Sugar Laden Drinks Add Lots of Empty Calories

Added sugar furnishes you with no additional nutritional value and only serves to add calories to your overall daily intake. The calories the body doesn't use for energy are stored as fat deposits. Choosing foods low in refined ingredients like sugar, but high in omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals can relieve mood swings and symptoms of depression.

Dietitians think the power of foods with few processed ingredients lies in the ability to promote good brain health. Even the experts disagree on how much sugar is safe to eat each day but most do agree that you should consume sugar in moderation or avoid added sugar completely, as it provides calories with no added nutrients.

• Fewer Headaches - Sugar has a drug-like effect in the brain's reward center and scientists believe sugar can produce addiction-like responses in your brain causing you to feel fatigued from the subsequent weight gain.
• Slow Aging Process - Telomeres act as a protective cap at the end of chromosomes. As you grow older, the intake of high amounts of sugar has been shown to shorten telomere length, which leads to premature cellular aging.
• Better Mood - Using data from the Women's Health Initiative, researchers found that the higher a woman's blood sugar rises, the higher her risk of depression; and vice versa.
• Manage Weight - Consuming added sugars raises insulin levels, which can boost production of the stress hormone cortisol. If insulin and cortisol levels remain elevated, they begin to break down muscle and create visceral fat deposits, which can result in weight gain.

Most people will never have to worry about natural sugars in fruits, veggies and dairy products, as very few overeat naturally occurring sugars. Fact is the fiber, vitamins and minerals contained in whole foods tend to fill you up unlike simple carbohydrates. To avoid a nap-inducing sugar crash, do everything that you can to keep your blood glucose in check.

Stable blood sugar levels will keep your energy levels steady throughout the day, which in turn, will help you stick to a normal sleep schedule. Because the food world is surrounded by added sugars, most people will eat too much of the white stuff unless they consciously choose to do otherwise. Fortunately, many people have realized this and are cutting back on sugar consumption.