Medically Reviewed by Lucas Rosa, PhD in Biology
Sugar is everywhere – in sodas, snacks, sauces, and even foods marketed as “healthy”.
Naturally occurring sugars in fruits and dairy offer essential nutrients, but artificial ones that are added during processing can significantly disrupt hormonal balance.
What Are Added Sugars?
Added sugars are sweeteners incorporated into foods and drinks during manufacturing, cooking, or serving. Unlike the natural sugars in whole foods, they offer minimal nutritional benefits while heavily impacting metabolism and hormone regulation. (1)
Common Sources of Added Sugars
- Sugary Beverages (sodas, fruit drinks, sports drinks, flavored coffees)
- Flavored Dairy Products (flavored milk, fruit yogurts)
- Processed Snacks (cookies, cakes, granola bars)
- Breakfast Cereals (flavored oatmeal, sweetened cereal)
- Sauces & Condiments (salad dressings, ketchup, barbecue sauce, syrup)
- Packaged Bread & Baked Goods (white bread, muffins)
Added sugars come in many forms, including high-fructose corn syrup, cane sugar, honey, agave nectar, and dextrose. Regardless of the source, excessive consumption can disrupt hormone function and contribute to serious health concerns.
How Added Sugars Impact Hormones
Hormones are essential for maintaining the body’s balance, but too much sugar can throw them off, triggering a chain reaction of health problems. Added sugars affect everything from blood sugar regulation and appetite control to stress response and reproductive health.
Over time, these disruptions can contribute to weight gain, insulin resistance, mood swings, fertility problems, and even thyroid dysfunction. Understanding how sugar impacts hormones can help you make better dietary choices and support long-term well-being.
Insulin Spikes and Insulin Resistance
Insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar, is heavily influenced by sugar intake. Consuming sugary foods causes a rapid rise in blood sugar levels, triggering the pancreas to release insulin to bring them back to normal. (2)
Repeated sugar surges put strain on the pancreas, and over time, it can lead to insulin resistance – where cells stop responding efficiently to insulin, keeping blood sugar levels elevated. This imbalance greatly heightens the likelihood of developing insulin resistance, diabetes, obesity, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and metabolic syndrome.
Chronically high insulin levels increases fat storage, particularly around the abdomen, leading to further hormonal imbalances.
Disrupts Hunger Hormones
Leptin and ghrelin regulate hunger and satiety, but added sugars interfere with their natural balance, leading to increased appetite and food cravings. (3)
- Leptin Resistance – Leptin signals fullness, but excessive sugar intake can make the brain less responsive to it. As a result, you experience persistent hunger, increased cravings, and eventual weight gain.
- Ghrelin Overproduction – High sugar diets increase ghrelin levels, the hormone responsible for triggering hunger, making it harder to control food intake.
This imbalance contributes to binge eating, sugar addiction, and difficulty maintaining a healthy weight.
Impacts Stress Response
Too much added sugar can elevate stress hormones, making it harder for the body to cope with stress efficiently. (4) Sugar consumption triggers blood sugar crashes, leading to spikes in cortisol as the body struggles to stabilize energy levels. Chronically elevated cortisol is linked to anxiety, poor sleep, increased belly fat, and weakened immune function.
Excess sugar consumption is linked to mood swings and irritability, making stress management even more challenging.
Disrupts Reproductive Hormones
Added sugars can negatively affect estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone levels, leading to fertility issues and other hormonal imbalances. (5)
- For those assigned female at birth – Excess sugar consumption is associated with estrogen dominance, which may lead to irregular periods, PCOS, mood swings, and a higher risk of breast cancer. Additionally, increased inflammation from excessive sugar intake can impair ovulation.
- For those assigned male at birth – Excess sugar consumption is associated with lower testosterone levels, which leads to reduced libido, muscle mass, and energy levels. Increased inflammation from excessive sugar intake can reduce sperm quality, affecting fertility.
Impacts Thyroid Functioning
The thyroid gland is vital for regulating metabolism and energy levels, but too much sugar can disrupt its balance and function. (6)
- Insulin resistance disrupts thyroid function, leading to hypothyroidism (low thyroid activity), which causes fatigue, weight gain, and slow metabolism.
