Consuming too much sugar can have detrimental effects on your health. Added sugars provide calories with little to no nutritional benefits. While the occasional sweet treat is unlikely to cause harm, regularly overdoing it on sugar can increase your risk for chronic diseases and conditions like obesity, heart disease, diabetes, fatty liver disease, and cavities. Understanding what happens when you eat excessive amounts of sweets and added sugars can help motivate you to cut back for better health.
What is considered too much sugar?
The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend limiting added sugars to less than 10% of your total daily calories. For a 2,000 calorie diet, that equals about 50 grams or 12 teaspoons of added sugars per day. The World Health Organization suggests limiting added sugars even more strictly to less than 5% of total daily calories.
On average, Americans get around 270 calories per day from added sugars. That’s more than double the recommended limits. Major sources of added sugars in the typical American diet include sugar-sweetened beverages like sodas, energy drinks, fruit drinks, and sweetened coffees and teas. Other top sources are cookies, cakes, ice cream, candy, and breakfast cereals.
Consuming more than the recommended daily limits of added sugars qualifies as too much. But even 100% fruit juice, while it contains natural sugars, can contribute extra calories and sugar if you drink more than one small glass a day.
Weight gain
Eating too many sweets and added sugars can easily lead to extra calories and weight gain over time. For example:
– A 12-ounce can of soda contains around 39 grams or 9 teaspoons of added sugar totaling about 150 calories.
– One cup of ice cream can have 15-30 grams of added sugars totaling 145-290 calories.
– A slice of cake with frosting ranges from 10-30 grams added sugars and 250-500 calories.
– A chocolate candy bar can contain 20-35 grams added sugars and 250-400 calories.
Just an extra 150 calories per day from high-sugar foods, without cutting back elsewhere in your diet, could result in gaining 15 pounds over the course of a year. Over many years, habitually consuming an extra few hundred sugary calories per day promotes gradual obesity.
Increased body weight from too much sugar also raises your likelihood of medical problems like metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes.
Tooth decay
Frequent exposure to sugary foods and beverages promotes tooth decay. Bacteria in your mouth thrive on simple sugars. When you consume sweets, the bacteria produce acids that can erode and demineralize the enamel of your teeth. This erosion causes cavities.
The longer sugars remain in contact with your teeth after eating or drinking, the greater the potential for damage. Sticky foods like candy, cookies, cakes, dried fruit, and soda are more likely to cause cavities compared to foods you eat quickly. Not properly cleaning your teeth after sugary snacks or drinks also allows cavity-causing acids to linger.
Consuming an excess of added sugars and inadequate dental hygiene routines make for a perfect storm for extensive tooth decay.
Type 2 diabetes
A diet high in added sugars has been linked to an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Sugary foods can cause blood sugar spikes and crashes that stress your body’s ability to make and use insulin efficiently over time.
In a large study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, people who got 17-21% of daily calories from added sugar had a 38% higher risk of diabetes compared to those who limited added sugars to 8% or less of total calories.
Research also shows that drinking just one or more sugary beverages per day raises type 2 diabetes risk. Overdoing juices, sodas, and other sugar-sweetened drinks promotes insulin resistance.
Excess belly fat from overconsumption of sweets and refined carbs also contributes to diabetes risk. Belly fat is metabolically active and churns out hormones and other substances that can interfere with blood sugar regulation.
Fatty liver disease
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) involves fat buildup in your liver that’s unrelated to alcohol use. It’s estimated to affect up to 25% of people globally. NAFLD can progress to more serious liver damage and cirrhosis in some cases.
Several studies link high intakes of fructose and added sugars, especially from sweetened beverages, to increased liver fat accumulation and risk for NAFLD. Overloading your liver with large doses of fructose drives dysregulated fat production. Genetics and excess weight also contribute to NAFLD.
Cutting back on added sugar, sugary drinks, and processed carbs may help reverse fatty liver changes and lower disease risk. Losing weight if overweight and increasing physical activity are also important.
Heart disease
A high sugar intake is associated with elevated risks for cardiovascular disease. Excess calories from sweets promote obesity, high blood pressure, inflammation, elevated triglycerides, reduced HDL (good) cholesterol, and other changes that damage your heart and blood vessels.
In an observational study in JAMA Internal Medicine, adults who got 17-21% of calories from added sugars had a 38% higher risk for dying from heart disease compared to those who limited added sugar to less than 8% of total daily calories.
Another study found that consuming more than one sugar-sweetened beverage daily raised the risk of having a cardiovascular-related death by almost 30%. Liquid sugars that quickly flood your system seem especially harmful to heart health.
Addiction
For some people, regularly eating sweets or other high sugar foods leads to addictive-like eating behaviors. Brain scan studies show that sugar activates reward and pleasure centers similarly to addictive drugs.
Signs that your sugar consumption may be addictive include frequently craving sugary foods, eating sweets even when not hungry, relying on a daily sugar fix, and feeling irritable, anxious, or depressed when cutting back on sweets.
