--- title: 8 Things That Happen to Your Body When You Eat Sugar description: By revving the brain's reward and appetite center, fructose can interfere with feelings of satiety and can damage organs and tissue. canonical: https://time.com/4714456/sugar-harmful-effects-body/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-28T17:00:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T04:03:38.931Z article:section: Health og:title: 8 Things That Happen to Your Body When You Eat Sugar og:description: Sugar impacts your body and your brain og:url: https://time.com/4714456/sugar-harmful-effects-body/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6a01cefe9c03f908/6988c013e20a8748d8a949d4/sugar-body-impact.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: tasty colorful donuts og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 8 Things That Happen to Your Body When You Eat Sugar twitter:description: Sugar impacts your body and your brain twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6a01cefe9c03f908/6988c013e20a8748d8a949d4/sugar-body-impact.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 8 Things That Happen to Your Body When You Eat Sugar by [Anthea Levi / Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Anthea Levi / Health.com Mar 28, 2017 5:00 PM UTC  tasty colorful donuts tasty colorful donutsGetty Images by [Anthea Levi / Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Anthea Levi / Health.com Mar 28, 2017 5:00 PM UTC We all know to go easy on the sweet stuff, but what actually happens to your system when you indulge? Here, eight ways sugar affects your body. ### **Your brain suffers** Fructose—the sugar that naturally occurs in fruit and is a component, with glucose, of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and table sugar—lights up the brain’s reward center, says pediatric endocrinologist Robert Lustig, MD, of UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in San Francisco. But over time, a diet packed with fructose (especially from HFCS) can make it tougher to learn and remember, animal research suggests. To stay in peak mental shape, try sticking with savory snacks. ### **You want to eat more** By revving the brain’s reward and appetite center, fructose can interfere with feelings of satiety, research reveals. Translation: That extra cookie may not curb your craving after all. ### **Skin ages faster** Too much sugar can hinder the repair of collagen, the buzzed-about protein that keeps skin looking plump, studies show. A steady diet of sugary treats can result in reduced elasticity and [premature wrinkles](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20788790,00.html). Indulge your sweet tooth with fruit instead. Experts say it’s A-OK to eat two to four servings of the natural sugar source each day. **_Health.com_**_:_ [_9 Ways to Quit Sugar for Good_](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20923984,00.html/?xid=time) ### **Excess sugar is stored as fat** Pause before you slip that additional packet into your a.m. coffee. The liver has an innate capacity to metabolize sugar and use it for energy—but only to an extent, explains Dr. Lustig. The fructose that’s left over is converted into fat in the liver, raising your risk of [obesity](http://www.health.com/obesity), [type 2 diabetes](http://www.health.com/type-2-diabetes), and [cardiovascular disease](http://www.health.com/heart-disease). ### **Your cells pay a steep price** Fructose accelerates the usual oxidation process in our cells, says Dr. Lustig. The result? Proteins, tissues, and organs can become damaged, and our risk of health conditions, including liver disease, kidney failure, and [cataracts](http://www.health.com/eye-health), rises. ### **You get hooked** Eating sugar leads to the release of dopamine, the neurotransmitter that makes us like something and want more of it. “As dopamine receptor neurons get overstimulated, the number of receptors to bind to decreases, so you’ll need a bigger hit of dopamine to get the same rush,” explains Dr. Lustig. **_Health.com_**_:_ [_5 All-Natural Sweeteners That Are (Somewhat) Healthier Than Sugar_](http://www.health.com/nutrition/natural-sweeteners/?xid=time) ### **Stress eating begets stress** Sweets can lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the near term, research shows. But continue OD’ing on sugary refined carbs and your risk of insulin resistance, which stresses the body from the inside, goes up. To find your calm, sweat instead: “Exercise is the best treatment for stress. It makes you feel good and reduces cortisol,” says Dr. Lustig. ### **Energy surges, then bottoms out** Refined carbs, like those in white bread and pasta, quickly cause a rise in glucose in the bloodstream, so you might feel extra energized—for a while. But this short-term fix can actually leave you more sluggish later on (when you eventually crash). Instead, opt for [protein-rich snacks](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20855303,00.html) between meals, such as Greek yogurt with fresh berries or fresh veggies and hummus. They help stabilize blood sugar and keep you going longer. _This_ [_article_](http://www.health.com/nutrition/sugar-health-effects/?xid=time) _originally appeared on_ [_Health.com_](http://www.health.com) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4714456/sugar-harmful-effects-body/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4714456/sugar-harmful-effects-body/"},"headline":"8 Things That Happen to Your Body When You Eat Sugar","datePublished":"2017-03-28T17:00:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:03:38.931Z","description":"By revving the brain's reward and appetite center, fructose can interfere with feelings of satiety and can damage organs and tissue.","url":"https://time.com/4714456/sugar-harmful-effects-body/","keywords":["Diet & Nutrition"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6a01cefe9c03f908/6988c013e20a8748d8a949d4/sugar-body-impact.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Anthea Levi / Health.com"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6a01cefe9c03f908/6988c013e20a8748d8a949d4/sugar-body-impact.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"tasty colorful donuts","caption":"tasty colorful donuts","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/dietnutrition/","name":"Diet & Nutrition"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4714456/sugar-harmful-effects-body/","name":"8 Things That Happen to Your Body When You Eat Sugar"}}]}] ```