Sweets are both our taste palettes as well as a part of culture. Earlier sweets were a rare treat, used to be a part of celebrations but were very expensive and most people did not have the affordability.

Now the purchasing power of people has increased. The availability of sugary foods and drinks has increased on each and every corner. However the sugar requirement of the body has decreased due to sedentary life style. The people who are engaged in heavy work need 35 gms of sugar on an average for energy production. However people in sitting jobs or sedentary life style do not require so much sugar. On the contrary if we eat more sugar than we need, it causes several side effects and health concerns.

When we consume any sugary foods, brain sends signals to pancreas to produce insulin and release in blood to convert the sugar into energy, but in obese people, more visceral fat squeezes pancreas not allowing it to work properly, resulting in diabetes. For some people, eating more sugary foods regularly makes their pancreas very tired and they stop producing insulin hormone again resulting in diabetes. Diabetes is no more hereditary but also caused by sedentary life style, excess visceral fat,absence of workout, missing of many nutrients especially chromium in the foods because of depleted soils, absence of fibre (complex carbohydrates) in the diet, increased consumption of refined and nutrients poor foods, decreased consumption of nutrient dense foods like fruits & vegetables, eating fast foods deficient in many essential nutrients etc. Diabetes is now spreading like epidemic. India is the world capital of diabetes. We got to do something before it affects majority of Indian people. By preventing obesity, half of the diabetes cases would be reduced, prevented or managed well.

Now sugar is added to most of the food in hidden way and in many forms, both natural and artificial and sometimes the quantity exceeding many folds more than a human body needs.

The question arises - why do we eat sweets? To celebrate? To feel happy? Or to become SICK?

If we get answer to this and reduce sugar consumption, we can prevent, reduce or manage most of the dis-ease caused by sugar.

TO OVERCOME THIS PROBLEM I HAVE FEW SUGGESTIONS:

TO THE SWEET MARTS: TO REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF SUGAR BY HALF IN THE SWEETS FOR THE SIMPLE REASON - SEE DO YOU WANT THAT PEOPLE SHOULD EAT AND DIE SOON? OR PEOPLE SHOULD ENJOY YOUR SWEETS LONGER?

Common People: to eat less amount of sweets thinking of your body working hard + taking fibre food like raw veggies as salads along with (before or after) with the sweet would help your system to slowly release sugar in the blood.

Wish you a happy & healthy life.

Nutritionist Sushma Jaiswal

Worked in UNO & WHO, has an experience of more than 30 years including 25 years allover the world, now practicing in Bangalore, India

NOTE: This article is written in a very simple language without using much technical terms for the understanding of common people.