Why Sugar is Linked to Weight Gain

Halloween is around the corner, which sets off an increase in sugar consumption for most of us. Sometimes, that can last all the way through Thanksgiving and the holidays!

It's tough to get off the sugar addiction roller coaster.

It gives us a temporary lift but sugar is a fake friend. An hour or two later, it leaves us hungrier, with more cravings, and often feeling grumpy or exhausted.

Not only that, sugar affects our weight. The spike in blood sugar and following dip encourages our body to store that excess energy as fat. Sugar is made up of glucose and fructose- the glucose is turned into energy for our cells, but the fructose is only metabolized by the liver and mostly stored as fat.

This is another example of weight is not always just about calories in and calories out. The 200 calories in a pastry or a few small cookies will be stored differently than 200 calories of scrambled eggs or cashews.

Your body does need some natural sugars and carbohydrates for energy, but excess sugars will be held onto and stored, in case there is ever a food shortage (which is no longer a real risk for most of us).

For more details about what sugar does in our body and what we can do about it, check out the following video:

It is fine to keep some sugar in your diet- I know some people choose to eliminate it all together, and if you can do that, awesome! Personally, I like sugar and believe that food is meant to be enjoyed. If you can keep sugar to 10% of your daily intake, you can still have a very healthy, balanced diet and a healthy weight.

However, when the addiction piece of sugar begins to get out of control, it's a good idea to take a complete break from sugar for 7 days.