Cut down on the excessive intake of sugar

MALAYSIANS need to cut down on their sugar intake as this is known to cause various diseases.

In a recent report, Malaysians have been rated the eighth highest sugar consumers in the world and the fourth in Asia.

The Health Ministry has also revealed that Malaysians consume excessive sugar, adding an average of seven teaspoons of sugar to their drinks daily.

This amount does not include the hidden sugar contained in various types of food and beverages consumed every day.

In general, simple sugars have been observed to aggravate asthma, cause mood swings, provoke personality changes, muster mental illness, nourish nervous disorders, deliver diabetes, expose heart disease, grow gallstones, hasten hypertension and arthritis.

It doesn’t matter what disease we are discussing, whether a common cold or cardiovascular disease, or cancer or osteoporosis, the root is always going to be that high sugar levels would affect the cellular and molecular structure of the body system and fluctuating insulin levels.

An influx of sugar into the bloodstream disturbs the body’s bloodsugar balance, triggering the release of insulin, which the body uses to keep blood-sugar at a constant and safe level.

Insulin also promotes the storage of fat, so that when you eat too much kuih-muih high in sugar, you’re making way for rapid weight gain and elevated triglyceride levels, both of which have been linked to cardiovascular diseases.

Sugar is loaded into all soft drinks, fruit juices and sports drinks, and hidden in almost all processed foods, sauce, cheese spread, not to forget in our favourite ketchup.

And now most infant formula have some sugar, so babies are being metabolically “poisoned” from day one if taking formula milk.

In our society, it is not surprising that highly refined sugars are found in daily Malaysian favourites such as teh tarik, roti canai, nasi lemak, mee goreng and many others.

This sugar can be in the form of sucrose (table or raw sugar), dextrose (corn sugar) and high-fructose corn syrup.

What is the impact of high sugar in our lifestyle?

You don’t have to be a physician or a scientist to notice the expanding waistlines of Malaysians. All you have to do is to stroll through a shopping mall or a schoolyard, or perhaps glance at yourself in the mirror!

What’s worse is we are aware that most of our food is sweet enough on its own, but it has become a habit among Malaysians to add more to it.

Even in preparing a hot and spicy curry, sugar must be added!

Malaysians must change their diet and eating lifestyle.

Reducing sugar is necessary in all drink and food intake daily.

When the sugar level is well controlled, sugar-related diseases can also be well managed and have less consequences on our health.