Nutrients & more...

We used to play a lot of games when we were young (video games were not that popular or accessible). The most fun was when cousins visited us or when we went to their homes. Then it was time for 'chupan - chupai' aka hide and seek. The best part was when one was hiding in plain sight, and still did not get caught! image  I have played this game with my kids too. It remains one of the most loved game to this date. But I had no idea that this game is popular with the food packaging industry too! Today, the majority of processed foods have added sugars that are concealed by obscure or difficult-to-pronounce titles. They can be found not only in the dessert aisle, which makes sense, but also in the aisles with dips, sauces, pickles, chips, crackers, and even healthy foods like mueseli and granola! Sugar is present in many of the foods we eat naturally.  It occurs in a variety of forms, including glucose, lactose, maltose, and fructose. Since they are typically bound with naturally...

When I was a kid, we had different sweets for every season. Whether it be  Rasgulla  and  kulfi  (ice cream) in summer or  gajar halwa  (carrot pudding),  til laddoo, gajak, etc.  in winter, or  Ghevars and choorma in monsoons,  every season had its own special sweet.  We were allowed to overindulge in these seasonal delicacies as kids until our excesses sent us straight to the dentist's waiting rooms. While growing up, I saw most people in my family struggling with Diabetes, Hypertension, Obesity, Heart disease, and even cancer. I wondered how to prevent or delay them as they tend to run in families. I came across a staple that is kept in every kitchen worldwide and is used at alarming levels in the food processing industry. Sugar Sugar comprises two molecules of sucrose. Sucrose is an easily assimilated macronutrient that provides a quick source of energy to the body, provoking a rapid rise in blood glucose upon ingestion. Its exc...

Who doesn't likes sugar? We are genetically  programmed  to love all things sweet! When we go out for dinner and fill ourselves with all that we can with no space to breathe, somehow, we still manage to gulp down that soft Gulab Jamun or a piece of apple pie.  Every mother knows that her child can finish an ice cream tub just after he or she finish eating lunch.  We accept sweets even when we are not hungry at all. How does a magic section open in our tummies just for desserts? Our ancestors were scavengers with rare access to sweets. The sweet foods, like fruits and some tubers, provided quick energy and were favored over others. The foods that were bitter could be toxic and hence disregarded in favor of the sweet ones. Today we have no need to scavenge food, but the brain's mesolimbic dopamine system functions the same way it did with our ancestors. The brain is a glucose hungry organ and releases a  happy hormone  called  Dopamine  whenever we ...