There are more than 260 names for various added sugars on food labels (any ingredient that ends with "ose" or “syrup” is a type of sugar,) which are added to preserve a food, increase texture or bulk, and, most commonly, to sweeten or improve the taste of often unhealthy and ultra-processed foods. Worse, foods with added sugars don’t provide meaningful amounts of any vitamins, minerals, or dietary fiber to offset them.

"This is why added sugars are often referred to as 'empty calories,' as they are calories that lack nutrients," explains Katherine Zeratsky, a registered dietician nutritionist at Mayo Clinic.

How reducing added sugars helps you avoid health dangers

The harms associated with eating or drinking too many added sugars are significant and include an increased risk of developing autoimmune disorders such as Crohn's disease and multiple sclerosis, higher blood pressure, and increased risk of more than a dozen different cancers. A 2023 BMC Medicine study also shows that even a 5 percent increase in added sugars comes with a 6 percent higher risk of heart disease and a 10 percent higher risk of stroke.

Such harms occur, in part, because any consumed sugar that isn't used for energy is stored as fat, "which results in increased weight gain and insulin resistance—leading to diabetes, obesity, and associated adverse outcomes," says Elaine Hon, clinical dietician and a certified diabetes care and education specialist at Stanford Health Care. 

(How much of a role does genetics play in obesity? Experts weigh in.)

Goodson says that excessive sugar consumption can also lead to increased fat storage in the liver, contributing to scarring and limited functionality of the vital organ—a condition known as fatty liver disease.

Added sugars also feed the bad bacteria in the gut, which can lead to chronic inflammation and an imbalance of healthy organisms. "This has been linked to a host of mental health issues," says Uma Naidoo, a nutritional psychiatrist practicing in Massachusetts and the author of This is Your Brain on Food.

Surprising health benefits of cutting out sugar 

Dropping or limiting added sugars in the diet can help you not only avoid such outcomes but can also improve your quality of life, in part, because consuming less sugar reduces the production of a group of harmful molecules known as AGEs, which are associated with premature aging and chronic conditions such as Alzheimer's disease.

"When excess sugar is present in the bloodstream, it can bind with lipids or proteins like collagen and elastin and contribute to aging skin such as wrinkles and a loss of elasticity," says Jen Messer, a registered dietitian and president of the New Hampshire Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

This is one reason eating less sugar has been shown to boost your skin health. Another study shows that sugar affects sleep quality by overstimulating the brain—thereby making it more difficult to fall asleep—and by causing blood sugar crashes that can wake you up feeling thirsty, hungry, or needing to use the bathroom.