Revealed, your body on sugar: From weakening the immune system to triggering thrush, this terrifying tool reveals exactly how the white stuff harms our health
- Beneden, a healthcare insurance provider, has created an online tool showing how sugar affects the body
- Shows a big dose of sugar affects a child's immune system - making white blood 40% less effective for 5 hours
- In women, high blood sugar levels create the perfect breeding ground for yeast infections, causing recurring thrush
- If men's blood sugar levels rise too high it can cause erectile dysfunction as well as lethargy, affecting sex drive
We all know sugar rots our teeth and can make us fat.
But there are other little-known hidden dangers of the white stuff that can seriously harm our health, a new guide reveals.
Created by Beneden,a healthcare and insurance provider, the online tool below shows exactly how sugar affects the body...
From kidney and liver problems to erectile dysfunction and a dampened immune system, it makes for alarming reading.
Large amounts of sugar can reduce levels of 'good' cholesterol in the body while raising levels of harmful fats the blood. This can contribute to hardening of the arteries or thickening of the artery walls (atherosclerosis) - which increases the risk of stroke, heart attack and heart disease. Pictured on the left is a healthy heart and right, one that has become damaged due to sugar
Too many sweet treats lead to fat deposits being stored in the liver. In the worst case scenario, fat storage can lead to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which stops the organ functioning. Pictured is a healthy liver (left) and one left diseased by overindulging (right)
Many men with diabetes are more likely to suffer erectile dysfunction, while overindulging in sugar causes lethargy, which can affect sex drive.
In women, eating too many sweet treats causes blood sugar levels to soar, which creates the perfect conditions for yeast fungus to grow, causing repeated bouts of thrush.
And when it comes to children, a Columbia University study found those given around 100g of sugar - the amount found in a litre bottle of fizzy drink - white blood cells - responsible for trapping and killing harmful pathogens in the body - were 40 per cent less effective.
This crippled the body's defences for up to five hours afterwards, researchers said.
CLICK ON THE AVATARS BELOW OR FOLLOW THIS LINK TO USE THE ONLINE TOOL
After clicking on an avatar, scroll down the sugar cubes on the right, and drag the slider across to see the ‘before’ and ‘after’ effects of how sugar affects different parts of the body.
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Wow! Who knew sugar would make your internal organ...
by Max Planck 485