Chennai: Everyone has sweet tooth and no one can say no to desserts, agree? Oh, well you have to. A bowl of gulab jamun and a glass of milk. Naturally, the hands go to the jamun.
But there are people who strictly say no to sweets and then there are the ones that hoard how much ever they can. For long we have been at the conflict whether to eat one more or not.
Let us see what studies and experts have to say about glucose consumption:
As per the guidelines issued by World Health Organisation (WHO), reducing free sugar intake to less than 10 per cent have lower body weight and, second, that increasing the amount of sugars in the diet is associated with a weight increase. In addition, research shows that children with the highest intakes of sugar-sweetened drinks are more likely to be overweight or obese than children with a low intake of sugar-sweetened drinks. It also states that less intake even prevents dental caries and obesity.
According to a study published in NIH on sugar intake, obesity and diabetes in India, it says that there is a slight reduction in ‘sugar and honey’ consumption has been recorded from 1993 to 2010 in rural and urban areas, there is a substantial increase in sugar-containing food items (‘Misc. foods’) over time, especially in urban areas.
It further points out that the production of sugar sweetened beverages has witnessed a rise of 13 per cent since 1998 and several rural and urban areas has significantly higher.
“There is an increasing presence of dhabas (small shops) selling such beverages on all roadsides, particularly on highways. Furthermore, the beverages that people consume in India apart from sugar-laden beverages like milkshakes, sweetened buttermilk, etc, are high in calories and glycemic load,” added the study.
However, it should be noted that it is not universal and applies to all individuals, the intake amount varies from one individual to another based on their physical activity and metabolic rate among others.