What Are the Dangers of Eating Too Many Sweets?

Having a sweet tooth is extremely hazardous to your health, according to Nancy Appleton, author of "Lick the Sugar Habit" (see Resources section). The average American consumes 22 teaspoons of sugar daily -- which are made up of 335 empty and detrimental calories. In 2009, the American Heart Association published new dietary guidelines encouraging people to limit their intake of added sugars. However, it's not easy to stop consuming sweets, especially in our culture, as a great deal of the foods on supermarket shelves are laden with sugar.

If We Knew Then

• Once upon a time, we simply worried about sugar causing cavities -- which it does. Even with hyper-attentive hygiene, excessive amounts of sugar promote the perfect breeding ground for bacteria in the mouth. Today, we are faced with more serious health concerns regarding sugar. Refined sugars have been demonstrated to exacerbate a host of alarming ailments, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Consuming Empty Calories

• Fruits are full of sugar, but they provide the body with many needed nutrients.

  Aspects of poor nutrition are accelerated by eating refined sugars, such as cookies, cakes, candies, cereals, ice cream and sodas. The consumption of these highly processed foods ultimately decreases a person's desire to eat healthful foods. Refined sugar is addictive and entirely void of nutrients -- most important, it lacks vitamins, minerals, proteins and fiber. Not all sugars are equal, and eating an orange is far different than eating a doughnut. Both contain substantial amounts of sugar, but the orange also contains essential vitamins, minerals, nutrients, and much-needed dietary fiber, and the doughnut is merely an empty mass of calories. Choosing the type of sweets you eat (natural or processed) is important to optimal health.

The True Culprit

• Sugar consumption is a major factor in the declining health of American citizens, and the primary cause of obesity, concludes Dr. Robert H. Lustig of the University of California, San Francisco. Not only can excess sugar cause your teeth to decay, it can raise your blood pressure and bad cholesterol level, cause heart disease and diabetes, suppress your immune system, promote premature aging, disrupt metabolic functions, feed cancer cells, and make you fat -- to name but only a few of the major health consequences of eating too many sweets.

Don't Eat Dessert First

• Enjoy a healthy meal before indulging in dessert.

  If you are compelled to consume sugar despite the hazards to your health, do so sparingly, and never eat sugar by itself; it's best to accompany sweet foods with a substantial and nourishing meal.