Reducing your sugar intake can help keep these diseases at bay and prevent premature ageing of your skin. A diet low on sugar may also help keep your muscles healthier for longer, said a study published in the Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology.
Less sugar means more health and longevity to your muscles
Consuming too much added sugar can have many negative health effects. It can increase your risk of obesity, high blood pressure, inflammation, weight gain, diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver disease and certain type of cancers.
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Our muscles undergo wear and tear from everyday use and continuously repair themselves to keep them in top condition. According to researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University in Japan, skeletal muscle satellite cells, which are key for muscle repair, increases rapidly in low glucose environments.
For the study, the researchers grew skeletal muscle satellite cells in petri dishes. Surprisingly, lower glucose led to a larger number of cells and higher glucose levels caused adverse effect on the cells. So far, it was thought that mammalian cells fare better when there is more sugar to fuel their activities as glucose is essential for cellular growth. To get to even lower levels of glucose, the researchers added glucose oxidase, a glucose digesting enzyme. The cells were still doing just fine and proliferated normally. The researchers said that their finding may help boost biomedical research on muscle repair.
Here are some easy tricks to help reduce your sugar intake:
- Top your oatmeal or cereal bowl with your favourite fruit instead of adding sugar.
- Avoid sugar-sweetened beverages and choose low-calorie or sugar-free drinks instead. However, drinking plain water is the best.
- Love to have a dessert after a meal! Replace cookies or pastries with fruit.
- Use unsweetened applesauce instead of sugar in recipes for cakes and cookies.
- Ketchup and barbecue sauce can be high in sugar. So, when you're dining out, try choosing lower sugar options such as salsa, mustard or hot sauce.
- Always read food labels and check the restaurant menus online so that you can avoid the high-sugar options.
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