From imported chocolates to our desi soan pappadi , many products labelled “sugar-free” are a rage among diabetics who do not want to be alienated from the world of sweets. But, is it advisable to go in for these products?
Doctors point out that diabetics are mostly taken in by the sugar-free tag and do not look for the calorie level.
“Most people confuse direct or pure sugar with calories. Nothing that we eat is free from calories, whether rice or wheat, even items that are not sweet” says president-elect (Kerala) of Academy of Family Physicians of India R. Bijayraj.
ADVERTISEMENT
The difference between rice and wheat is that the latter takes a longer time to digest and turn into glucose. But, wheat is not way less in calories, he says.
The trouble is that people, especially diabetics, grab at anything sugar-free, without realising that high calories are also a problem. And, many sugar-free products are high in calories.
To buttress his point, Dr. Bijayraj recounts what he discovered at a hypermarket. “The amount of calories mentioned on the packet of a sugar-free biscuit was 505 calories per 100 gm, whereas it was only 299 calories per 100 gm of gulab jamun that was made out of pure sugar,” he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Now, if I were to tell my patients that the gulab jamun is safer than the sugar-free biscuit, I would be their hero. And they would binge on gulab jamun,” he says.
Stressing patient education on this aspect, he says it is important for diabetics to go beyond mere proclamations such as sugar-free. “When the doctor merely says avoid direct or pure sugar products, the diabetic heads for anything that reads sugar-free,” he says. Most of these packaged sugar-free products are high in calories. Obese diabetics will not lose weight if they consume sugar-free products that are actually high in calories. And, obesity is always a risk factor in diabetics.
“Sugar-free products constitute a multi-million dollar market. The consumer has to be very watchful as there is very little regulation of the ways in which these are advertised and sold on the basis of the sugar-free claim,” says Dr. Bijayraj.
Once sensitised to the risks, one should handle one’s own diabetes education and take up the responsibility of health food and living.
The real challenge lies in identifying food items genuinely low in calories and without sugar.
(Reporting by
K.V. Prasad)