Our last blog post was about "Clean Eating" and we learned that this diet consciously avoids additives such as preservatives, colourings and flavour enhancers. However, sugar was also one of these additives.

Yes, sugar. Because this ingredient has quite a lot to offer when it comes to our health.

And for this very reason, we look at what damage to health can be avoided by giving up sugar.

That sounds hard for you? You're definitely not wrong. After all, who doesn't like to eat half a bar of chocolate in front of the TV after a long day at work? Drink a cool Coke as a welcome refreshment in summer? Or take a few sweet pastries to the bakery for coffee and cake?

Sugar is present almost everywhere in our everyday lives and is an integral part of our diet, as it is even found in foods that do not appear to be so at first glance. We don't even seem to care that it is not really good for us either.

The fact that the first thing we reach for is something sugary to improve our mood when something doesn't go as planned should be familiar to everyone. After all, you can always rely on the desired effect. You feel better, you are no longer so stressed and grouchy. However, after a short temporary high, disillusionment quickly returns and you feel just as grouchy as before, and perhaps you also feel bad because you have eaten something sweet. Nevertheless, we find ourselves in this cycle again and again.

That's not surprising, because sugar sets off a lot of Dopamine and Serotonin free. You could also call the two our Feel-good hormones that give us a feeling of reward. That is, the more sugar, the better you will feel, the more likely you are to reach for a sweet snack again and again. After all, you are always rewarding yourself. And then it doesn't matter if that high is short-lived, because who says no to a reward?!

Simply: because it is simply unhealthy. In fact, giving up sugar is often compared to drug withdrawal. Of course, these are two things that are somewhat different from each other, but giving up sugar causes some physical symptoms that show how much our bodies are struggling with not getting this ingredient. Exhaustion, headaches, brain fog, irritability and gastrointestinal complaints. are just a few on this list. This happens because the body adapts to the lower serotonin and dopamine levels. One's well-being and energy levels will only improve again after the body has become accustomed to this state, which can take some time.

The very fact that our body reacts in this way to abstinence is an indication that sugar can be harmful to health. Probably the best-known disease linked to sugar is Diabetes. But even apart from this chronic disease, which will be discussed later, the consumption of sugar can have significant consequences on the body. To illustrate this, here is a brief overview:

-weight gain

-Caries

-fatigue and lack of energy

-nervousness and lack of concentration

-Sleep disorders

-Depression

Stomach and intestinal problems (disturbance of the intestinal flora, which causes bad breath and flatulence, among other things).

-Hypertension

-hair loss and skin diseases (pimples, redness, rosacea, etc.)

-fungal infestation 

These 10 points illustrate that sugar not only has a negative impact on our physical well-being, but also on our psychological well-being, which is often not taken into account by consumers in this context.

Sugar, when it arrives in the blood, triggers the production of a large amount of Insulin off.

Insulin is a hormone produced in the pancreas that removes sugar from both food and blood and distributes it to the cells of the various organs. In short, the hormone is responsible for supplying the cells with energy and regulating the blood sugar level.

However, if we repeatedly consume sugar, this causes chronically elevated insulin levels and can lead to insulin resistance. This means that insulin has little effect on the organ cells, even though there is enough in the body. As a result, the sugar cannot be absorbed into the cells and remains in the blood. Since the body cells only react weakly to the insulin, the pancreas produces more and more insulin to lower the blood sugar level.
However, this overproduction leads to the cells in the pancreas that are responsible for insulin production becoming more and more exhausted, so that they can no longer produce enough insulin. Now, on top of that, too little insulin gets into the blood and a Insulin deficiency.

These two processes are disturbed in type 2 diabetes. Although there are a number of factors that favour the occurrence of this disease, an unhealthy lifestyle and a wrong, sugary and high-fat diet are also part of this series.

An increased insulin level has an effect pro-inflammatory and is thus a cause of acceleration of other chronic diseases. For example, the increased insulin concentration in the blood leads to insulin deficiency in the brain, which is thought to promote Alzheimer's dementia and general forgetfulness. It has also been observed that patients with type 2 diabetes suffer more from high blood pressure. Around 80% are affected. Elevated blood pressure brings with it completely different risks, as it can cause organ damage. It can promote the calcification of the heart vessels (arteriosclerosis), which in turn causes heart failure or cardiac arrhythmias. In the worst case, it can even lead to a heart attack. No less serious are the circulatory disorders that high blood pressure causes in the brain, as it not only impairs brain performance per se, but can also be the cause of strokes.
In addition, high blood pressure promotes circulatory problems in the eyes and affects kidney function over time.

As you can see, sugar can be quite a burden, especially when it is consumed in excess. However, since it is hardly possible to do without it completely, a conscious consumption or even a reduction is already a big step forward, which does something good for your body and mind in the long run. If you generally eat healthily and exercise a lot, then the odd chocolate bar is not the end of the world. The same applies if you eat clean in everyday life and allow yourself a "cheat day" now and then. Because with clean eating, you don't eat any added sugar at all and thus prevent considerable physical, but also mental illnesses. 

If this feels like a impossible task then how about slowly approaching a sugar-free lifestyle and gradually incorporating small changes into your daily routine? That way you wouldn't radically overtax your body and the risk of relapsing into sweet cravings wouldn't be so great. Try it out and see how your body and well-being change. And be careful not to reach for sugar too much, especially in stressful times!