Do you know, they are cheating you... SUGARY SENSATION*

This body is a system that is gifted to us by mother nature and at some point, of time, we have to submit it back to mother nature safely. Let's not deteriorate it to such an extent that it becomes a punishment for us to carry it.

There are two types of people in the world, one who loves sugar and one who does not like it. Although it was just a joke but there is some truth in it too. Rather it should be said that there are many people who in some way incorporate sugar in their diet sometimes knowingly and other times unknowingly. We all like cold drinks, syrups, condiments, cakes and cookies, right! And anyway, if we have to bring a good Healthy

Food Habit in our life, then, in that case, there are so many health drinks and food items already available in the market. These "healthy" foods are right in your hand as soon as you get ready to spend some penny to afford this. But be careful, everything that glitters isn't gold. What I mean to say is that if the packet declares the content as healthy just don't believe it directly without putting some research on it.

Added sugars are the type of sugars that are added to it at the time of food processing, to add sweetness to the food item. Besides adding sweetness these are also sometimes added as food preservatives. If you are taking a large amount of added sugars or eating them on a regular basis then you are at a high risk of weight gain because added sugars come up with added calories as well. That's why I would suggest that whenever you buy any food item from the market, look at its nutrition content so that you and your family can bring a healthy life and a healthy lifestyle and a healthy food habit in your life.

EMOTIONAL TRAP*

Most people buy food items merely by looking at the front cover information without looking at their nutrition content. If you too do this then there is no point of being literate.

Every company whose goods are sold in the market, we trust them, and they are loyal companies too. But do not forget that these guys are sitting there for business and they are not as emotional fools as we are. They use some marketing strategies to capture our interests without giving any unauthentic product information. These are the common sugared traps that may taste bitter to you for now-

• 'No added sugar'
Added sugar has been added to the item at the time of processing of food, but it does have natural sources of sugar. This label doesn't take responsibility for the quantity of natural sugar in the product, it may also be too high to ruin all your healthy diet plans. Beware!

• 'Unsweetened'
It doesn't contain added sugars and artificial sweeteners but does possess natural sugar content.

So, if you really want to cut down your sugar intake then buy a food product only after scanning its nutrients facts column.

Take a glance over the 'Total Sugar' on the nutrition panel. Sometimes it is also written under the column Carbohydrates instead of writing it separately. The amount here written is mostly the quantity one usually takes in one serve, e.g. per 100g, per 100ml etc. The different sugar versions are not specified separately so for getting some idea you will have to see the ingredient list. The one written prior contains more section of the complete product.

In order to keep you unaware, these companies register sugars on packets with different unfamiliar and confusing names. We as a common man intake these products keeping in mind its healthy miraculous results. Most of the times it is just to attract you. There are thousands of names to depict sugar like corn syrup, malt syrup, maltose, dextrose, glucose, cane sugar, nectar, fruit juices and many more. Most of us understand sugar as sugar only, rest every other name for us is a strange thing to recognize.
Companies take benefits out of your carelessness.

• 'Artificial sweeteners'
These are generally providing consumers with lower calorie, reduced sugar and sugar- free products. Yes, this is true that many of these are even 10 times sweeter than sugar and still doesn't add many calories but remember these, in turn, gives you severe health risks in the long run including many incurable dangerous diseases. It won't help you in reducing your weight rather drag you in the zone of deadly disease like cancer. Some of the Artificial sweeteners commonly used are Saccharin, Aspartame, Stevia etc.

• 'Sugar Alcohols'
These generally do have a calorie value associated with them but is minimal. But these may have laxative effects if taken enormously. Some of the Sugar alcohols used are sorbitol, mannitol, isomaltose etc.

I have an example to show how a nutrient label specifically sugar concentration is studied. Here is a food product in my hand with all nutrient specifications written over its label.

The nutrients panel mentions the net carbohydrate to be 83.75g per 100 g to which sugar possess almost 99% of it. Sugar quantity given here is 82.14g/ 100g.

In the ingredient list as well we see the sugar itself covers 45% of the whole product composition.

This data is enough to tell us what good things we are putting into our bellies! It is dangerous literally.

In the end, I would like to say if you are really conscious about your weight gain and claim sugar as the reason, then stop making yourself fool. From today itself, start using foods that do not have any separate sugar additives in any form other than natural sugars. Because in no way you can intake a food free of sugar absolutely. Some natural sugar or carbohydrate will always be there and believe me some little amount of sugar is what our body needs as well to give you energy and strength. All the sugar additives that we take from above are not of any use to us, it just harms, sicks and kills us.

If you want to choose something more trustworthy and faithful food material then choose something that is labelled as 'zero sugar', 'sugarless' or 'sugar-free' because these contain O.5 or less of sugar content in each serving and are little less sweet too.

My recommendation would be to switch yourself completely to jaggery and honey. If not completely, then at least make a move in this direction, soon you will start liking it. No other ingredient can replace sugar better than these.

1. Honey-
Honey is naturally sweet. It is one of the oldest sweet things found on the earth. It helps to maintain the functioning of every essential organ in our body, from heart to kidney. Regular consumption of honey also enhances our overall health. Iron and vitamins are rich in honey. Honey keeps our digestive system well.

2. Jaggery-
There is nothing better than jaggery for those who are fond of eating something sweet after eating meals. It contains ingredients such as calcium, phosphorus and iron

available in good quantity. According to the Ayurveda, it is quick digestive, blood- enhancing and appetizing. Apart from this, eating jaggery made items provide relief in diseases. By eating jaggery you can stay healthy in winters.

So, choose wisely the foodstuff you are purchasing and take it only after going through its nutritional value chart. If possible switch your family to Honey and Jaggery totally. What you sow so you reap, right!

By the way, the sweetness is good if it is in our behaviour and relationships. But when it dives into our food then boycott that food. Got it!

Thank you and best of luck for a healthy life ahead.