Sugar is the bitter pill

Anjali Mukerjee

How can something so sweet and so tasty be bad for you? Gulab jamun, falooda kulfi, rasmalai — is all this really bad for our health? Unfortunately yes! Not only does eating too much sugar reduce your immunity, it also leads to poor memory, type II diabetes, high cholesterol and heart disease — not to mention weight problems.

Researchers now say that sugar is one of the likely causes of Alzheimer’s disease. Here’s the connection. By eating too many desserts, chocolates, soft drinks, cakes, pastries you get beta-amyloid deposits, which are essentially protein deposits found in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients. The part of the brain associated with memory and learning is affected by normal ageing, rising cholesterol, increasing blood sugar, increasing body weight and all this gets accelerated by too much sugar consumption. One of the major problems stemming from sugar over-consumption is ‘glycation’ (a combination of a sugar and a protein molecule which releases by product called AGE (Advanced Glycation End products). These by-products (AGE) steal your memory and their formation is accelerated when your diet is low in antioxidants and when you consume too much sugar in soft drinks, mithais, desserts, etc. Researcher now believe that glycation and the formation of AGE lie at the heart of the process that causes Alzheimers. 

Because blood sugar levels tend to rise with age, it is suggested that monitoring and taking steps to lower blood sugar as we grow older may be an important strategy for preventing age-related cognitive decline for everyone, not just people with diabetes. Maintaining blood sugar levels, even in the absence of diabetes, could help maintain aspects of cognitive health.

So the solution is obvious. We must reduce if not eliminate, sugar from our diets. When doing this, a lot of people decide to replace sugar with artificial sweeteners. Try not to do that. Instead, here’s what you do.

• Eat small frequent meals: Long gaps between meals and large quantity of the main meals cause drastic fluctuations in the blood sugar levels.  Due to the long gaps, one ends up feeling extremely hungry by the time it is meal time and therefore gorges onto unhealthy sugary foods To prevent this, it is ideal to have small yet frequent meals at the interval of every two-three hours to prevent the body on going into a roller coaster trip of high and low blood sugar. 
• Best tip: Make sure you eat some protein (egg whites, soya granules, chicken, fish, dals, paneer etc.) with every meal. It helps reduce sugar cravings.
• Use Stevia: A natural sweetener that does not affect blood sugar the way sugar does, therefore it is possible that it won’t affect the brain the way sugar does. It comes in powder and liquid form.
• Clear the house of all sweets: Give away those sugary devils or stash them away only to be removed when guests arrive.
• Sorbets, the frozen fruit treats: Freeze your favorite fruit juice, blend it and perk it up with lemon juice and rock salt and serve as fruit scoops. These are delicious alternatives to sugary and fat-laden ice-creams.
• Frozen fruit: Freeze bite size watermelon cubes and snack on them when you have your sugar attack. You can also eat fruits like apples, grapes, papaya and chikoos. Remember to chew them slowly if you want to satisfy your sweet tooth.
• Eat sweet vegetables:  Raw carrots are sweet and juicy and help to overcome a craving if chewed slowly; enough to bring out its natural flavor.  If eaten hastily you may not be able to ‘discover’ its sweetness.
• When the sugar craving is very strong, eat dry fruits like anjeer, dates, black currants etc.
• Taking chromium supplements may help to reduce sugar cravings.
• Get moving: Embark on some form of activity that can be either a regimented routine or something fun like dancing, walking the dog etc. Feel good hormones similar to the ones released after sugar consumption are released after exercise. 

People who overcome the sugar habit, experience higher energy, emotional stability, improved memory and better health in general. Most of us may find ourselves at the losing end in the battle against sweet craving; however a little self-control and these smart tips, may help you overcome these cravings. 

— The writer is a nutritionist and  Founder Director-Health Total.