“Sugar is a primary driver of the aging reaction,” AARP Magazine reports quoting neuroendocrinologist Robert Lustig, M.D., professor emeritus of pediatrics at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). The results of a 2024 UCSF research study published in the JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) Network Open demonstrated that added sugar may make cells age faster. “The more sugar you eat, the quicker aging will occur,” Healthline.com advises. “As you get older, your cells go downhill, but if you consume a lot of sugar, they go downhill seven times faster.”
Much of the sugar we eat doesn’t come from ice cream, soda, or candy bars. It comes from everyday foods that we don’t associate with sweetness. Here’s a (partial) list of sneaky sugar sources, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
- Condiments, such as ketchup and salad dressings
- Sauces, including pasta sauces, barbecue sauce
- Flavored yogurt, especially low-fat yogurt
- Cereals, including granola, instant oatmeal, and breakfast cereals
- Nut butters, such as peanut butter
More than half of American adults eat more than the recommended amount of daily sugar, according to Health.com “It’s well-established that eating and drinking too much added sugar—abundant in processed and ultra-processed foods—leads to health problems.”
8 ways sugar can harm your health
“Sugar places an increased burden on an already aging body,” says Dorothy Chiu coauthor of the UCSF study. “Getting older puts us at greater risk for disease, but ‘sugar is the icing on the cake.’” AARP Magazine points out what sugar does:
1. “Raises dementia risk
Excessive amounts of sugar can increase inflammation and weaken the blood-brain barrier, which can trigger cognitive decline. In one study, researchers found that in older adults (average age 79), consuming more sugar may double the risk of developing dementia later in life.
2. Makes your belly bigger
When you eat excess sugar, your liver metabolizes the fructose compound and converts it to fat, which accumulates in the liver. You gain weight when your liver stores excess fat instead of burning it off as energy. Fat accumulation can lead to higher cholesterol, insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease.
3. Hampers your nutritional status
As we get older, our need for calories declines, so to maintain the same body weight we need to eat less, says Alice H. Lichtenstein, senior scientist at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. ‘Consuming a diet high in sugar makes it challenging to also include enough healthy foods so that we balance calorie needs and meet our nutrient needs.’
4. Damages your liver
High sugar intake, especially fructose, can lead to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, which is an excessive amount of fat in the liver that is associated with an increased risk of developing liver cancer.
5. Increases your risk of heart disease and stroke
Added sugar can elevate your blood pressure, promote chronic inflammation and increase levels of triglycerides, a type of fat that builds up in the bloodstream and increases your risk of heart disease. Excessive sugar intake damages the arteries and puts stress on the heart.
6. Ups your diabetes risk
Sugar causes rapid spikes in blood sugar levels, which can contribute to insulin resistance, a precursor to type 2 diabetes, and drives other major chronic diseases in older adults. In addition to aging and stress, sugar can wreak havoc on insulin sensitivity and through various pathways accelerate aging in the body’s systems.”
7. Worsens menopause symptoms
Postmenopausal women are more vulnerable to the effects of sugar because they have lower levels of estrogen and progesterone and become more insulin resistant. Some studies show that high sugar levels are also associated with more hot flashes in menopausal women. It may be because they cause spikes in blood sugar and dramatic drops
8. Promotes tooth loss
Sugar can foster bacterial growth in the mouth, which, in turn, can produce acid that erodes the enamel on your teeth, causing cavities. Excess sugar can also lead to inflammation of the gums, leading to gum recession and tooth loss.”
How to eat less sugar.
- Limit added sugar. Focus on natural sugars found in fruits and vegetables and maintaining a balanced diet.
- Read labels and be mindful of hidden sugars in processed foods, drinks, and snacks.
- Choose whole, unprocessed foods, which naturally contain fewer added sugars.
- Try combating your sweet tooth. If you must have dessert, have fruit, cheese and nuts or unflavored yogurt with fruit.
Here’s the key takeaway which bears repeating: Eating a lot of sugar causes your body to age at seven times its natural rate. “A healthy diet appears to slow the body’s biological ‘clock,’, Healthline.com advises, “while consuming sugar does the opposite.”
