by Peter Sedesse

Created on: March 25, 2010   Last Updated: March 06, 2011

There are many dangers to having too much sugar in your diet.  One major concern is with the amount of calories they cause you to eat. This is because not only is sugar high in calories, but it often is consumed in foods that are digested rapidly, leaving you feeling hungry quickly.  Excess sugar intake is also a contributor to developing diabetes, especially in children.  Sugar also leads to the development of obesity because as the body is using the sugar as energy, it is storing carbohydrates.  

The most optimal condition for proper weight management is when the majority of calories are coming from complex carbohydrates which the body is more capabale of controlling correctly.  When the majority of calories are coming from simple sugars in your diet, the body is in much more of a chaotic metabolic state with energy levels fluctuating wildly.  The final major problem with consuming too much sugar is that the foods that contain large amounts of sugar often contain very little vitamins, minerals or proteins.  If half of your daily intake of calories comes from food that contain no real nutrients, then it is very likely that you are not getting your recommended daily allowance of those nutrients.

There are two different things in your body that will trigger your feeling of 'hunger'.  By eliminating both, you can prevent the desire for a between-meal snack.  The two causes of hunger are an empty stomach and low blood glucose levels.  When your stomach (and upper small intestine) is empty, it lets your brain know.  Also, when the amount of glucose in your blood is low, your brain is notified.  In both situations, you will feel hunger.

If you are hungry between meals because of low glucose levels, it is probably because the meal contained too many simple sugars and not enough complex carbohydrates.  Simple sugars are digested very rapidly, and used very rapidly.  The body is unable to store excess simple sugars, so after they are all burned up, blood glucose levels will plummet.  Complex carbohydrates are used much more slowly and evenly by the body.  In order to reduce your hunger between meals, increase the amount of complex carbohydrates in each meal.

Foods high in sugar will also cause you to feel hungry because they are digested very rapidly.  Once you eat, the sugar is absorbed by the body, and your stomach is left empty.  An empty stomach causes your brain to make you feel

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>