How Sugar Makes You Fat

Have you heard of terms like “glycemic index”? How about just “low carb diets”? There’s a ton of buzz out there about sugar and sugary foods and how they make you fat, but not a lot of people know just how that whole thing works.

It’s not magic. It’s actually a pretty straightforward mechanism.

It’s all about insulin, a hormone that your body uses to remove sugar from the bloodstream. When sugar is released into the blood by digestion, the body releases insulin to clear it out.

When sugar levels rise slowly, there’s no problem. The problem arises when blood sugar levels spike from consuming high-glycemic (sugary carbs) food.

When that happens, your body also will spike your insulin levels to meet with the sugar demand. This is where we start running into problems.

High levels of insulin tell the body to store and keep fat. In fact, with high insulin levels, you’ll keep fat even if you’ve cut your calories down and feel like you’re starving.

In addition, insulin blocks the action of glucagon, the hormone that your body uses to use up fat as a fuel source, so it turns into a double-barrel problem.

Make that triple! Insulin also blocks the action of growth hormone, which also burns up fat and also is involved with the creation of new muscle growth. So, high levels of insulin have a multi-pronged effect on your body. Think of it as the Triple Threat of Fatness.

As your blood sugar levels start to drop due to the action of insulin,that signals your body to start feeling hungry. So, not only does insulin keep you fat, it makes you want to eat more! And especially, it makes you want to eat more carbs!

So, it shouldn’t seem too surprising that high-carb, high-sugar diets make us fat. With insulin levels jumping all over the place, making us fat and hungry at the same time, it’s a recipe for disaster!
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