Cane sugar main culprit in health crisis, but none talks against it: Study

Nagpur: Craving for sweets is a common phenomenon that most of us experience, and the festive season that has just begun is the peak time for increased sugar intake. But have you ever pondered why the craving is mostly for sweets and not for the salty, or spicy or hot food? We develop craving mostly for the food that has ‘added sugars’ in it and there is a reason behind it.
Renowned critical care physician Dr Rajendra Chandak, who is on the national advisory board of the Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine, has researched on ‘Sugar, slavery, and obesity’ in pursuit of why diabetes and sugar-induced co-morbidities have grown in the last few years.
Dr Chandak concluded that readily available and ever-cheap white sugar, which is being used in all sweet products — right from chocolates to processed and fast foods — is the main culprit but no one speaks about it.
“Many doctors keep mum and policy-makers’ argument is about individual choice. In food consumption law, eating sugar is considered as personal responsibility. We need to rethink about it,” said Dr Chandak. He claimed our taste buds are being forced to like sugar right from birth and this develops the craving in most people. He said, “Experts across the world advise no added sugars for infants and little to no added sugars for children 12 to 24 months old.”
“Sugars our body needs is present in fruits, dairy products, vegetables, bread and other grains naturally. There is no need of added sugars for us. But sugar has been so deliberately introduced in our food habits over the years that we have become slaves of its taste,” Dr Chandak said, presenting historic facts in his study to back his claim.
“The granulated sugar made of sugar cane juice in factories is actually a by-product and alcohol is the main product,” said Dr Chandak, pointing out that sugar is becoming cheaper over the years while prices of all other necessary food items are increasing because of inflation. Dr Chandak’s study concludes that desire of sweet taste, power of sugar producers, food and drink manufacturers, advertisements promoting sugar without any warning are responsible for the health crisis.
The study concludes that obesity is a national problem because children are consuming 3 times more sugar than medically recommended, and adults are consuming twice the threshold. It states that poor people are most seriously affected by sugar, which today enjoys the greatest commercial success than any other man-made product in the history. On a final note, the study suggests to curtail aggressive marketing of sweet items.
Sugar, slavery, and obesity: A study
SUGAR | Manufacturing sugar from sugar cane developed in India
SLAVERY | Sugar cane farming was based on slavery, sugar used to make people slave of its taste
OBESITY | More the sugar intake, more the obesity; and obesity brings many diseases
ADDED | Sugar was added to drinks like coffee and tea and the sugary form was made popular
SILENCE | Though added sugars are dangerous, policy-makers remain silent over its ill-effects
ADVISE | No added sugars for infants and children at least up to 2 years