8 Hidden Signs You’re Eating Way Too Much Sugar (Without Even Realizing It)

Cancer has been considered a global epidemic. In a Swiss study on worldwide cancer incidence, the overconsumption of sugar in industrialized countries was identified as a major culprit. In the United States alone, an estimated 30 to 40% of healthcare expenditures are devoted to treating sugar-related diseases.

A 2014 study published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation was the first to examine how malignant and benign cancer cells react to increased glucose. All cells consume glucose for fuel. What researchers discovered is that not only do cancer cells (both malignant and benign) consume sugar, but excess sugar disrupts normal cellular expression and causes an “upregulated canonical oncogenic signaling” (tumor development). This is driven by the cells’ complex metabolic reactions to sugar.

Interestingly and encouragingly, when sugar intake is reduced, cells regain their normal function over time.

Simply put: eating too much sugar will make you gain weight. Clinical studies have unequivocally proven that increased sugar consumption leads to weight gain. In fact, a meta-analysis showed that after a one-year observation period, the propensity to gain weight and become obese among people who regularly consumed sugary foods was, on average, 55% higher than among those who reduced their sugar intake.

The Dangers of Soda

The amount of soda and carbonated beverages consumed is particularly correlated with significant weight gain, leading directly to obesity and diabetes. Diet soda is just as bad as its regular counterpart because artificial sweeteners are not metabolized by the body and are therefore stored in fat cells, causing inflammation and weight gain.

Billions of gallons of soda are consumed every year in the United States. A 2006 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition states: