4 Ways Sugar Makes You Gain

Sugar (sucrose) and high fructose corn syrup contain two molecules: glucose and fructose. Glucose is absolutely vital to life and is an integral part of our metabolism. Every cell in the body can use glucose for energy. If we don’t get glucose from the diet, our bodies produce what we need out of proteins and fats.

Fructose, however, is very different. This molecule is not a natural part of metabolism and humans do not produce it. In fact, very few cells in the body can make use of it except liver cells. When we eat a lot of sugar, most of the fructose gets metabolized by the liver. There it gets turned into fat, which is then secreted into the blood.

1. Fructose causes insulin resistance and raises insulin levels in the body, which increases the deposition of fat in the fat cells.
2. Fructose causes resistance to a hormone called leptin, which makes the brain not “see” that the fat cells are full of fat. This leads to increased food intake and decreased fat burning.
3. Fructose does not make you feel satiated after meals. It does not lower levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin and it doesn’t reduce blood flow in the centers of the brain (hypothalamus) that control appetite. This increases overall food intake.
4. Sugar, with its powerful impact on the reward system, causes addiction in certain individuals. This activates powerful reward-seeking behavior that also increases food intake.

So… excess fructose consumption dysregulates short-term energy balance on a meal-to-meal basis AND throws long-term energy balance out of whack.

Sugar sets up an extremely powerful biochemical drive tomake you eat more, burn less and get fat. Trying to exert willpower over this powerful drive can be next to impossible.

Dr. Lisa E. Heuer provides a medically supervised weight loss program and has clinical expertise in the neurobiology of weight management, nutrition, and exercise physiology. Her office is located at 99 Main St. in Nyack. For more information, contact Dr. Lisa Heuer at 914-714-8957 or dietdoctormd@gmail.com or visit RocklandMedicalWeightLoss.com