Effects of Excess Processed Sugar
Introduction
When you go to the grocery store, you’ll quickly discover that processed sugar is found everywhere—from cookies, yogurt, ice cream, and even “healthier” options, such as breads, soups, and cured meats. This unaccounted sugar may make it easy to consume far more sugar than is healthy, all while remaining completely ignorant! While sugar is necessary in moderation, excessive intake of sugar can seriously harm your health and even negatively impact athletic performance.
Effects on Health
Overconsumption of processed sugar can lead to several non-communicable diseases, such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.
A key danger present from excess sugar is to heart health. High amounts of sugar intake can overload your liver, leading to an increased conversion of sugar into fat cells. Over time, this may result in fatty liver disease, which is a contributor to diabetes and can put you at risk of heart disease. Consuming too much added sugar can also raise blood pressure and increase chronic inflammation, both of which present a latent risk of heart disease.
Additionally, a study published in 2014 in the JAMA Internal Medicine by Dr. Hu and his team found a strong link between high sugar intake and an increased risk of death from heart disease. Over 15 years, participants who consumed 17% to 21% of their daily calories from added sugars had a 38% higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared to those who consumed only 8% of their calories of sugars. As Dr. Hu summarized, "Basically, the higher the intake of added sugar, the higher the risk for heart disease.”
Effects on Athletic Performance
Excess sugar can have a variety of effects on the body, even pertaining to athletic performance. A sugar crash (hypoglycemia) is often caused by consuming large amounts of simple sugars found in desserts. After a swift spike in energy from sugar, your body releases insulin as a signal to bring blood sugar back down, causing a decrease in energy shortly after. For athletes, this energy crash may lead to decreased performance.
When training or competing as an athlete, it is important to stay in a peak physical and mental state for proper and effective conditioning. The sugar crash will effectively interfere with training, with frequent symptoms being fatigue, reduced endurance, excessive sweating, shakiness, dizziness, discomfort, and difficulty concentrating. These are all factors hindering an athlete's ability to train at their best.
How to Moderate Processed Sugar
Fortunately, there are many practical habits to develop to limit sugar intake. The first habit to develop is checking the nutrition label on all purchased items and tracking the sugar content per serving. While simple, this can significantly reduce sugar intake by removing the factor of ignorance, as you are now given the information to safely limit yourself. Apart from this, there are other practical methods to reduce overall sugar intake throughout the day.
Cut back on the amount of sugar you put into foods or drinks that you make, whether it is pancakes, coffee, tea, or cereal.
Reduce the amount of sugary drinks, such as soda, or replace them with artificial sweeteners, such as the “diet” sodas.
Read nutrition labels, looking for added sugars under different names like cane sugar or corn syrup. Even “healthy” foods can be loaded with sugar.
Try to use more natural sugars as opposed to processed ones. For example, instead of adding sugar to your oatmeal, maybe mix some berries into it, as they are rich in healthy, natural sugar.
When cooking or baking, use half of the specified sugar called for in the recipe.
Use flavor extracts, such as vanilla, orange, or lemon, to sweeten things as opposed to adding sugar.
Conclusion
There is processed sugar in pretty much every pre-made item at a grocery store. If you ever eat something with it, make sure to only have it in moderation and not in huge, excess amounts, as this can lead to serious short-term and long-term effects on both your health and athletic performance.
Processed sugar is impossible to avoid, being found in nearly every pre-made item at a grocery store. But this does not mean it must control your health. By being aware of where it’s hidden and practicing eating in moderation, you can effectively avoid all its harmful effects on both health and athletic performance. Small changes in your daily habits will go far in protecting long-term health and contribute to helping you feel your best.
Work Cited
“Excessive intake of sugar: An accomplice of inflammation.” PubMed Central, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9471313/. Accessed 20 October 2025.
“The sweet danger of sugar.” Harvard Health, 6 January 2022, https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/the-sweet-danger-of-sugar. Accessed 20 October 2025.
“How sugar crashes affect athletic performance.” Sanford Sports, 5 May 2023, https://www.sanfordsports.com/blog/nutrition/how-sugar-crashes-affect-athletic-performance. Accessed 20 October 2025.
“Tips for Cutting Down on Sugar.” American Heart Association, 31 July 2024, https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/sugar/tips-for-cutting-down-on-sugar. Accessed 20 October 2025.