Research suggests limiting added sugars to 5-10% of daily calories, avoiding liquid sugars, and gradually reducing sweets can help break the addiction cycle for improved health and wellbeing.
Cognitive effects
Emerging research shows that chronic high intakes of added sugars may negatively impact learning, memory, and cognitive function – especially when consumed in liquid form.
In studies, rats given high sugar diets or sugary drinks displayed poorer memory and brain inflammation compared to rats fed standard rat chow and water. Human studies show associations between higher added sugar intakes and lower performance on tests of memory, attention span, and problem-solving skills.
Exactly how excess sugar consumption may impair cognition is still under investigation. Effects on glucose metabolism, insulin resistance, inflammation, andadvanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) are possible mechanisms.
Mood disorders
A pattern of overconsuming sweets and junk foods seems to be linkedto increased risks for depression and mood instability in some individuals.
In studies, people who got a larger percentage of daily calories from added sugars report more symptoms of depression and are at greater risk for developing depression. One study found men consuming the most sweets had a 23% higher chance of developing depression after 13 years compared to those eating the least.
Blood sugar and energy crashes after eating high sugar foods, effects on gut bacteria, and changes in brain function and neurotransmitter levels may contribute to mood disruption for some.
Nutrient dilution
Because added sugars provide easily-absorbed energy with minimal nutrition, filling up on sweets and sugary treats can crowd healthier foods out of your diet. The more low-nutrient sugary foods and drinks you consume, the less room you have for nutrient-dense choices.
Diets higher in added sugars tend to provide fewer essential vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber, healthy fats, and protein – nutrients vital to health and wellbeing. Higher intakes of sweets are also associated with lower intakes of protective foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, beans, fish, and yogurt.
To avoid nutrient dilution, limit added sugar to no more than 10% of total calories and focus your diet on whole, minimally processed foods as often as possible.
Inflammation
Chronic inflammation contributes to numerous diseases and aging. Emerging evidence suggests excessive added sugar intake may raise inflammation levels.
In a study of over 11,000 people, consuming more than 17% of calories from added sugar was linked to higher levels of fibrinogen and white blood cell count – two markers of inflammation.
Fructose sugars also appear to promote inflammation. In a 10-week trial, people randomized to drink high fructose corn syrup-sweetened beverages had higher inflammation markers including Creactive protein (CRP) compared to people given sugar-free drinks.
Dampening inflammation provides another reason to limit sweets and added sugars to occasional treats. Focus on filling your diet with abundant antioxidants from vegetables, fruits, herbs, spices, nuts, seeds, whole grains, coffee, and tea.
Skin aging
Excess sugar intake contributes to skin aging through multiple pathways. Sugars bind to proteins to generate advanced glycation end products (AGEs) that damage collagen and elastin – protein fibers that keep skin firm and supple.
Glycation from repeated blood sugar spikes also promotes skin wrinkling and discoloration. And, diets high in sweets and refined carbohydrates tend to be lower in antioxidants that protect your skin from sun damage.
For younger looking skin, cut back on added sugar, drink plenty of water, eat more produce, and get enough protein. Target no more than 5-10% of calories from added sugar and keep your glycemic load in check.
Kidney disease
High consumption of added sugars may increase your risk for chronic kidney disease (CKD). In a study following patients with renal disease risk factors like hypertension and diabetes, those who consumed the most added sugars had a 60% greater risk for developing CKD over about a decade follow up compared to the lowest consumers.
Sugar-induced surges in blood glucose and insulin along with higher blood pressure from excess fructose likely stress kidney function over the long-term. CKD also develops more commonly in people who are overweight.
Protect your kidneys by keeping added sugars to no more than 10% of calories, staying active, achieving a healthy weight, controlling blood pressure if it’s high, and properly managing diabetes if present.
Gout risk
Gout is a common and painful type of arthritis triggered by excess uric acid buildup in the bloodstream. Uric acid crystals then deposit in the joints causing inflammation and pain. Purine compounds found naturally in some meats, seafoods, andbeer raise uric acid production. Fructose sugars also increase uric acid.
In studies, consuming fructose increased blood uric acid levels within two hours compared to not eating fructose. And men who drank five or more high fructose corn syrup-sweetened sodas per week were over 80% more likely to be diagnosed with gout compared to infrequent soda drinkers.
Limiting fructose from added sugars, sweet drinks, and processed low-fiber carbs may help reduce gout risk – especially if you eat a lot of high purine foods. Stay well hydrated and avoid rapid weight gain as well. Losing weight if overweight and limiting alcohol are also beneficial for gout management.
Food reward and overeating
The pleasurable taste of sweets generates a strong food reward response in the brain that can override normal satiety signals and result in overeating. Sugar lights up reward centers just as addictive drugs do. This lights up addiction pathways in the brain.
Animal studies show that overconsumption of added sugars may rewire reward pathways and alter dopamine signaling in ways that perpetuate addictive-like eating habits. And human brain scans show greater activation of reward centers in response to sugary foods and drinks.
