Taking too much of refined sugar is unhealthy. It adds up to your calorie intake. In Indian scenario sources were   tea , coffee, traditional Indian sweets , Payasom (gheer) etc .The high consumption of sweet were  occasional  during festivals . Today in addition to this we consume ice creams, cakes, confectionaries and carbonated soft drinks on a day today basis. Sugar contribute high calorie without any nutritive value and it deny nutrition from other sources also leading to early satiety by blocking our appetite. Too much of sugar intake is a major  predisposing factor for Diabetes, increased triglycerides, obesity, osteoporosis, malnutrition,  cardiac problems and some cancers. The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of daily sugar intake should not be more than 10% of daily calorie intake which is nearly 180 Kcal daily. A bottle of 300ml carbonated soft drink is almost equal to this, a laddu take away approximately 3 times of the allowed  for sugar.

Sugar “The inside story”:- Sugar we eat is refined sugar. Sugar refining in India is mostly done by adding Sulphur dioxide as a catalyst. CO₂ could also be used for the process which is comparatively safe but most of the sugar factories follow the first method, because of cost effectiveness and better look and feel of the end product, the prime criteria  for sale. People prefer pure white crystalline form of sugar and So₂ is added for the process here. Usage of SO₂ is banned in Europe and USA and even the level of SO₂ is limited to < 10 ppm in the end product where as In India it is 20 ppm. Dark-coloured sugar is commonly used in many western countries, but there is a mental block against it in India. The high level of SO₂ can cause serious health problems like chronic Asthma and other respiratory disorders. Some companies in India have started to avoid SO₂ in sugar manufacturing but a long way to go. Opt for dark colored sugar (available in India now) in place of white crystalline sugar. Palm sugar and brown jaggery is better alternative which in addition to calorie, supplement many minerals and vitamins also.

by BINIYA BABY MSc Nutrition & Dietetics