My
mother used to tell a story about me, often to her friends. It
appears that when I was a small boy of about 8 years old, there was
some kind of a feast planned in the house that was to be held that
evening. Before going to the school that day, I had overheard that
Jalebis' ( a kind of fried sweet dish) would be prepared in the
house, in preparation of the evening feast. After going to school,
the thought of eating hot Jalebis' that melted in the mouth, had
preoccupied my mind to such an extent, that under pretext of not
feeling well, I had left the school early and had walked all the way
home, a distance of 4 to 5 Km, just to reach home in time for lunch
and devour those hot Jalebis'.
The
story must have been true because I still love sweets. In fact, I am
ready to grab any kind of dish, if it tastes sweet. From traditional
Indian sweets like Shrikhand (a kind of thick sweetened yogurt),
Gulab Jamuns, Jalebis' and Halwas' to western delights like cakes,
pastries, puddings, jelly or Ice creams and even sweet salads, I
devour them all. In fact, I always savour the prospects of a meal, if
I know that there is some sweet side dish waiting for me along with
it.
It is
not that I am not aware of the bad effects of eating excessive
quantity of sugar like; tooth decay, obesity, diabetes etc. etc. But
old habits die hard and I still would like to have at least a bite of
something sweet, along with my every meal. It looks like that the
World Health Organization (WHO) has decided to put a dampener on the
sweet tooth people like me now. WHO is now recommending that we
should cut down on sugar so that our daily sugar intake is halved.
But what was the original recommendation and half of that means what
quantity? would be the natural doubt. WHO clarifies that its original
recommendation, which was passed in 2002, was that sugar should
account for no more than 10% of the calories in our diets. Now it
says it should be changed to 5%. This figure includes all sugars
added to food, as well as sugar naturally present in honey, syrups,
fruit juices and fruit concentrates. Even food like bread, pasta,
sauces and ketchup contain added sugar. According to WHO It works
out at about 25 grams (6 teaspoons) a day for an adult of normal
weight.
Scientific
studies show that for the majority of people, with diets that are
already rich in calories, there is no need for any of the extra
calories sugar added sweets carry. The extra added sugar has no
nutritional value for such people who are not starving or unable to
absorb food. It can only contribute to tooth decay and obesity. The
other problem is that most of the food with added sugar in it, has
lots of fat in it too. For example my favourite Shrikhanda yogurt has
lots and lots of cream in it. Jalebis' are deep fried and then dipped
in sugar syrup- another high fat-sugar combination.
Most
of us are aware of the fact that eating sugar-rich food can make a
hefty contribution to the calories we consume, leading to obesity
which is a sure way of inviting heart disease, type 2 diabetes,
cancers and other causes of death. But scientists now believe that
there is another angle that can cause problems for us besides just
calorific content of sugar. It is now believed that the calories
from sugar are not all treated by the body in exactly the same
fashion. Body reacts to high intake of sugar-sweetened beverages in
a different way. Our bodies find it easy to digest the sugar found in
sugary drinks. This leaves us with a feeling of empty stomach,
leaving us room to eat more, when in fact we have already taken in
enough calories. Because of this, there appears to be a direct link
between obesity and a high intake of sugar-sweetened beverages.
Similarly too much of fructose(sugar from fruits) has been found to
be promoting deposits of fat in the liver and other parts of the
body. When we drink fizzy drinks and eat things like cakes, there
are quick spikes in our blood sugar. According to some studies, such
spikes in blood sugar can be linked to diseases such as diabetes.
The
story of sugar consumed in India is not much different. In spite of
37.5 % of the population below poverty line and with widely accepted
use of sugar substitute like gur and khandsari (raw sugar), Indian
per capita consumption of sugar still remains around 20-22kg, just
below the global average of 24kg. Sugar is an integral part of the
diet in India and is consumed as an everyday luxury as well as a
cheap source of calories. Sugar is consumed along with a wide range
of traditional products like specialty sweets, sweet tea and lime
juice. Added to it are the new products like biscuit packets and Rs.5
bottles of soft drinks.
As
India's burgeoning middle class affluence grows, demand for more
non-essential food items and processed foods is also growing. This
has led to higher sugar consumption. India has now become world’s
biggest sugar consumer, with a population of 1.2bn, and consuming
one-third more sugar than the EU and over 60% more than China. WHO's
new recommendation is therefore of special relevance to India.
All
this appears like bad news for my sweet tooth. Let me add one more
teaspoon of sugar to my cup of tea, to get over the blues!
13th
March 2014
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