How Sugar Affects Your Internal Organs in the Long Run

Posted on: Feb 14, 2025 | 3 mins | Written by: HDFC ERGO Team

How Sugar Affects Your Internal Organs in the Long Run

sugar consumption effects, health risks of sugar, internal organs health, long-term sugar effects

Sugar is quite a universal ingredient used in several dishes and beverages. From the first cup of tea in the morning to the post-dinner dessert, sugar has a strong dominance over your diet. While sugar tastes good and makes you happy, it damages your body when used excessively over the years. Look at this article to learn how sugar affects the internal organs and what you can do to protect yourself.

The Damaging Effects of Sugar

Sugar is obtained from plant sources, but it is processed and refined. This is why sugar contains nothing but empty calories that offer zero nutrition to your body. Rather, sugar leads to obesity, inflammation and anxiety.

Sugar also is quite addictive, and when you have a little bit of sugar, you crave more. Sugar also fails to give you a feeling of fullness and you eat more and more of it. All these factors lead to health issues and you end up with serious disorders, both physical and mental.

Sugar is also responsible for one of the deadliest diseases - diabetes. Diabetes happens due to the imbalance of blood sugar and insulin. People who have excessive sugar are more prone to get type 2 diabetes.

How Sugar Affects Your Internal Organs?

As stated, sugar damages the body. Here are some ways in which it affects your organs:

1. Brain

Sugar consumption leads to the release of a hormone called dopamine. Dopamine is known as the ‘feel-good’ or happy hormone and elevates your mood. This is why a candy bar or a scoop of ice cream makes you very happy. However, you crave more and more of it as your body wants more dopamine. When you stop eating sugar or limit its intake, the shortage of dopamine causes anxiety and depression. This is one of the most damaging effects of long-term sugar consumption.

2. Skin

As stated, sugar causes inflammation in the body. This leads to the loss of elasticity in the skin over the years and ageing sets in faster. Your skin starts to prematurely sag and lose its shine. Sugar also takes away the glow from your skin and leaves it looking dull and dry. This is why people who consume excessive sugar from a young age start to look older than their age and have dull and loose skin. This causes several secondary skin issues and also affects the confidence of a person, leading to stress and depression.

3. Teeth

Your oral health takes a severe beating when you have too much sugar. Sugar is very dangerous for your teeth as it accelerates tooth decay and promotes cavity formation. This is common in children, as they do not rinse and wash their mouths properly after eating sugary snacks. The sugar residue remains on the teeth, leading to prompt tooth decay and cavities. Over the years, these problems accelerate and lead to several gum issues, ultimately leading to premature tooth loss and poor dental hygiene.

4. Liver

Your liver is a key organ in the body. It is also the place where all the chemicals are broken down and processed. Sugar, therefore, has a direct impact on your liver. Processed and refined sugar contains many harmful chemicals such as sulphur dioxide and phosphoric acid. These chemicals are harmful to the liver and constant exposure to them can lead to several harmful diseases such as non-alcoholic fatty liver and steatosis. These disorders slow down the liver leading to it malfunctioning and affecting your overall health.

5. Kidney

The kidney is yet another vital organ that is adversely affected by excessive sugar consumption. The job of a kidney is to purify the blood and release the waste products through urine. However, when there is excessive sugar in the blood, the kidney is unable to process it all. Over time, a lot of pressure builds up on the kidneys and they get damaged. This leads to kidney failure in the long run, which is potentially life-threatening.

6. Heart

Obesity, diabetes and organ failure are serious conditions that lead to cardiac disorders. Unfortunately, sugar is a key contributor to all these conditions, and therefore, is directly responsible for heart diseases. Hence, to keep your heart healthy and beating normally, you must reduce sugar consumption.

The Role of Health Insurance

As you can see, sugar consumption leads to several dangerous health issues, many of which last a lifetime. These issues often bring forth other medical problems. This is why you should always have a health insurance plan with you. Health insurance is a great way to safeguard your health and finances.

1. Comprehensive Health Coverage

First and foremost, health insurance offers comprehensive health coverage. Whether the insured person suffers a heart attack due to sugar imbalance or requires a liver procedure due to prolonged illness, the health insurance plan will offer protection. This is a vital requirement, as with the help of an insurance policy, you can seek the required medical help at the right time and stay healthy.

2. Financial Back-up

Modern health care is effective but very expensive. If you require hospitalisation due to a sugar-related disorder, you will end up accumulating a huge hospital bill. When you have health insurance, this financial burden eases, as the insurance pays the bill on your behalf and your hard-earned money is kept safe.

You can opt for a comprehensive mediclaim plan or get health insurance for diabetes. The latter is designed to help you cope with the issues that diabetes brings forth. Assess your options, analyse your requirements and then choose the most suitable option.

The Bottom Line

Most people these days are very health conscious and actively try to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Eating right is one of the most essential components of living a healthy life. If you also aim for a similar goal, limit the consumption of sugar and vouch to prioritise your physical and mental wellness.

Sugar offers temporary happiness but proves to be very damaging in the long run. Cut it out of your life and you will be on a happy and healthy path.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purposes only. For more details, please refer to the policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

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