There is a need for concerted action to educate people about the deleterious effects of refined sugar and sweet products
The demands of modern society put a strain on the lives of almost everyone on the planet — not just bureaucrats or babus as they are known in the country. Though the work-related stress that babus undergo is particularly bad, given their responsibilities, I am quite accommodative of the suggestion that all of us are in it together. We all face the stresses of everyday life, the yearning for good health and the dread of lifestyle diseases. These considerations led me on a quest for a healthier lifestyle and a fitter, leaner body. Consequently, two years on, I am 16 kilograms lighter. I have started rising early. And, despite having a punishing work schedule, I feel active and am able to channelise my energy more productively throughout the day. I even sleep better now.
However, the journey to this state of bliss and well-being was not easy. It started two years ago while I was in Bhopal. A friend’s wife, who was a doctor, introduced me to Dr Dixit’s diet plan on YouTube. To me, the credibility of the video was mostly because it was not trying to sell anything. The plan involved eating two meals a day, finishing a meal within 55 minutes and avoiding refined sugar, particularly if one was suffering from diabetes. The biochemical reasoning offered was simple — every time you eat, insulin is released. This, in excess, leads to insulin resistance and diabetes.
I opted for this diet when I relocated to Mussoorie at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration. Without my family around and with no experience in the kitchen, it was easier to skip dinner. As I was not diabetic, I continued to have sugar and sweet products during the two “binge windows” in the day. Though I felt mortally hungry at night, somehow I managed to get through that phase.
With a healthy dose of exercise and the diet plan, I lost weight. There were times when I nearly lost my willpower, and matters were certainly not helped by the queer circumstances which kept my family away in Bhopal. Though getting to sleep without dinner was a massive effort initially, by the time it was morning, there was no craving for food and one could relish the many games of badminton and squash in the beautiful Happy Valley. This was counter-intuitive for me, as by morning one was further away from the last full meal that one had eaten.
At this juncture, on the suggestion of a friend from Australia, I watched That Sugar Film, a movie that reveals all about the business of refined sugar and how “social addiction” to it is deleterious to health of the whole of society. This movie, which is in fact a well made documentary, was life changing.
When I use the word “social addiction” I want to indicate that it is not just the individual but the whole world which is hooked to this dangerous food, sugar. The movie prompted me to give up sugar and then I observed that the hunger pangs which used to bring me down at night completely disappeared. So what was happening? Let me explain.
Sugar (or any high glycemic index food) sends glucose levels soaring in the blood only to crash later on. When glucose levels dip, we begin to crave more sugar. This meant that if I cut sugar out of my diet totally, I would be able to follow my “two meals a day” Dixit diet easily. And, this is exactly what happened.
If you afford 12 hours for insulin to drain out of your body, the process of ketosis (when the body does not have enough glucose for energy, it burns stored fats instead; this results in a build-up of acids called ketones within the body) begins. I started losing my fat deposits and my weight started reducing. My energy level was very good as glucose levels were stable rather than soaring up and crashing down. The sports activities in the morning were now direct attacks on fat deposits. There was another happy outcome of this. Since the digestion process was well over by the time one retired for the day, sleep was undisturbed and complete, in the same number of hours as before.
There is a need for a concerted action to educate the next and the present generation about the deleterious effects of refined sugar and sugary products. The commerce of sugar, fitness and treatments stands at a risk with this realisation in the masses and so it should not surprise you if these words do not ever reach you in time. To sum it up, an immediate necessity for us is to “avoid 3S and adopt 3S,” which means avoid sugar, snacks and supper. Adopt sports, sangeet (music) and sleep. The journey could be easier for you if you start by avoiding sugar. Then watch the 3S effect.
(The writer is an Indian Administrative Service officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre. The views expressed are personal.)