- High sugar diets contribute to chronic inflammation, which can impair thyroid hormone conversion, making it harder for the body to produce active thyroid hormones.
Ways to Avoid Added Sugars
1. Read Labels and Identify Hidden Sugars
Food manufacturers often disguise added sugars under different names. Opt for natural ingredients like cane sugar, agave nectar, dextrose, maltose, and molasses.
If sugar or its alternatives are listed as one of the top ingredients, it’s best to steer clear of that product.
2. Reduce Sugary Beverages
Sodas and other sweetened beverages are among the largest sources of added sugar. Instead, opt for drinks like:
- Fruit Infused Water
- Herbal teas
- Unsweetened coconut water
3. Choose Whole Foods Over Processed Foods
Eating whole, unprocessed foods naturally reduces sugar intake. Focus on:
- Fruits and Vegetables (these are loaded with natural sugars and also contain fiber, which slows sugar absorption).
- Whole Grains like brown rice, oats, and quinoa – instead of sweetened grains like cereals.
- Natural Protein Sources like eggs, lean meats, beans, and nuts instead of processed meats that are high in sugar.
If you crave sweetness, opt for raw honey, pure maple syrup, or monk fruit sweetener in small amounts instead of refined sugar.
4. Balance Blood Sugar with Protein and Fiber
Carbohydrates, when paired with protein and fiber, reduce insulin spikes and slows sugar absorption.
- Eat healthy fats (avocado, nuts, olive oil) with meals.
- Add fiber-rich foods (flaxseeds, chia seeds, lentils) to your diet.
5. Manage Stress to Reduce Sugar Cravings
Since cortisol increases sugar cravings, reducing stress can naturally lower sugar intake. Try:
- Meditation or deep breathing exercises
- Regular physical activity
- Adequate sleep (7–9 hours per night)
Visit our post on stress management strategies to learn about effective, hormone balancing ways to reduce stress and cortisol levels.
Conclusion
Added sugars are more than just empty calories – they actively disrupt hormonal balance, affecting insulin function, hunger regulation, stress response, reproductive health, and thyroid function. While occasional sugar intake isn’t harmful, frequent consumption can lead to long-term health issues.
By making conscious dietary choices like limiting processed foods, choosing whole foods, and balancing meals with fiber and protein, you can regulate your hormones and improve overall health.
References
- Medicine, Northwestern. “What Are Added Sugars?” Northwestern Medicine, https://nm.org/healthbeat/healthy-tips/nutrition/What-Are-Added-Sugars.
- DiNicolantonio JJ, O’Keefe JH. Added Sugars Drive Insulin Resistance, Hyperinsulinemia, Hypertension, Type 2 Diabetes and Coronary Heart Disease. Mo Med. 2022 Nov-Dec;119(6):519-523. PMID: 36588634; PMCID: PMC9762218. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9762218/
- Capucho, A. M., & Conde, S. V. (2023). Impact of Sugars on Hypothalamic Satiety Pathways and Its Contribution to Dysmetabolic States. Diabetology, 4(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.3390/diabetology4010001
- Fish-Williamson, A., & Hahn-Holbrook, J. (2024). The Interrelationship between Stress, Sugar Consumption and Depression. Nutrients, 16(19), 3389. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16193389
- Volk KM, Pogrebna VV, Roberts JA, Zachry JE, Blythe SN, Toporikova N. High-Fat, High-Sugar Diet Disrupts the Preovulatory Hormone Surge and Induces Cystic Ovaries in Cycling Female Rats. J Endocr Soc. 2017 Nov 2;1(12):1488-1505. doi: 10.1210/js.2017-00305. PMID: 29308444; PMCID: PMC5740526. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5740526/#:~:text=A%20high%2Dfat%2C%20high%2Dsugar%20diet%20led%20to%20disrupted,females%20%5B1%2C%202%5D.
- Eom YS, Wilson JR, Bernet VJ. Links between Thyroid Disorders and Glucose Homeostasis. Diabetes Metab J. 2022 Mar;46(2):239-256. doi: 10.4093/dmj.2022.0013. Epub 2022 Mar 24. PMID: 35385635; PMCID: PMC8987680. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8987680/
