In the vibrant landscape of India’s culinary culture, sugar has always held a place of honor. It’s woven into the fabric of celebrations, traditions, and daily life. From the delicate sweetness of a gulab jamun to the humble joy of a cup of chai, ‘meetha’ (sweet) is more than just a taste—it’s a sensation, a symbol of happiness and festivity.
However, in 2024, this sweetness has taken on a more sinister role, earning the moniker of India’s most socially acceptable ‘happiness poison.’ Despite the alarming statistics—over 14 percent of the population grappling with the consequences of overconsumption—sugar remains not only socially acceptable but immensely popular. Can Indians curb their collective weakness for ‘meetha,’ or will this sweet addiction continue to plague the nation?
Indian sweets, or ‘mithai’ (sweetmeats), are must-haves for every happy occasion, be it weddings or festivals. In India, sweets transcend mere desserts or treats; they are expressions of joy, love, and hospitality. We share sweets on special occasions such as weddings, festivals, and religious ceremonies to celebrate with family, friends, and neighbors.
The significance of sweets in Indian culture traces back to ancient times. Hindu mythology tells us that Lord Krishna was particularly fond of sweets, a love evident in various stories and legends. Many Indian sweets are named after gods and goddesses, like Ladoo, named after Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed god, and Modak, his favorite sweet.
Indian sweets come in a variety of flavors, shapes, and sizes. Among the most beloved are Gulab Jamun, a fried milk-based sweet soaked in sugar syrup; Rosogolla, a spongy-soft ball-shaped delight made of chena (Indian cottage cheese) soaked in sugar syrup; Barfi, a fudge-like sweet made of milk sugar, and nuts; and Jalebi, a crispy and juicy treat made of flour and sugar syrup. Each region in India boasts unique varieties, such as Mysore Pak from Karnataka, Petha from Uttar Pradesh, and Halwa, or Sheera from Gujarat.
Sweets are essential to Indian festivals; no celebration is complete without them. During Diwali, the Festival of Lights, sweets are exchanged as symbols of good luck and prosperity. During Holi, the Festival of Colors, sweets like Gujiya and Mathri are prepared and shared among friends and family. During Raksha Bandhan, the festival celebrating the bond between brothers and sisters, sisters prepare and offer sweets to their brothers as tokens of love and affection.
Beyond festivals, sweets play vital roles in social gatherings and celebrations. In India, it is customary to offer sweets to guests as a sign of hospitality. Sweets are also given as gifts on special occasions like weddings, birthdays, and anniversaries.
In this kaleidoscope of sweetness, every mithai tells a story, every flavor evokes a memory, and every bite brings us closer together. Our love for ‘meetha’ is more than a craving—it’s a celebration of life itself, a joyous tradition passed down through generations, uniting us in moments of happiness and love.
Can Indians curb their collective weakness for ‘meetha’? From dahi with gur or chini (sweet yogurt), an age-old ritual believed to be auspicious to eat the sweet mixture before leaving home for an exam or job interview, to the sweet treats after a successful outcome, indulging in something sweet is so deeply woven into our culture that we seldom question our reflexes, whether individual or collective. Yet, unknowingly, we consume far more sugar than these occasional indulgences suggest.
‘Muh meetha karna’ is almost synonymous with celebration. For Indians, mithai means happiness, whether it’s the Jalebi-loving Gujaratis or the Rossogulla and Sondesh aficionados of Bengal. It is an integral part of our cultural fabric; any festival or celebration feels incomplete without it.
Traditionally, Indian sweets were known for their liberal use of sugar, ghee, and other calorie-dense ingredients. But now, one is witness to a significant shift towards healthier alternatives where successful experiments with sugar alternatives like jaggery, honey, khand, and dates while also using dry fruit in plentiful along with flour alternatives like almond, coconut, millet, etc. that make for some delicious concoctions. These are beneficial to not only health-conscious consumers but also those with dietary restrictions.
In 2024, the modern Indian is caught in a paradox. On one hand, there is a growing awareness about health and wellness. Yoga, organic foods, and fitness regimes are gaining popularity. On the other hand, the pervasive presence of sugar in everyday diets remains unchallenged. The statistics are sobering: India grapples with one of the highest rates of diabetes in the world, affecting over 77 million souls. The connection between excessive sugar consumption and a host of health issues—obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes—is well-documented and undeniable. Yet, the collective longing for ‘meetha’ endures an unyielding sweetness that continues to captivate the heart of the nation.
A National Library of Medicine report casts a somber light on India’s health landscape, branding it the world’s diabetes capital. The nation stands at the edge of an alarming milestone, with the diabetic population poised to touch 69.9 million by 2025 and 80 million by 2030. This staggering projection—a 266 percent increase—underscores the profound gravity of the situation.
The statistics reveal a stark divide: diabetes is more entrenched in urban areas, where 28 percent of city dwellers are afflicted, compared to 5 percent of the rural population. This disparity paints a poignant picture of a developing country grappling with a growing epidemic amidst its bustling cities and serene villages.
