You may like eating sugary foods, but they may be damaging your health. Is sugar bad for the heart? It’s time to find out.
For a long time, people have known that sugar is unhealthy, but more studies are showing how damaging it is. In addition to high cholesterol and high blood pressure, one of the main factors in cardiovascular damage is diabetes.
In addition to diabetes, high sugar intake can lead to weight gain, obesity, high levels of cholesterol, and more. Excess sugar can also lead to diabetic cardiomyopathy, a condition that weakens the heart muscle and negatively affects blood flow.
Glucose and fructose are the main two forms of sugar, with table sugar consisting of both. You can usually find glucose in pasta, grains, dairy, vegetables, and legumes while fructose is in fruits and honey.
Too much sugar consumption can disrupt the communication between the liver and pancreas, resulting in a condition called insulin resistance. As a precursor to full diabetes, insulin resistance desensitizes the body to insulin and causes sugar buildup in the blood.
How Much Sugar Is Too Much?
First, let’s clarify that sugar is not inherently bad; natural sugars are in healthy diets that include fruits and more. However, consuming more sugar than necessary is what leads to diseases such as diabetes and heart conditions.
Even if you stop eating sugary sweets, you can find sugar everywhere – from fast foods to cereals to ketchup. If you want to decrease your risk of diabetes and heart disease, limit your daily sugar intake to 25 grams.
Moreover, be mindful of what your kids eat, as high sugar consumption in children can lead to serious problems. While obesity in children cannot be solely linked to sugar consumption, it is definitely a factor.
To illustrate, Type 2 diabetes used to virtually affect only adults, but the rates of childhood diabetes have risen. Furthermore, the rates of childhood hypertension and metabolic disruptions are also increasing, which can result in problems later in life.
Lowering the Risk
If you want to minimize your risk of diabetes and improve your heart health, start by exercising and eating healthy. Adults need at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week while children need at least 60 minutes per day.
Also, note that sitting still for long periods throughout the day can increase the risk of blood clots and more. Avoid this by moving around for a few minutes every hour to break up long stretches of sitting or standing.
Additionally, consider taking supplements like HeartBeet Complete to promote your circulation, energy levels, and blood pressure health. Its ingredients work to support nitric oxide production, which can lead to better blood flow and oxygen delivery. Try HeartBeet Complete along with other helpful tactics like regular exercise and healthy eating to boost your heart health.
