{"id":49326,"date":"2016-04-28T07:15:46","date_gmt":"2016-04-28T11:15:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=49326"},"modified":"2021-05-14T02:49:13","modified_gmt":"2021-05-14T06:49:13","slug":"tool-helps-visualize-body-sugar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/tool-helps-visualize-body-sugar\/","title":{"rendered":"This Tool Helps You Visualize Your Body on Sugar"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"This
Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We all know that sugar isn\u2019t exactly a health food. (Glazed donuts and the like are obviously<\/em> not what the doctor ordered.) But when it comes down to it, weight gain<\/a> is just one of many scary sugar consequences. The fat that accumulates around your midsection, known as visceral fat, has been linked to insulin resistance, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, says Angela Ginn-Meadow, RDN, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She notes that Americans consume anywhere from 22 teaspoons of added sugar per day, which is about 355 extra calories. (That\u2019s roughly three times<\/a> what the American Heart Association recommends.)<\/p>\n

Other than an expanding gut and a risk for serious health outcomes, what else happens when you OD on the sweet stuff? An interactive tool<\/a> from Beneden, a British healthcare company, could help you visualize how sugar changes your body immediately \u2014 and in the long run. Below, check out five unexpected consequences of too much sugar.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> How to Do a Sugar Detox (Without Going Crazy)<\/a><\/p>\n

5 Unexpected Consequences of Sugar<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Discolored
Illustration: Benenden<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1. Discolored Teeth
\n<\/strong>You\u2019re never fully dressed without a smile, but your pearly whites might not be so, er, white if you\u2019ve got a Coke and candy habit. The bacteria in your mouth feeds off of sugar, and the resulting acid level can lead to erosion of the tooth enamel<\/a>. This can put you at risk for cavities and tooth sensitivity, according to the American Dental Association<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Bad
Illustration: Benenden<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2. Bad Skin
\n<\/strong>Heard that chocolate makes your skin break out? It\u2019s not 100 percent true<\/a>, but dermatologists will tell you that sugary foods (and fatty foods, too) can lead to inflammation that causes pimples. The sweet stuff also damages the collagen<\/a> that makes your skin smooth and firm. In other words, your face could sport more wrinkles, sooner.<\/p>\n

\"Moody
Illustration: Benenden<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3. Moody (or Forgetful) Brain
\n<\/strong>If you think your post-birthday cake sugar crash is all in your head, think again. A sugar-filled diet can actually tweak the neurotransmitters<\/a> that keep your mood stable. Research<\/a> shows that consuming lots of processed foods with sugar can, in some cases, increase the likelihood that you\u2019ll develop depression. And one study<\/a> found an association between high blood sugar and dementia.<\/p>\n

\"Weak
Illustration: Benenden<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

4. Weak Bones
\n<\/strong>Getting full off sugar-packed snacks instead of more nourishing foods can mean trouble for little ones. Caving in to the candy aisle could mean kids are missing out on essential vitamins like calcium and vitamin D<\/a>, which are key to bone development. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics<\/a>, more than 50 percent of toddlers and preschoolers sip one or more sugar-sweetened drinks per day. Instead, the AAP recommends serving low or nonfat milk or water to growing kids.<\/p>\n

\"Problems
Illustration: Benenden<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

5. Problems \u201cDown There\u201d
\n<\/strong>Whether you\u2019re a man or a woman, chronic sugar binges don\u2019t bode well for your nether regions, and can seriously reduce your sex drive<\/a>. High blood sugar can cause thrush<\/a>, which is essentially reoccurring yeast infections. And men who are overweight and have high blood sugar (or diabetes) can develop erectile dysfunction<\/a>, according to the American Diabetes Association.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yellow teeth, pimples, problems \u201cdown there\u201d\u2026 Here are the gross consequences when you eat too much sugar over your lifetime. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,7],"tags":[159,41,225,333,341,396],"class_list":["post-49326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diet-nutrition","category-health","tag-anxiety","tag-diets","tag-skin-care","tag-sugar","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2womens-health"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49326\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}