"You are what you eat." Still sore after you do the plan. Still stiff after you do the exercises. Still puffy around the joints. Why? How much refined sugar are you eating... and how often? Refined sugar drives higher blood glucose. It increases oxidative stress. It raises inflammatory signaling in the body. Evidence links high-sugar diets to increased pro-inflammatory cytokines like TNF-α and IL-6 in humans. These cytokines support a chronic, low-grade inflammatory state.