Blood Sugar? Here’s a List of 20
On the other hand, the body still needs sugar in sufficient quantities. Here’s how the body manages sugar intake.
The Role of Sugar in the Body
The body manages sugar by breaking it down using digestive enzymes (amylase) in the mouth.
The sugar then travels through the digestive tract and is absorbed into the bloodstream as glucose.
This raises blood sugar levels, causing the pancreas to release the hormone insulin. Insulin is a hormone that tells cells to absorb glucose.
High glucose levels can cause increased insulin production, while low levels cause a decrease in this hormone.
The body needs healthy insulin levels to function properly.
If there is too little insulin or it does not function properly, the body can develop diabetes.
Therefore, the body needs natural sugars to meet nutritional needs and maintain healthy insulin levels.
A healthy sugar content is necessary for the body to help the brain, central nervous system, and red blood cells function correctly.
Read also: 5 Fruits That Can Lower High Blood Sugar – What Are They?
The positive and negative effects of sugar are also related to the type of sugar consumed.
Types of Sugar
According to Health (9/6/2024), sugar is a form of carbohydrate, and every cell in the body uses glucose (a form of sugar) as an energy source.
Glucose is a substance produced by the body when breaking down protein, fat, and other carbohydrates (fructose, galactose, maltose, and lactose).
There are two types of sugar: natural sugars and added sugars.
Natural sugars are found naturally in foods, such as fructose (sugar in fruit) and lactose (sugar in milk).
Meanwhile, added sugars come from brown sugar, cane sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, and others. Added sugars are usually mixed into food ingredients.
Added sugars are considered “empty calories” because foods containing a lot of added sugar do not have the same nutritional value as foods containing natural sugars.
Ringkasan
Excessive sugar consumption is often associated with various health problems, including obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. While many dietary guidelines emphasize controlling sugar intake, the body requires sugar in sufficient quantities for proper function, particularly for the brain, central nervous system, and red blood cells.
There are two main types of sugar: natural sugars (like fructose and lactose) and added sugars (such as cane sugar and high-fructose corn syrup). Natural sugars are found in fruits and milk, while added sugars are often mixed into food ingredients. Added sugars are often considered “empty calories” due to their lack of nutritional value compared to foods with natural sugars.