When it comes to sweets, sometimes you just can’t resist. It can be candy, sugary drinks, delicious desserts, adding sugar packets to your teas and coffee or even dealing with flavored syrups. For some, sweets are just the go-to. Why? Because of this one special ingredient that children and even adults seem to love. But as you know, too much of anything can lead to complications later down the line and for some people, right then and there. Complications can develop when someone indulges in too much of anything such as smoking and consuming alcohol. With that being said, if you can develop problems from indulging too much when it comes to drinking and smoking, isn’t it possible to develop problems from overindulging in food? Absolutely, especially when those foods and or drinks contain high amounts of sugar, one of the main causes of type 2 diabetes.
What’s The Real Reason To Add Sugar?
There is a difference between natural sugar and added sugars. Fruits and vegetables have natural sugars in them. Foods like snacks, cookies, cakes, juice drinks and more have added sugars to them.
So to answer this simply, the reason sugar is added to many of the world’s snacks, drinks and desserts is because it tastes good and it makes the foods consumed more appealing.
Sometimes adding sugar does help when it comes to certain foods such as bread. It helps fuel the fermentation, which makes bread rise.
Sugar also helps preserve foods such as jam, gives baked goods color and texture, and balances out the acidity in foods that contain tomatoes and vinegar. (Fun Fact: this is why people put sugar in their spaghetti sauce).
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How Sugar Can Lead To Type 2 Diabetes
As good as sugar may make food and beverages taste and as beneficial as it can be when cooking or baking, too much sugar can lead to more than just a sugar rush. Sugar adds no type of nutrients, just calories to you and your diet, which can lead to weight gain and other health problems. One health issue is heart problems. When you consume too much sugar, it increases your triglyceride levels. Triglycerides are the fat that is found in your bloodstream and fat tissue and if its levels become too high, it can lead to heart disease.
Another health problem too much sugar can lead to is diabetes, specifically, type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes develops when the body doesn’t regulate and process sugar in the way it needs to.
This leads to too much sugar in one’s bloodstream. If your body is taking in excessive amounts of sugar, your blood sugar levels will rise and