Added sugar refers to the sugar you'd find in processed foods, not the naturally occurring sugar found in fruits. The former is associated with greater risks of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart and liver diseases.
The average American consumes about 17 teaspoons of added sugar per day, which is about 50% more than the World Health Organization recommends.
You can look out for some subtle changes to your mood, energy, and physical wellbeing and adjust your diet accordingly.
You're gaining weight, but you're still hungry
Sugar might be satisfying to the taste buds, but it's not good fuel for the rest of the body.
According to a review published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages promotes weight gain in adults and children.
Consuming sugar floods your brain with the pleasure hormone dopamine, while disrupting your metabolism and interfering with the hormones that tell you when you're full.
You're hangry
Consuming too much sugar can also leave you feeling moody or sluggish - especially if you're eating high-sugar, processed snacks.
A high-sugar meal without protein or fat will cause your blood sugar to spike, crashing your energy levels and making you feel tired and irritable. The crash after the spike is also associated with decreased levels of blood sugar in the brain, so you may feel a little foggy after too much sugar as well.
Your skin is breaking out around your mouth and chin
High-sugar foods can be a trigger for acne, although there are many other dietary and non-dietary factors to consider.
A recent study in JAMA Dermatology found that a Western diet rich in sugary foods - as well as milk and fatty foods - was associated with acne in adults.
Your digestive system is acting up
Like acne, indigestion can occur for a multitude of reasons. Regardless of the root cause, experts say a high-sugar diet can't help.
Too much sugar can decrease the diversity of your gut microbiome within as little as a week, according to studies in rats and mice. Giving the animals a sugary solution similar to most soft drinks not only decreased the good bacteria in their guts, but also allowed harmful bacteria to thrive.
