Can you think of a life without sugar? From the first cup of tea or coffee early morning to the last dessert you relish before bedtime, how much of white sugar do you consume?

White sugar has become a part and parcel of today's lifestyle. We sweeten our tea and coffee with loads of sugar. Besides, our jams, squashes, aerated drinks, fruit juices, ice creams, snacks, cakes, pastries, fruit salads, 'Indian' sweets, chocolates, biscuits, and even medicines contain white refined sugar.

Is white sugar good for our health? Both white sugar and sugars derived from carbohydrates elevate blood sugar quickly, thus initiating undesirable biochemical chain reactions in the body. Sugars spoils our teeth. They finally make our life so sour and bitter with diabetes. And diabetes can rob us of our kidneys, our eyesight, and even our limbs.

White sugar is indeed a "white poison." If so, why are we Christians ruining our bodies - temples of the Holy Spirit - with this avoidable substance? We stay away from tobacco and drugs because they are injurious to our health. For this same reason, we do not abuse alcohol or similar substances. Yet, most Christians and their leaders are addicted to white sugar and its cousins (refined flour, for example) and are prey to avoidable diseases such as diabetes.

As if this overdose of sugar is insufficient, we eat foods that are essentially sugar (carbohydrates). These foods are complex sugars that break down during digestion to produce simple sugar. The main sources of carbohydrates are grains, starchy vegetables, roots, tubers, fruits, pulses and refined flour.

All carbohydrates are broken down into simple sugars. Sugar is quickly absorbed by our body into blood. Thus the sugar level in our blood shoots up. The body tries to bring down the sugar level by releasing a hormone called insulin. Some of the blood-sugar is used to generate energy for work. The rest of it gets stored up as fat. Even if we eat a low-fat diet, all the unnecessary carbohydrates and sugars that we consume get converted to body fat. In the long run, our body gets tired of producing large amounts of insulin. Thus we may become diabetic and be unable to control our rising levels of blood sugar.

The "glycemic index" is a measure of how a given food affects blood-glucose levels, with each food being assigned a numbered rating. The lower the rating, the slower the absorption and digestion process, which provides a more gradual, healthier infusion of sugars into the bloodstream. On the other hand, a high rating means that blood-glucose levels are increased quickly, which stimulates the pancreas to secrete insulin to drop blood-sugar levels. These rapid fluctuations of blood-sugar levels are not healthy because of the stress they place on the body.

The glycemic index of rice is 24 while that of wheat (roti) is 22. Pineapple is deadly; it has a glycemic index of 38. The safest source of carbohydrates is oats, which as a glycemic index of 1. The safer carboh-ydrates are complex sugars that break down very slowly, thus releasing sugars into the blood in a very slow and sustained manner.

Our intake of rice, wheat, starchy vegetables (potatoes, tapioca, carrots), foods made of refined flour or maida is staggering. So many delicacies and processed food are made of refined flour (maida) - cakes, pastries, biscuits, Kerala porotta, puffs, white bread, and numerous snacks. Most fruits too are rich in sugar. For example, 95% of a banana is made up of sugar. Pineapple is 98% sugar. To make it worse, we prefer to add white sugar to fruit juices. Even milk contains a natural sugar called lactose. In southern India, people consume so much of rice. Their breakfast consists of food make of rice. At lunchtime, they consume a mountain of rice. Dinner is no different.

The problem of obesity:
People over the age of 30 tend to accumulate body fat due to slackening rate of metabolism. The body's ability to burn fat reduces considerably with age. Moreover, people tend to spend most of their time sitting at their office tables or in a car. This sedentary lifestyle reduces the amount of carbohydrates (sugars) that they actually burn up. However, their intake of rice, wheat, sugar and flour does not decrease. They become fatter by the day.

There are people who become fat due to hormonal imbalances or due to the side effects of some medicines. But the misery of most of the obese and pot-bellied people are their own making. Poor diet, excessive consumption of carbohydrates (sugars), lack of exercise, etc. have ruined their health. A pot-bellied pastor or a Christian is a poor witness to the gospel, to say the least.

A pot bellied preachers is a poor witness to the gospel of grace. If you are overweight and ill-shaped, you can shed your excess weight within a few months if you act upon the knowledge that carbohydrates (sugars) are the villains in your diet.

The first step towards a healthy diet is to avoid white sugar and all foods that contain white sugar. You will have to get used to drinking tea/coffee without sugar. Instead of reaching out for a cola or a sweetened drink, ask for plain soda or water. Choose fruits that are low on sugar (eg: guava). If you like fruit juices, drink them without added sugar. (If you must occasionally use a sweetener, use jaggery, honey, or raisins)

Secondly, a substance to be avoided totally is refined flour (maida) and all food made out of it - Kerala porotta, cakes, biscuits, white bread and puffs, rolls, pastries, etc. Bakeries and sweet shops in India mostly sell food items made of refined flour. Choose "dal vada," /dahi vada /or nuts instead of yielding to refined flour. There are several healthy snacks that can be prepared with pulses or /besan./

Thirdly, limit your intake of grains--if you must eat grains at all. Initially, you may reduce the intake of grains to one meal a day. Just have a cup of rice or a couple of dry chapatis. In the long run, you may avoid all grains for a season till you attain a desired weight and shape. Along with grains, avoid all starchy vegetables such as tubers and roots. 'Aloo' parathas, samosas, masala dosa, etc., are rich in potatoes. These are potato chips should be avoided.

"If we avoid grains and refined flour and all foods that contain sugar, what is left for us to eat?" ask our friends. You have all the good things on earth! Life without grains and bread is possible. You may feast on a variety of vegetables, fish, meat, eggs, pulses and lentils, curds, cheese, milk and cream/butter. You may consume moderate amounts of nuts and honey.

"But aren't these foods dangerous to our health? Won't they shoot up our cholesterol levels?" None of these foods are dangerous if consumed in moderate quantities. They are sufficient to keep you energetic and to keep hunger at bay. When you avoid all sugars and carbohydrate-rich foods, you can confidently have fats and proteins. Your body will generate energy out of these and will begin to burn your body fat. Your blood-sugar levels will not vary much throughout the day! The body will produce just as much energy it needs from the fat and protein that you consume.

"The diet you prescribe can be very costly." Yes, it can be. Foods that are rich in carbohydrates are usually cheaper. But you end up paying huge medical bills in the long run. If you wish to eat good food, you need to pay a little more money. Money spent on wise eating is your health insurance. Stay healthy and be productive for the Lord!

 

This page is updated on May 15, 2009