Why sugar is bad for you as a woman

Unless you grew up under the rock then you must have heard how bad sugar is for women, most especially because of our monthly visitor. However, we know we shouldn’t take too much sugar but do we know why?

Let us start with this tidbit: women who experience usually PMS (premenstrual syndrome- the discomfort many of us believe is normal just when you are about to start your period or a couple of days into it) are said to consume about 275% more sugar than women who don’t experience it. Have I gotten your full attention now?

Almost every food that you eat has a form of sugar in it, even something like beans so doing away with sugar completely is impossible. However, what you should really cut down are complex sugars like from junk food, sodas, pastries, white rice, bread, pasta etc. These types of sugar cause sharp spikes in your insulin levels and that could cause hormonal imbalances, aside from the obvious side effects like diabetes and weight gain.

The work of hormones is subtle but when something throws them out of balance, your body could go haywire. Insulin is closely linked to oestrogen and testosterone. A sharp increase in insulin can lead to increased production of the aforementioned hormones. More testosterone means that it is converted to oestrogen which leads to less progesterone that you really need to keep you calm. This then means you become more anxious, irritable etc. And there, you have a hormonal imbalance.

Therefore, eat fibrous foods, healthy fats and more protein.  Eat brown rice instead of the white one. Eat more nuts and more vegetables. Drink more water and for some flavour, you could squeeze some lemons into it.