How does consuming too such sugar impact your immunity?

At a time when we need the full-strength of our immunity, sugar cannot be the comfort food of choice as it has a disastrous effect on the immune system. The concept of ‘sugar lethargy’ dictates that after consuming something that is high in sugar content, cells in the body temporarily lose their aggressiveness to ward off diseases. This starts approximately 30 minutes after sugar enters the body and can remain for about 5 hours. So if you are consuming sweet things more than once a day, you are impacting your system’s ability to protect you. When the body is at a disadvantage to defend itself even against certain strains of bacteria, rapidly replicating viruses are a long shot.

The immune system largely depends upon the functioning of our digestive tract. Having a precise balance of good and bad bacteria in the gut is imperative. Research recommends 85% of good bacteria vs only 15% of the bad. When you eat too much sugar, the colonies of bad bacterias proliferate the gut, thus disturbing the balance, which may result in sickness. Sugar impacts the way white blood cells fight any incoming threats.

Having an excessive amount of sugar, especially refined sugars like high-fructose corn syrup can do much damage to the body in the form of insulin resistance. This condition sticks the immune system in a vicious circle as the body has to produce more and more insulin to help it reach the cells. Therefore, it is important not to consume nutritionally obsolete sugary items.

Did you know that people with diabetes are more prone to contracting COVID-19? According to Nate Favini, the medical lead at Forward, the more sugar you have in your system, the more risk you are at of getting coronavirus. Sugar can set off inflammations in the body which can contribute to chronic health problems such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Having too much sugar also results in weight gain, which is directly linked to high cholesterol levels and risk of heart attacks.

Research indicates that consuming 75 to 100 grams of sugar can have an adverse impact on the defence mechanism of our body. While 75 gms might seem like a lot, but it is only equal to two cans of soda. During the era of coronavirus, it is important to take every step possible to keep our immunity ironclad. Therefore, make sure you are consuming less than 75 gms of sugar in a day. Also, wait at least 5 hours if you must eat something sweet twice a day.