Transcription
In India, over 77 million people are living with diabetes every year, and this number is the highest in the world. Out of these 77 million people, many think that if I stop sugar, I will become healthy, or I will take brown sugar instead of white sugar, or I will take honey, or I will take sugar-free biscuits that are made for diabetics, and they think now I will become healthy. By the end of this episode, you will know exactly which sugar to use, what not to use at all, and which so-called healthy options are just for marketing. Make sure you don't watch it alone; share it with all the people you love. You can also listen to this on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and if you are watching on YouTube, don't forget to click the subscribe and bell button. Welcome to Holistic Health with Vishangi Desai, presented by RHA Supplements. Before I tell you which sweetener is the worst or best, let me tell you on what basis I have presented this analysis to you. I have used four criteria. The first one, which is the most important, is blood sugar and insulin response. I have looked at how quickly your blood sugar spikes with any specific option. The second is nutrient density. Does it have any beneficial nutrients, or is it just sweetness? The third is its processing level. How natural or how manufactured is it? The fourth is the impact on the gut and liver. What does it do to your microbiome and liver? So, these four things will decide how harmful or how safe a sweetener is. And an important point here is that I do not consider natural and safe to be the same. Being natural is a starting point, not a guarantee, and zero calories does not mean healthy. Today, both these myths will be broken. The first is Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load. This GI tells how quickly food raises blood sugar, and Glycemic Load GL tells how much blood sugar a typical serving of that food actually raises. Both together complete the picture. So, keeping all these analyses in mind, let's start with the worst sugars. At number 12 come artificial sweeteners like Aspartame, Sucralose, Saccharin. These are at the very bottom of the list. Aspartame, which you find in diet soda, in sugar-free chewing gum, and if not, it was declared a possible carcinogen by WHO in 2023. This is a statement from WHO. So, Aspartame is a bad type of sugar. Avoid it. Let me also give you a disclaimer. Here, something damages you only when you take it on a regular basis. So, if you take it once in a while, it doesn't cause cancer or any major damage. I am talking about regular consumption. If you want to take a safe option, you should know which one is safe. So, avoid Aspartame on a regular basis. Second is Sucralose. Research has shown that it damages the gut lining. Your gut lining is your first line of immunity, in a way. If it is compromised, everything else gets compromised. And you often see Sucralose on the back of any protein tub, behind whey protein, and I always recommend my clients to never take protein powder that has Sucralose added. Because you take it every day. Third in this line comes Saccharin. The oldest artificial sweetener. Its history itself is controversial. Red studies found links to bladder cancer. The industry minimized the evidence. I am not asking you to judge; I am just sharing facts. And the biggest irony is that these sweeteners are marketed for diabetics. They have a sugar-free label. And research says that it makes insulin sensitivity even worse. Worse in the long term. Meaning, it is harming the very people it is said to help. So, Aspartame, Sucralose, Saccharin, avoid them. Now at number 11 comes High Fructose Corn Syrup HFCS or refined fructose. It is mostly hidden in packaged products. It is in fruit juices, flavored yogurts, biscuits, sauces, ketchup, etc. It is used a lot in the US and Western countries. The problem is that fructose metabolism happens only in the liver. White sugar contains both glucose and fructose. Glucose is used by all body cells. But refined fructose goes directly to the liver. And the liver has a limit to processing. When that limit is crossed, fructose turns into fat. It is liver fat. This becomes a major reason for Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. Whenever you see Fructose Syrup or Maize Syrup, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Corn Syrup on the label of any packaged food, avoid all these forms. At number 10 comes white sugar. This is the reference point. Everything is compared against it. It is empty calories. It is completely zero nutrition. It has no minerals, no fiber, just a combination of sucrose, glucose, and fructose that gets absorbed quickly into the blood and spikes insulin immediately. I am not demonizing white sugar. But if we eat it occasionally, it's fine. When we used to use this white sugar only during Diwali, it didn't cause harm. Today, we are using it on an everyday basis, two spoons in tea that you can see, and in biscuits, bread, ketchup that you don't see. It is better than artificial sweeteners. At least the body knows it, can process it, but consistently it becomes a bad option. At number nine comes brown sugar. I know this is a big fraud on this list. Many people think that they should take brown sugar instead of white sugar. But understand that the brown sugar you are buying or using thinking it is healthy is mostly white sugar. It is refined, bleached. Then a little molasses is added back. The color is changed, and it is given a healthier tag. The price is increased. Nutritionally, it is almost identical to white sugar. GI is the same. Glycemic index, insulin response is the same. Mineral