Ten Surprising Facts About Sugar

1. Excess sugar causes... wrinkles. In a chemical process called glycation, excess sugar in the blood binds to collagen in the skin, making it less elastic.
2. The pioneers of using sugar cane were the Indians, who have been doing so for more than two thousand years. When the armies of Alexander the Great arrived in India, they documented their amazement at 'the production of honey without bees'.

3. 80% of all white sugar comes from sugar cane, while 20% is derived from sugar beets, which grow better in cold climates.

4. Does it seem reasonable to eat 16 cubes of sugar in five minutes? No? That's exactly what happens when you quickly consume a personal bottle of cola.

5. If it seems like your whole family is addicted to sugar, you might be right. A recent study showed that people with a certain genetic mutation in the hormone ghrelin consumed more sugar than those without this genetic change. This hormone is responsible for signaling the brain when you are hungry, and for the unfortunate ones with a tendency to addiction, it often reports with a preference for sweetness.

6. Sugar and alcohol have similar toxic effects on the liver. A study published in 2012 in the scientific journal Nature showed that excessive amounts of sugar adversely affect the liver just like alcohol, and this damage can even occur in people who limit their calorie intake and maintain a normal weight.

7. Forgetting too many things lately? Maybe you’re consuming too much sugar. Studies prove that sugar intake is linked to faster brain aging and weakening of memory and other cognitive skills.

8. Sugar hides in unexpected places. Many know to avoid candies and cakes: not everyone knows to look for sugar hidden in products like bread, crackers, tomato sauce, and other seemingly innocent foods.

9. Increased sugar consumption can lead to insulin resistance, which in turn increases the risk of developing cancer.

10. And we can't skip a word about synthetic sugar substitutes: most are not really recommended. Saccharin and aspartame were used in the lab for research purposes not related to sweetening. Only when lab workers tasted the materials they worked with did they discover unexpected sweetness. Not to mention sucralose, sold today as 'Splenda': the researchers who discovered it were actually trying to develop... an insecticide.