Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Sugar is found in many foods and drinks. However, consuming too much sugar can trigger heart disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes. Therefore, you are advised to limit your sugar consumption.

The Ministry of Health recommends consuming 10 percent of sugar from the total energy of 200 kcal. If you refer to this advice, the recommended amount of daily sugar consumption is 50 grams of sugar or around four tablespoons per day.

The following are things that happen to the body when you start reducing sugar consumption, as quoted from Eat This Not That.

Consuming large amounts of sweet foods too often causes blood sugar to spike, triggering the pancreas to release insulin. Insulin is a hormone that helps lower your blood glucose to a normal range.

Chronic high sugar intake causes your body to release a lot of insulin, which can lead to insulin resistance—a condition in which cells don’t respond well to insulin. Insulin resistance significantly increases the risk of type 2 diabetes.

“By eliminating sugar, your insulin levels become more stable, reducing the risk of developing insulin resistance and helping overall metabolic health,” says nutritionist Danielle Smith.

2. Mood changes

When you first cut back on sugar, you may feel irritable and cranky. This is a natural reaction because sugar can improve your mood, so when your sugar intake decreases, you feel gloomy.

Sugar not only messes with your blood glucose, but it can also wreak havoc on your brain chemistry. “Sugar consumption can affect levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure,” says Smith. “And temporarily reducing sugar intake can upset this balance.”

The good news is that this chaotic mood is only temporary, because after that you will most likely feel a brighter mood.

Sugar has a very significant effect on the gut and brain, both of which influence how you feel. “The gut-brain axis is a communication network that connects the emotional and cognitive centers of the brain with peripheral gut function. Excessive sugar can disrupt gut health, and an imbalanced gut microbiota is associated with feelings of depression,” Smith said.

3. Weight will be reduced

Sweet foods and drinks contain high calories but low nutritional value. Unfortunately, we tend to get addicted to sweet foods and drinks so it’s hard to stop.

In fact, reducing sugar from your diet will naturally lower your overall calorie intake – and consuming fewer calories can potentially aid weight loss.

“By reducing sugar, you stabilize blood sugar levels, which naturally helps reduce appetite and makes it easier to adopt a balanced diet,” says Smith.

4. Skin becomes brighter

Sugar is inflammatory, which can worsen skin conditions such as acne. A high-glycemic diet (which causes high blood sugar) is closely linked to acne in multiple studies, according to a 2022 systematic review in JAAD International.

Sugar not only manifests as acne but can also cause your skin to age faster.

“Sugar can also cause skin aging due to the process of glycation, where sugar molecules attach to proteins in the skin, causing loss of elasticity and wrinkles,” says Smith.

“Reducing sugar intake can improve skin clarity and slow the aging process related to inflammation and glycation,” says Smith.

5. Sleep better

“Sugar intake can affect the production and regulation of hormones such as serotonin and melatonin, which play an important role in sleep regulation,” says Smith.

In a 2016 study in Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicineresearchers found that people who consumed foods high in sugar experienced anxiety and had difficulty sleeping soundly.

“Consuming a lot of sugar can increase the likelihood of waking up during the night. The body’s efforts to stabilize blood sugar levels during sleep can disrupt the sleep cycle and cause nighttime awakenings,” says Smith.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]

(hsy/hsy)