Sugar not so sweet

Ditching sugar in your diet has its own sweet long-term benefits like a beautiful, young skin and a toned body to match. Mumbai based nutritionist Naini Setalvad doles out hot tips and nutritious alternatives of the sweet devil in disguise. By Trupti

The ‘sweet’ skin sinner
Now what is the relation between sugar and skin you might ask, but some dermatologists believe that avoiding sugar can fend off ageing signs like wrinkles and sagging skin. Naini says, “Sugar robs our bodies of vital nutrients, vitamins, minerals and weakens the basic foundation of our health, right from our immunity to our bones and our skin.”

So, when you consume sugar-rich foods, the level of sugar in the blood rises and some of the sugar binds to the collagen, the protein that gives our skin its firmness and structure. This causes ‘glycation’, a process which leads to a loss of flexibility and elasticity in the collagen, making you look older. Plus, the risk of obesity and high sugar levels leading to diabetes is always there.

So, if you’re aiming for glowing skin, toned body and a healthier life, it’s worth getting your sugar facts straight to age-proof yourself with an anti- sugar action plan, right? Well, we make it easy and lay it all down for you…

Watch what you eat
Swap sugary cereals, croissants and muffins for sugar free muesli, oatcakes and granary toast. They are perfectly healthy options to start your day with. Instead of your daily dose of sugar laden tea and coffee opt for green tea. It is a great detoxifying drink and is available in wonderful fragrant flavours.

Needless to say, fizzy drinks, sweets and biscuits have to go, inspite of its deceiving feel good quality. Also, keep a check on the ingredients list when you’re buying packaged and processed food; they’re mostly filled with sugar.

Evaluate the sugar alternatives
If you’re ditching sugar, don’t go overboard with brown sugar as they contain the same 20 calories per teaspoon as white sugar, with no nutrient value in either of them. And before you head towards calorie free sweeteners, think twice. “Even though they are sold in the market, independent studies have found their consumption leads to an array of health problems and yes, even weight gain as they cause more cravings for instant sugar.” So steer away!

Honey or jaggery seems to be a healthier option instead of the above, say experts. But Naini recommends, “While, both honey and jaggery are slightly better and best if organic, don’t think you can have them in large quantities as they are both concentrated forms of calories and in fact have slightly more calories than sugar. True, they do come with small doses of iron, but it’s better to get your iron from other healthier, less calorific sources like leafy greens and beetroot!”

The best option is to blend and puree fresh fruit and substitute it for half of the white sugar in recipe. Applesauce and maple syrup are also great alternatives for their natural goodness.

Fruity treat
One of the best ways to satisfy your sweet tooth is naturally with fruits or dried fruit, Kiwis, custard apple or cherries that are packed with Vitamins and are a healthy way to retain your sugar levels. The good news is that fruit sugar or fructose present naturally in fruit is not only sweeter than sugar, it can be even digested very slowly and does not give the spike in blood sugar after eating.

So before you surrender to sweets, think again, you may be doing yourself more bad than good. It’s better to refrain instead!