Sweet treats 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.
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.
Recently I visited Australia. There in many restaurants, coffee shops, etc Sugar container had the name "POISON" which depicts its nature truly - yes sugar is a slow poison...
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 all over the world, now practicing in Bangalore, India