content is almost negligible. It is similar. It only gives a psychological comfort that you are making a better choice. If you are using white sugar and have switched to brown sugar, you have changed nothing. I am really sorry to say this. You are just spending more money. So, the label of brown and white sugar is almost similar. But yes, when you buy Desi Khand or raw sugar and if it is brown in color, that is a different matter, which I will talk about. Number eight is Erythritol. It is a sugar alcohol. It is found naturally in small amounts in fruits. Zero calories, zero glycemic index. Meaning, it does not raise blood sugar at all. Because of this, it is used a lot in keto and diabetic products. So, why haven't I put it at the top? Because in 2023, a study published in the Nature Medicine journal linked high erythritol levels to increased cardiovascular risk. The risk of blood clotting was higher in it. This research is preliminary, not conclusive, but the concern is real. Its second problem is digestive issues in large quantities, bloating, gas, loose motions, and it is present in large quantities in almost every sugar-free or keto product. Because it is used for bulk. So, the question is, should you take it or not? Again, it is better compared to all the other artificial sugars I mentioned, but still, I will give you even better options. Number seven is Stevia. Pure Stevia plant, called sweet basil, is a different thing. It is a very healthy thing. It has natural glycosides, zero GI, and a decent safety profile. Stevia has a slightly bitter aftertaste. That is the downside. And if you get good quality, it is the best. It also has different processing and quality. But Stevia is better than all the other options. At number six comes Monk Fruit. This is genuinely a very interesting sweetener. It is made from a small Chinese fruit called Luo Han Guo. It has zero glycemic impact, zero calories, and no negative effects on gut microbiome have been observed. I haven't put it at the very top because it is expensive. And the products that come in the market in the name of Monk Fruit often have some extra fillers. So, Monk Fruit is definitely a very good thing, but if you can afford it, you can definitely consider it. Now, let me talk about protein powder. If you see only Stevia or Monk Fruit alone behind your protein powder, and no other sweetener, then perhaps it is safe for you. But if along with it, say Stevia is written, but somewhere earlier in the ingredient list, Sucralose is also written, or Maltodextrin is written, or Aspartame is written, it means that Stevia or Monk Fruit has been used in a very small quantity for cost-cutting. Or they just want to give you the name of Stevia to attract more sales. If Sucralose, Aspartame, Maltodextrin are present, absolutely avoid it. At number five comes Raw Sugar. It is slightly better than white sugar because the molasses is not completely removed during the refining process. So, some trace minerals, calcium, iron, potassium remain. The GI is slightly lower than white sugar. But this difference is very marginal. Not enough to consider it a health food. I would label it in the least bad refined sugar category. At number four comes Jaggery or Coconut Sugar. Now we have reached the sugar where everyone is confused. Jaggery has been a traditional sweetener in our homes, and it genuinely has some good things in it. Iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, minerals are indeed present. It is definitely better than white sugar. But a disclaimer, we think it has a lot of iron. But that iron is in such a small quantity that you don't eat enough jaggery for iron. Second, I break the myth that jaggery has 65 to 70% sucrose. Meaning, blood sugar will increase, it will increase slowly, but it will definitely increase. It is better than white sugar. But people who eat it freely, thinking they have permission, that it is healthy, will eat more quantities, and it will cause more harm. And an important point is that commercial jaggery available in the market contains sulfur dioxide as a clarifying agent and preservative. This is a chemical, and in daily use, it creates a low-grade toxic load. And if you source organic, sulfur-free jaggery, then you have made a better choice for yourself. So, I recommend that if you can get organic Desi Gur, the brown colored jaggery, then it is the best, in which no synthetic chemicals or harmful chemicals are used. Coconut sugar ranks roughly the same as jaggery. Its GI is slightly lower, around 35 versus jaggery's 65, and it contains inulin fiber, which slows down blood sugar absorption. But it is still sucrose-heavy. At number three comes Raw Unrefined Cane Sugar, Khadi Sakar or Khand. This is the sweetener your grandmother used to use, and which we have forgotten as we became modern. Khadi Sakar or Khand is genuinely a product of unrefined sugarcane. Molasses is naturally present in it. It is not removed. No bleaching, no sulfur processing, no chemical clarifying agents are used. Functionally, it contains chromium. Chromium directly supports insulin sensitivity. Meaning, this sweetener, in small amounts, instead of worsening insulin resistance, supports it to some degree. This is a significant advantage over jaggery. Its GI is lower than commercial jaggery available outside, especially in traditionally prepared Khand, and there is no sulfur issue. I place it above jaggery because if you are looking for an Indian cooking sweetener that you want to use every day, then Khadi Sakar is the most honest choice. This is something our ancestors actually used. There is nothing synthetic in it. There are two problems with it. First, if