Nutrition Tips for Gamers: Round 2!

So maybe I cheated a bit in the week or so of writing this blog. Maybe it was because HEB had a buy 1 get 1 free on those large bags of M&M’s that I love so much. Who knows?!? Back in our first blog we gave a couple of nutrition tips to get your gaming a little bit more on the healthy side. If you haven’t seen it, well here’s a link (http://tinyurl.com/h88n533). Now we revisit the topic of nutrition to continue our quest to a healthier lifestyle while we game.

Like I said earlier. I bought and ate a whole lot of M&M’s this week. They tasted wonderful. But for some strange reason, I didn’t feel too good later though. You may say John, you know what you wrote before, why do this to yourself? The answer is very simple. I. Love. Sugar. It’s a problem and I know it. Most of the time I contain myself from buying the chocolaty goodness. Mainly by letting my wife do the shopping. No, but really, we as gamers have a tendency to over consume sugar. It just happens sometimes. Those sweet little snacks are easy to get to when you are in a rush to get back to a match that's about to queue up. Everyone knows that sugar is bad for your teeth and it can help you put on a few pounds. Why does sugar cause this and other problems?

Most sugars from your sodas and candy are high in fructose.2 What is fructose you ask? Well in short, It’s basically a fruit sugar. You may say, well that doesn’t sound bad, why can’t I eat tons of it?!? Well Mr. Sweet Tooth, your body doesn’t produce this naturally. Our bodies run on glucose, which is a bit different. Can it get rid of? Well yes it can, just not a whole lot at a time. From here we can explore the effects of a diet with a ton of extra sugar added to it

1. It can overload your liver with glycogen.1  Hold here a sec you may say. The liver is full of what?!? Glycogen is simply the substance that your body converts sugars to when it stores it. Now your liver is where this substance is stored for use. Eat a large bag of M&M’s? There is no longer room in the inn for your sugars. This is when your body starts storing it as fat.

2. It’s known to help a disease or two. I know. It’s starting to not look good. But here are some things that sugar is known to help contribute to.

Insulin Resistance

Type 2 Diabetes

Metabolic Syndrome (MS)

Cardiovascular Disease

Cancer

That list isn’t pretty. But evidence has been found that links excessive sugar intake to all of these diseases. Studies are starting to link sugar intake to the raising of cholesterol. So you may be asking, why are you still eating it John?!? Well that’s simple, it tastes really really good! Moderation is the key to this. So don’t eat the whole bag of M&M’s or kill a case of snowballs. Until you can get to the point of self control and motivation to completely cut out the sugar, just take a step back and limit your intake. Until next time gamers, game safe!

References

1Gunnars, K. (2013, September 30). 10 Disturbing Reasons Why Sugar is Bad For You. Retrieved May 23, 2016, from https://authoritynutrition.com/10-disturbing-reasons-why-sugar-is-bad/

2Skerrett, P. (2011, April 26). Is fructose bad for you? - Harvard Health Blog. Retrieved May 23, 2016, from http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/is-fructose-bad-for-you-201104262425