According to a 2023 study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India has 101 million people with diabetes and 136 million pre-diabetic people. The study also found that Goa has the highest prevalence of diabetes at 26.4 percent, followed by Puducherry at 26.3 percent and Kerala at 25 percent. Uttar Pradesh has the lowest prevalence at 4.8 percent.
While India holds the dubious title of the diabetes capital of the world, Gujarat is fast emerging as a critical contributor to this epidemic. A market insight report from Pronto Consult has highlighted a concerning rise in diabetes cases across significant cities, revealing that Gujarat’s HbA1c scores are the third highest among Indian states. HbA1c, or glycated hemoglobin, is a critical marker for assessing long-term blood sugar management in diabetics.
The study found that people with diabetes in Gujarat have an average HbA1c score of 7.5 percent or 58 millimoles per mole (mmol/mol), significantly higher than the ideal score of 5.7 percent. This indicates a widespread issue of unmanaged or untreated diabetes, as the state’s average score also surpasses the national average of 6.69 percent.
Conducted between May 1 and May 20, respectively, with a sample size of over 1,800 individuals, the study identified Karnataka (9.56 percent) and Delhi (9.54 percent) as the only states with higher HbA1c values than Gujarat.
According to Dr. Hari Natarajan, Founder and Managing Director of Pronto Consult, “ObesityObesity, stress, and an unhealthy lifestyle, including a lack of exercise and increased consumption of processed foods, are key causes of diabetes in Gujarat’s major cities such as Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Bharuch, and Valsad. Alarmingly, we are seeing more patients aged 25 to 35 entering the pre-diabetic stage, indicating an early onset of diabetes.”
Dr Natarajan further highlighted that many patients aged 35-45 are reporting HbA1c values above 8 percent, reflecting unmanaged diabetes.
Diabetes has tragically emerged as the fifth leading cause of blindness worldwide. Among diabetic patients, diabetic retinopathy stands as a primary culprit, causing visual impairment and blindness. According to 2013 statistics, this diabetes-related retinal disease affects a staggering 382 million people globally, with projections indicating this number will soar to 592 million by 2025.
India’s love affair with sugar is ancient and deep-rooted. Historical texts and records indicate that the subcontinent has cultivated and consumed sugar for over 2,500 years. Sugarcane, referred to as ‘ikshu’ in Sanskrit, was revered, and its byproducts, such as jaggery, became staples in Indian households. Over centuries, this sweetness evolved, finding its way into an array of traditional sweets and desserts now quintessential to Indian cuisine.
Every Indian celebration, be it Diwali, Eid, Holi, or a simple family gathering, is incomplete without an assortment of sweets. These sugary delights are not just food but part of India’s cultural identity and emotional lexicon. This ingrained cultural practice makes the task of reducing sugar consumption particularly challenging.
“Obesity, stress, and an unhealthy lifestyle, including the absence of exercise and increased consumption of processed foods, are key causes of diabetes in Gujarat’s major cities such as Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Bharuch, and Valsad”
Dr. Hari Natarajan, Founder and Managing Director, Pronto Consult
SUGAR: THE SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE ADDICTION
What makes sugar so insidious is its social acceptability. Unlike smoking or alcohol, consuming sugar is not stigmatized. It’s normal to see children rewarded with chocolates, adults indulging in sugary snacks during breaks, and families bonding over desserts. Sugar’s omnipresence and association with pleasure and reward create a perfect storm for overconsumption.
Moreover, the marketing of sugary products exacerbates the problem. Brightly packaged sweets, alluring advertisements, and the sheer variety of options make it difficult to resist. Sugar is no longer a luxury or an occasional treat; it has become a staple embedded in the very fabric of daily life.
The health repercussions of excessive sugar intake are both harsh and multifaceted. Beyond the glaring risk of diabetes, overindulgence in sugar is intertwined with a multitude of other ailments. It can lead to obesity, which, in turn, elevates the risk of cardiovascular diseases. High sugar intake is also associated with dental problems, fatty liver disease, and metabolic syndrome. Moreover, recent studies hint at a troubling link between high sugar consumption and mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety.
SUGARY CATASTROPHE: A TALE OF TRUTH AND TRAGEDY
In 1972, the British scientist John Yudkin courageously unveiled the dark truths about sugar in his book Pure, White, and Deadly. He meticulously exposed the many faces of sugar—from the familiar brown to the concealed white hiding in our everyday foods—and revealed its devastating impact on our health. Yudkin’s warnings were clear and urgent, yet the world turned a deaf ear.
The book garnered attention, but Yudkin paid a steep price for his revelation. A formidable alliance of prominent nutritionists and the food industry conspired to tarnish his reputation, leaving his career in ruins. By his death in 1995, Yudkin was a disheartened and largely forgotten man, his groundbreaking work overshadowed by the relentless tides of the dietary dogma of his time.
For at least three decades, saturated fat has been painted as the dietary archvillain. When Yudkin embarked on his research in the 1960s, a new nutritional orthodoxy was gaining momentum, proclaiming that a healthy diet must be low-fat. Yet, Yudkin stood among a dwindling group of dissenters, steadfast in his belief that sugar, not fat, was the true culprit behind ailments such as obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.
