How often have you heard a young mother telling people not to give her kids sugar? