What does sugar really do to our body?

There are over 136 million Indians with pre-diabetes, according to the latest ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) survey. Doctors say the reason is a combination of our genes as well as the number of hidden sources of added free sugars.

Recently, not only have studies come out to show high levels of added sugar in baby food but also two of the most popular ‘health drink’ brands in the country—Horlicks and Boost—have now dropped the label, calling themselves ‘functional nutritional drinks’ instead.

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“I think it is extremely important that everyone read labels before buying products and see if there is added sugar in the ingredients’ list. We get so many patients who are shocked to discover that the juices and coconut water they believed to be sugar-free actually have added free sugars,” says Dr Richa Chaturvedi, an endocrinologist with Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi.

So why is added sugar actually bad for you? For those who are in the range of being pre-diabetic, continuously taking sugar increases the load on your pancreas (the organ that secretes insulin needed to keep blood sugar in control). The more sugar you take, the more likely you will go from pre-diabetes to diabetes earlier on in life.

“But even if you are absolutely fine and continue to take excess sugar, there is still harm. Constantly eating sugar creates an addiction and craving. I have patients who drink almost a litre of soft drinks every day. When you are young it is fine, but with age, as metabolism slows down, you get higher risk of diabetes. You also become overweight, which causes diabetes and other health issues,” adds Dr Chaturvedi.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a healthy adult should take no more than 10 per cent of their calorie intake from added sugars. Reducing this to 5 per cent would be all the more optimal for good health. But Indian doctors argue otherwise, because unlike most populations, we also have the added disadvantage of our genes. “We shouldn’t take any excess sugar if possible. There is enough data to show that as Indians, we get diabetes a decade earlier. We aren’t perfectly healthy; it is a genetic risk we are born with. For some time, your pancreas will cope with your lifestyle but the risks are higher to get diabetes,” adds Dr Chaturvedi.

Over time, the medical community has also expanded the causes of diabetes. “We know now that it is not just one single defect that causes it. Before 2008, there was a simple model of diabetes. We thought it is caused by insulin resistance and pancreatic insufficiency and that there is decreased uptake of glucose in body and muscles. But in 2008, research came out to show eight factors that cause diabetes, and since last year we started talking of 12 factors. Inflammation is one of those. Gut bacteria dysfunction, immune dysregulation and glycaemic variability are other new factors known to cause diabetes,” says Dr Chaturvedi.

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Even though sugar is there in most foods we eat, including fruit and cereals, it is simple free sugars that is the most harmful because they lead to an immediate spike in blood sugars. This is called glycemic variability, when your blood sugars are sometimes low and sometimes high. “Glycemic variability has been shown to have higher risk of cell death and diabetes,” explains Dr Chaturvedi.

Sugar or glucose is essential for our bodies to function and live. It is the form in which we consume it that matters. And while there is some public awareness on foods that are known to have excess sugars, such as cakes, cookies and sodas, it is the sources that one doesn’t expect sugars to be in that cause concern. Altering labels and educating consumers on how to read a label is one step towards reducing the national diabetes load.

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Published By: Aditya Mohan Wig Published On: Apr 29, 2024