The bittersweet reputation of sugar has created lot of noise like,

• ‘Sugar can cause cancer!’
• ‘Sugar can lead to obesity, diabetes!’
• ‘Sugar leads to aging, it is terrible.’

Or maybe some health-conscious people will say- ‘Replace sugars with sweeteners’. People love sugars, for some its guilty pleasure or for some it relieves the stress. The more people avoid sugars the more they crave it.

First let’s understand what is sugar? And what is it doing to our body?

Sugar molecules combines to form carbohydrates. In more simple language, carbohydrates break into sugars, and this sugar provides energy to body cells, tissues, and organs. It helps in improving the thinking skills, Sugars are a mood booster, helps in regulating low blood sugar levels also. It even has the ability to cope with stress, as it can suppress the hypothalamic pituitary axis in the brain, which can control the response to the stress.

Surprisingly “STRESSED” spelled backwards is “DESSERTS”.

Dopamine is a chemical that give a feeling of pleasure and happiness. It makes one feel rewarded. For example, when an individual consumes sugar or high calorie food, the brain releases huge amount of dopamine which makes one feel good and crave for it more.

When sugar is doing such good things then why is it blamed as culprit to our health??

Too much of sugar is the answer. As per WHO latest guidelines, the daily intake of free sugars should be 5% to 10% of their total energy intake which is around 6-12 teaspoon of sugar per day. Free sugars refer to glucose, fructose (found naturally in fruits) or sucrose which is table sugar. If these types of sugars are added in any food or drinks, it is completely healthy to consume. If consumed more than this, it can contribute to many health issues like, obesity, diabetes, heart diseases, tooth decay, etc. Some people use NNS (Non-nutritive sweeteners) with is also known as artificial sugar, sugar substitutes in food products that tastes like sugars but have few or no calories which attracts consumers.

WHO recommends to control bodyweight, or reduce the risk of disease like diabetes, etc. And include all type of synthetic and natural occurring sugars as recommended. There are 6 NNS which are FDA approved saccharine, aspartame, sucralose, neotame, acesulfame- K and stevia which is fine for human use but as per daily intake recommended. The usage of NNS should be cautious for individuals like pregnancy, lactation, diabetes, migraine, epilepsy, etc.

Excess intake of any type of sugar can also affect the immune system. Excess intake of sugary foods can increase the production inflammatory proteins- CRP, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis alpha which can affect the immune system negatively. Sometimes it can cause the delay in wound healing as well specially in people with diabetes High blood sugars can inhibit the response of two type of immune cells (phagocytes and neutrophils). In few studies it is also shown that it can harm the gut barrier function which can alter the immune system and can make an individual susceptible to infection.

Intake of high processed food or foods with excess added sugars like, ice cream, cakes colas, other sugary beverages should be limited to promote overall health and a healthy immune system.

But as all Indian says “kuchh meetha ho jaye” on any special occasions. Sugar is a part of our life. It should be consumed in moderation to enjoy and take its benefits. Excess of sugars can be harmful and make our immunity weak. Take care of the body so that it can take care of you during old age. Enjoy foods as per season, tradition and in moderation to stay healthy and lively.