Humans are born with a sweet tooth. We crave the processed sugar in everything from cakes to muffins to donuts to soda. We just can’t get enough.
A healthy lifestyle is important, but when it comes to sugar, sugar is addictive and there is very little room for it in a healthy diet. Did you know the average American consumes more than 130 pounds of sugar every year? This may sound like a lot, but just one  can of coke has 10 teaspoons of sugar, and the average American drinks about one or two sodas a day. There are many ways sugar can have negative effects on your brain and your body, but choosing to eat the right foods, becoming aware of what sugar can do to you,  and cutting out the processed  sugar in your diet could keep you disease free and even save your life.
Sugar is known as the white poison. It comes in many forms and is added to a wide variety of foods. What’s interesting is that sugar is found in almost everything we eat. It is in all boxed and processed foods, and even comes naturally in the fruits we eat. We know sugar can be found in cakes, cookies, candies and soda, but sugar can also be found in other foods such as salad dressings,crackers, breads, chocolates, and all fruit juices. You may also be surprised by how much sugar is in simple things like tomato sauce, fat free foods and vitamin waters. It is important to read food labels in order to know the amount of sugar you are getting from your foods.
There are more than 50 names for sugar when it is processed. Not only should you look for the amount of sugar on your labels, but also look for names such as fructose, sucrose and corn syrup. When sugar is processed from sugar beets and sugar cane, up to 64  elements in it are destroyed. Some of these are potassium, calcium, Vitamins A, B, and D, and all of the fiber. When finished with processing, sugar is just empty calories and no nutrients. People are consuming 28.5 teaspoons of sugar per day. Imagine measuring   28.5 teaspoons of sugar into a glass and then eating it. Makes you a little sick, doesn’t it? That is why when you eat a sugary bowl of cereal for breakfast, you will be hungry again in a short time. The body burns the glucose and then you crave more sugar. This is how sugar becomes addictive. The sad part is the body receives no nutrients at all.
Have you ever heard someone say they have a sweet tooth? This actually has nothing to do with your teeth, but it is your brain causing these sugar cravings. Sugar overload can actually have many effects on your brain. Over time, too much sugar can cause headaches, focusing issues, and memory loss. One may remember eating too much sugar as a child. There is a link between the amount of sugar we eat and the aging of our brain cells. The aging of the cells in our brain even causes the actual wrinkles on our skin.
Not only is the brain affected, but sugar can damage the body as well. Diabetes, which is the rise and fall of blood sugar levels, can occur from too much sugar. The insulin in our bodies does not work right. Diabetes can lead to heart problems, high blood pressure, heart failure or a stroke. In 2013, The American Heart Association found out the sugar can affect the pumping mechanism in your heart. Our liver reacts the same way to sugar as it does to drugs and alcohol. It tries to filter the blood but the blood   becomes very thick and sticky. The liver actually begins to corrode and allows cancer cells to take over. Cancer feeds on sugar, and by eating it, we are feeding it. Finally, tooth decay is a huge result of eating  too much sugar. Sugar causes acid, acid causes
cavities, and cavities eat your teeth and gums, filling  your body with infection.
We know that sugar is a problem. Cutting out sugar in our diet is important for a healthy lifestyle. Some ways to do this are to avoid processed foods, eating healthy without too much sugar, exercising to control our blood sugar levels and weight gain, reading  food labels, and having good dental hygiene.
Excessive sugar in the diet is not the best idea when it comes to healthy living. Now that you know what sugar can do to your body, you might just work to put it at the very top of your “foods to avoid” list.  A little sugar is fine, but too much of it is not real sweet.