How to reduce the quantum of daily sugar intake?
Posted on: 19/Nov/2020 1:30:41 PM
It is a well-known statement that a larger intake of white-coloured items – rice, salt, & sugar - is harmful to human health! As such, the medical experts have been advising to include more green-coloured food items.
Out of these harmful white-coloured items, sugar secures the 1st place as the most harmful for human health! Though it is sweet in taste, it tends to give only nitter results for the human health!
Nevertheless, people have got into the habit of taking sugar directly or indirectly as a part of the daily intake! If one direct negative impact of excess sugar consumption is to be mentioned, it is DIABETES! Other than this, there are many indirect harms created by sugar intake in excess!
After all the above info, here are a few tips (to reduce the sugar intake) given by the Food Quality Safety Council:
- Avoid intake of cool drinks entirely. Instead, take the tender coconut, buttermilk, and fruit juices without sugar.
- Instead of the regular daily consumption of coffee or tea, take salted gruel, lemon juice, soup, etc.
- During the festive season, while preparing the sweet dishes, use only half or three-quarter of the recommended quantity of the sugar!
- In case you get an itch for a sweet intake, take the banana, apple, papaya, or grapes! They are also sweet!
- While eating the main dishes with sauce, etc. as a side-dish, avoid sauce, etc., and take chutneys instead.
- It is also suggested that in the items using sugar for making sweets replace sugar with some sweetish dry-fruits such as dates, etc.
Apart from the above tips, some daily routines can be changed as under:
- Instead of sugar, add the jaggery powder or rural-sugar (known as `Naattu sarkkarai` in |Tamil|) while taking coffee or tea.
- Many of us tend to use sugar as the side-dish while eating idlis, dosas, uppuma, and idiyappam – replace sugar with jaggery powder!
- While preparing coconut milk or the popular sweet item `puttu`, use the jaggery powder instead of sugar! Reduce the quantity of sugar while making ‘puttu’ and start eating this with fruits!
- Even the non-diabetics can start the habit of taking only half the quantum of sugar normally used!
- Start giving equal treatment to consume astringent-tasting and bitter-tasting food items as compared to the intake of sweets