By the time he penned his book, the commanding voices of the field had firmly embraced the fat hypothesis. Yudkin was waging a lonely battle, and the prevailing chorus drowned out his cries. His rearguard action was ultimately defeated, his insights buried under the weight of an era’s misguided convictions.
THE JOURNEY OF SUGAR: FROM CANE TO CRYSTAL
Almost all of our refined sugar begins its life in the tall, swaying stalks of sugar cane, while the rest finds its origin in humble sugar beets. The transformation from plant to sweet crystals involves a meticulous two-step milling and refining process.
The journey starts with milling, cleansing, and extracting the precious juice from the sugar cane plant. The sturdy stalks are crushed between a series of powerful rollers, releasing a flow of sugar cane juice. This nectar is collected and boiled, purging it of dirt and bacteria, before being sent to the refinery.
The first stage of refinement is known as affination. In this step, the sugar cane juice is boiled down, thickening into a more concentrated, purer form. This enriched liquid is spun in a high-powered centrifuge, akin to a whirling clothes dryer, separating the mixture into crystalline sugar and the surrounding liquid.
Once boiled down further, this residual liquid transforms into grade A molasses, a rich, dark syrup sold to consumers. The sugar crystals now spun and separated, are dissolved in water and meticulously filtered to remove any remaining impurities. As these crystals harden, they emerge as raw cane sugar, darker in hue and slightly more moist than the familiar white granules of table sugar.
Thus, through an ancient and refined process, humble sugar cane is transformed into sweet crystals that delight our taste buds.
THE WHITENING OF SUGAR: FROM CRYSTAL TO PURITY
After the affination process, sugar {c12h22o11} embarks on its next transformative journey–carbonatation. In this pivotal stage, the sugar is blended with carbon dioxide {CO2} gas and calcium hydroxide {Ca(OH)₂}, also known as ‘slaked lime,’ a firming agent and acidity regulator sanctioned by the FDA. This alchemical combination creates rock-hard sugar crystals, further purifying and stripping away impurities and color, refining the sugar closer to its final, pristine form.
Following carbonation, sugar undergoes decolorization. The sugar crystals are stripped of their natural color by filtering through bone char, activated carbon, or ion-exchange resin. This intricate filtration purifies the sugar, rendering it closer to the pristine white we recognize.
Finally, the purified liquid is boiled, washed with water, and spun multiple times, refining it into the granulated sugar crystals known as table sugar. This meticulous journey transforms raw, earthy sweetness into the sparkling, pure granules that grace our tables.
WHY AVOID REFINED WHITE SUGAR?
The journey of refined white sugar involves processes that might give one pause. Calcium hydroxide, an agent used in the carbonatation process, is a constituent in mortars, plasters, and cement but also plays a role in manufacturing kraft paper and as a flocculant in sewage treatment. Some modern companies now use ion-exchange resins—polymer microbeads that purify sugar syrup by trapping and releasing ions—but many brands still rely on bone char, as PETA noted.
Bone char, used to process sugar, is derived from the bones of cattle sourced from India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Argentina. These bones are sold to Egyptian, Scottish, and Brazilian traders, who then supply them to the US sugar industry. The creation of bone char involves grinding cattle bones and roasting them in kilns until they are reduced to charcoal. The sugar syrup is filtered multiple times through cisterns filled with this bone char to decolor it. The USDA and the European Union heavily regulate the use of bone char, permitting only countries free of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) (also known as mad cow disease) to sell cattle bones for this process. Bone char—often referred to as natural carbon—is widely utilized by the sugar industry to achieve the desirable white color in sugar cane.
Other filtration methods involve granular carbon or ion-exchange systems instead of bone char, but bone char use extends beyond white sugar. Brown sugar, created by adding molasses to refined sugar, and confectioner’s sugar, a mix of refined sugar and cornstarch, also often involve bone char in their production if the companies use it for their regular sugar. Fructose may, but typically does not, involve a bone char filter. Supermarket brands of sugar, such as Giant and Townhouse, obtain their sugar from various refineries, making it difficult to determine whether bone char was used in filtration.
Understanding these processes reveals the less palatable aspects of sugar production, prompting a deeper reflection on our choices and their broader implications.
The journey to curbing India’s collective weakness for ‘meetha’ is long and arduous, but it is not impossible. It demands a concerted effort from individuals, communities, and the government. Embracing a holistic approach that intertwines education, policy, cultural change, and technological innovation can pave the way for a healthier future.
As India stands at the crossroads of custom and modernity, it holds the potential to set a global example in addressing the challenges of sugar addiction. This transformative journey entails redefining the essence of ‘meetha’ from a simple indulgence to a mindful experience. It calls for a subtle equilibrium between revering cherished traditions, prioritizing health, and savoring moments of sweetness without succumbing to overindulgence. By embracing this path, India can lead towards a healthier and more harmonious future.
