Your Body On... Sugar

Eating a few pieces of Halloween candy is nothing to be scared of, but a serious sugar binge is more trick than treat for your body and mood.

It’s Halloween, so you turn on a scary movie and start munching candy. Suddenly, you’re jittery and anxious, and it’s not from the movie. A while later, you’re surrounded by candy wrappers, feeling grumpy and lethargic. How can something that tastes so good make you feel so rotten?

The truth is, a little bit of sugar is totally fine—in fact, a lot of the healthy foods you eat, like fruits and many vegetables, contain sugar in its natural form. However, overloading your body with sugar—especially processed sugar, which is the kind in most candy—can make you feel terrible, both physically and emotionally. Eating way too many sweets on a regular basis can even cause long-term health problems. Learn what’s going on in your body when you eat a lot of candy­—and how to keep your relationship with sugar sweet.

Brain

The sugar travels through your bloodstream to your brain, triggering a feel-good chemical called dopamine. To get more dopamine, your brain tells you to eat more candy.

Heart

As your body works hard to process the excess sugar, stress hormones cause your blood pressure to rise and your heart to beat faster, making you feel jittery and hyper. (See “Rush Hour.”)

Teeth

Bacteria feed on the sugar stuck to your teeth, weakening your enamel (the shiny coating protecting your teeth). When your enamel is weakened, it’s easier for you to get cavities, or holes in your teeth.

Skin

Too much sugar in your bloodstream can cause inflammation of your skin, which can contribute to acne flare-ups or make your skin produce excess oil. 

Digestive System

Your stomach and small intestine release sugar into your bloodstream, giving you a rush of energy. Your pancreas pumps out insulin, a hormone that converts the sugar in your blood to a form that your cells can use as fuel.

2. How to Scale Back Sugar...

When You're Cooking and Baking: Reduce the amount of sugar called for in recipes by one-third to one-half. You can also try substituting unsweetened applesauce for sugar in recipes—it will add sweetness without the processed sugar. 


When You're Thirsty: Energy drinks, sports drinks, and soda make up 44 percent of the added sugar in Americans’ diets. Swap in iced tea, seltzer, or water to lower your sugar intake. 


When You Want a Treat: Reducing sugar doesn’t mean ditching dessert. Pop frozen grapes instead of candy, or puree a frozen banana for a creamy ice cream alternative.

3. Rush Hour

Why sugar can cause a crash:

Sugar gives you a spike of energy, which is why sports drinks are packed with it. But because your body processes sugar quickly, your blood sugar levels can drop rapidly­—15 minutes to a few hours after the initial rush—leaving you sleepy and irritable. To avoid the crash, eat some protein (like nuts) to slow the sugar’s absorption.

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