To help normalize food reward signals, gradually reducing added sugars allows your brain to become more responsive to feelings of fullness and satisfaction from nutritious whole foods.
Nutrition recommendations
Health authorities recommend limiting added sugars for optimal wellbeing based on evidence linking high intakes to chronic disease risks. The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggest the following:
– Consume less than 10% of total daily calories from added sugars. For a 2,000 calorie diet, that’s 200 calories or about 12 teaspoons of added sugar daily.
– Avoid added sugars especially from sugar-sweetened beverages like sodas, sports drinks, energy drinks, sweet teas, and juice drinks. These liquid calories promote overconsumption and provide little nutrition.
– Choose naturally sweet whole foods like fruits and dairy more often over processed items with added sugars.
– Read food labels and select the lowest sugar options when buying packaged foods and beverages. Compare brands and choose ones with little or no added sugars.
– Limit sweet bakery items and desserts to occasional treats rather than daily habit.
– When baking or adding sweetness to foods yourself at home, use modest amounts of no calorie sweeteners, mashed fruits, maple syrup, or honey.
Tips to cut back on sugar
Here are tips and strategies to help reduce your added sugar intake for better health:
– Ditch sugary drinks – Skip sodas, sweet teas, sports drinks, energy drinks, and juice drinks. Quench your thirst with water, plain milk, or unsweetened coffee and tea. Stay hydrated without all the added calories.
– Avoid sweetened breakfasts – Pass on sweetened yogurts (flavors under 12 grams sugar per 6oz), cereals, oatmeal, muffins, and rolls. Choose plain Greek yogurt and add fresh fruit. Oatmeal and cereal with under 5 grams sugar per serving are better options.
– Skip the sugary desk snacks – Ditch candy, cookies, doughnuts, toaster pastries, and fruit snacks. Enjoy fresh fruit, unsalted nuts, seeds, hard boiled eggs, plain popcorn or high fiber crackers and cheese wedges instead.
– Take it easy on condiments – Go light on syrup, dressings, ketchup, barbecue sauce, teriyaki sauce, sweet chili sauce, andjam which all add sugar to your meal. Choose vinegars, mustards, salsas, guacamole, hummus, herbs, spices, lemon, and olive oil to add flavor.
– Limit sweet desserts – Pick your favorite indulgent treat and make that your only sweet after dinner. Ice cream, cake, pie, and chocolate are ok for special occasions rather than every day.
– Check labels – Compare product nutrition labels and choose options made with limited added sugars. Look for under 5 grams sugar per serving. Avoid anything listing sugar, corn syrup, honey, agave, cane sugar, sucrose, dextrose, maltose etc… in the first few ingredients.
– Shop the perimeter – Focus grocery shopping on whole foods like produce, lean proteins, nuts and seeds, dairy and eggs, whole grains and beans. Avoid processed aisles filled with sweet snacks.
– Satisfy cravings smartly – When a sugar craving strikes, try a naturally sweet whole food like fruit first. If you indulge in chocolate, limit it to one ounce of dark chocolate with over 70% cocoa.
– Don’t drink calories – Stick with water, unsweetened coffee and tea. Add some lemon, lime, cucumber, mint or other herbs instead of syrups and sweeteners. Stay hydrated without extra calories from beverages.
Healthy dessert ideas
You can still enjoy sweet treats in moderation on special occasions without going overboard on added sugars. Here are some healthier dessert ideas:
– Fresh fruit salad – Toss your favorite fresh berries and chopped fruit with a spritz of lemon and mint. Melon, pineapple, peaches, plums, grapes, kiwi work well.
– Yogurt parfaits – Layer plain Greek yogurt with fresh fruit and a sprinkle of chopped nuts, seeds, and a touch of honey.
– Baked apples or pears – Stuff halved apples with cinnamon, chopped walnuts, raisins, and a teaspoon of maple syrup. Bake until tender.
– Grilled fruit – Grill wedges of pineapple, peaches, plums or watermelon brushed lightly with honey. Sprinkle with lime juice.
– Frozen banana “ice cream” – Slice a banana and freeze. Blend in a food processor into creamy “ice cream.” Mix in cocoa powder or peanut butter for flavor.
– Single-serve treats – Allow yourself a bite-size sweet after dinner: one fun-sized candy bar, small square of quality dark chocolate, or mini scoop of ice cream.
Conclusion
Consuming excessive amounts of added sugars found in sweetened foods, beverages, sauces, dressings, and condiments raises risks for weight gain, cavities, diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver, inflammation, aging, mood and cognitive issues, nutrient dilution, and more. But an occasional small treat in moderation is unlikely to harm your health.
For the best balance, limit added sugars from all sources to less than 10% of total daily calories – about 200 calories or under 50 grams daily for a 2,000 calorie diet. Focus on nutritious whole foods and drinks without added sugars for the bulk of your choices. Monitor beverages and processed foods most closely for hidden sugars. Take a gradual approach to reducing excess added sugars for success.