someone already has diabetes, it can initially increase blood sugar. So, for them, Monk Fruit or Stevia might be better options. And then gradually, as you make lifestyle changes, or if you use supplements like diabetic care supplements, and many people drop HP even HbA1c. Actually, at this moment, let me tell you about Satvam's Advanced Diabetic Care. If you don't know, RHA's plant-based disease reversal supplements, ours, Satvam, has Advanced Diabetic Care, which helps you. We have used some active forms of plants that naturally lower your blood sugar. Naturally drop HbA1c. Even if you don't make any lifestyle changes, it supports you in lowering blood sugar. Fasting and post-prandial sugar naturally drops within 3 months. And you will observe its effect within 1 month. You can definitely go to rhnfit.com. Or I have put the specific link for Diabetic Care in the description and pinned comment. You can definitely check it out. If you have diabetes, I highly, highly recommend trying a 3-month dose. You need to take one, two, or three tablets half an hour before lunch and dinner. If it is very severe, then you can take two to three tablets twice a day, and if it is not that severe, then you can take one tablet twice a day, 30 minutes before meals. And for more details, you can get in touch with my team. Another problem with Khadi Sakar is that finding genuinely unprocessed Khadi Sakar might be difficult. You can definitely buy from some trusted brands, and at least read the ingredient list once. Check that it is 100% Khadi Sakar or, you know, no chemicals or extra ingredients. At number two comes Raw Honey, meaning honey that has not been heated or processed. True raw honey is a therapeutic food, not just a sweetener. It contains enzymes, prebiotics, antimicrobial compounds, especially hydrogen peroxide and bee defensins, antioxidants. All these are clinically meaningful. Research backs it. And one very important point. Raw honey is beneficial for gut bacteria. It supports your microbiome. This is different from all the other sweeteners we have seen. And in honey, one critical point is: never heat honey. When you heat honey above 40 degrees, its enzymes die. And according to Ayurveda, heated honey produces a toxic compound, HMF. This means that if you are adding honey to hot tea thinking it is very good, and then also adding milk, then never do that. Honey is safe in something cold or in warm water that is around your body temperature. 70% of honey in the market is adulterated. They are mixed. Sugar syrup is added. It is heat processed. If you want truly raw honey, then make sure you buy it from some trustworthy brands. Honey is still sugar for diabetics. So, it has its own benefits. But initially, you need to take the support of lifestyle, supplements, etc., to get your blood sugar in balance, and then you can use all these things. The number one sugar is Dates and Date Sugar, meaning Khajur. This is a whole food, not just a sweetener. And this is their advantage over everything else. Dates contain fiber, which is natural. This fiber slows down glucose absorption. So, the blood sugar spike from eating one date is not at all equal to refined sugar. The body can handle it better. Along with it, you will also get potassium, magnesium, iron, B vitamins, antioxidants. Functional nutrition means that everything you eat does something. Dates do that. You can make energy balls out of it. Use it as a snack, in smoothies. To naturally sweeten sweets, use it. Use it in chutney. You can make date paste. So, instead of refined sugar, you can use it in baking or any item. But yes, remember that dates also contain natural sugar. So, if you are diabetic or have insulin resistance, eating more than two or three at a time will harm you, and eat them with some fat or protein. Like eating a handful of soaked almonds, or a handful of soaked seeds, or with a spoonful of peanut butter, then your glycemic impact will also improve. But if you don't have any such problem, then this is an absolutely nourishing option you can choose. So, if we summarize, if you are perfectly healthy and have no illness, especially no insulin resistance, then you can use dates or Khajur on an everyday basis. Raw honey again, it is the best for occasional use. Khadi Sakar is best for Indian cooking and for adding to tea, etc. Desi organic jaggery without chemicals, without sulfur, you can use that. If you are diabetic, insulin resistant, then Monk Fruit is the best option for you, and the second best option is pure Stevia. Your third option will be dates, jaggery, and honey. But all three in limited quantities, and most importantly, Sucrose, Glucose, Dextrose, Maltose, Lactose, Fructose, Corn Syrup, Maltodextrin, Corn Syrup, Maize Syrup, Evaporated Cane Juice, Cane Crystals, Barley Malt, Rice Syrup, Agave Nectar. If you read these on the back of packets, then just be careful. And I want to remind you that if you or someone around you has diabetes, pre-diabetes, then in the comments, which I have pinned, and in the description, the link to Advanced Diabetes Care or Pre-Diabetic Care, definitely click it and save yourself from diabetes. Today, if we can contribute to our India by keeping ourselves diabetes-free, we can make a huge contribution. I hope you enjoyed it. In today's podcast, do let me know in the comments. What was your best learning, how did you like this entire podcast, and what else would you like to know? Don't watch alone, make sure you are sharing it with someone. We will meet again in the Holistic Health with Vishangi Desai podcast, presented by RHA Supplements. Until next time, remember, if you have health, you have everything.