What Is A Sugar Hangover? Side Effects Of Sugar Overload You Must Know

Ever woke up tired, fatigued with some headache a night after going overboard with sugary drinks, desserts, or meals? Well, you might have experienced something called "sugar hangover". Yes, sugar hangover is a real thing that can play havoc with your body system tricking you into experiencing a lot of symptoms of a typical hangover like brain fog, headache, irritability, fatigue, and sluggishness. A hefty dose of sugar can make you feel lousy leading to a sugar crash.

What causes Sugar Hangover?

When you consume a lot of simple sugar from foods like cake, cookies, brownies, sugary beverages, muffins, or even processed foods made of refined flour like chips, pancakes, or pasta- your body undergoes a rush of certain hormones. The two most important hormones affected by sugar are dopamine and serotonin. Dopamine is the hormone related to pleasure and the serotonin hormone is related to happiness. When you consume sugar, dopamine and serotonin release cause an instant feeling of pleasure and happiness. The repeated stimulation by intake of sugar can cause sugar addiction when you want to consume sugar to let yourself feel good, again, and again. The hangover is caused as a result of rapid increase and decline in blood sugar levels.

Also read: Diabetes: Maintain Health Blood Sugar Levels With These Tips

Sugar Overload: Know the side effects 

Consumption of simple sugar can cause rapid spikes in blood glucose levels and this causes the release of insulin hormone that helps to metabolize sugar. Over time, with repeated consumption of sugar, insulin becomes less sensitive to blood sugar leading to a condition called insulin resistance, which can ultimately lead to diabetes.

Another big impact sugar has is on the immune system. The effectiveness of fighter blood cells of the immune system can be decreased by as much as 50% after consuming sugar, and this impact can last for up to 5 hours.

Sugar intake is also a potential trigger for the release of the stress hormone called cortisol. Chronic stress and access to sugary foods make a lethal combination of habitual sugary intake and the risk of developing chronic metabolic disorders.

Also read: Can Weight Loss Help You Control Blood Sugar Levels? Here's The Link Between Weight Loss And Diabetes

How to overcome sugar hangover

1. The best way to overcome sugar hangover is by avoiding simple sugars as much as you can, cutting off the main root cause of a hangover. If you crave for sugar or like sugary taste in general, try switching to healthier alternatives like dates, figs, jaggery, or fresh fruits.

2. If you have overloaded yourself with sugar a night before, try going for a power walk for at least 30 minutes or you can also try gentle yoga poses. The gentle movements of these 2 activities improve circulation and naturally help your body to detoxify excess sugar.

3. Drink lukewarm water with freshly squeezed lime. Lemon water may not directly cut down your blood sugar levels, but it can help prevent sugar spikes. Vitamin C present in lemon is beneficial for maintaining blood sugar levels.

Also read: Vitamin C Benefits: 4 Truths You Must Know

4. Consume cinnamon in some form- you can add cinnamon powder to your soups and salads or consume lukewarm cinnamon water. Cinnamon has been scientifically proven to improve blood sugar spikes by lowering insulin resistance, helping your body to regulate sugar spikes in a better way.

5. Eat fibre rich salad. Soluble and insoluble fibre obtained from various vegetables like carrot, broccoli, bell peppers, spinach, kale, or lettuce can slow down the absorption of sugar and help improve blood sugar levels.

(Nmami Agarwal is nutritionist at Nmami Life)

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