Hamza Shafiq

How sugar affects your mental and physical health.

What is sugar and why is it so prevalent in our diets? Sugar is a carbohydrate that is naturally found in many different foods, and to some extent, our bodies require sugars for energy production. However, in recent years, the amount and frequency of sugar intake has risen sharply, with an average person now consuming an estimated 100-150% more sugar than they did 50 years ago. Sugar is now found in a wide variety of processed and convenience foods, including soft drinks, candies, cakes and cookies, granola bars, and many more. While naturally occurring sugars, such as those found in fruits, are nutritious and beneficial to our health, refined sugars, which are typically found in processed foods, pose substantial health risks. There are many reasons why the amount of sugar in our diets has increased so sharply, but perhaps the most significant is that it is cheaper to produce and buy than healthy, unprocessed foods. As a result, the food industry has created products that are high in sugar content but low in nutrients to keep costs down. Consumers have also contributed to the growing prevalence of sugar in our diets by demanding processed and sugary foods. Furthermore, our bodies have become less able to cope with the effects of sugar due to time-poor lifestyles and reduced physical activity that makes it harder to process the extra sugar.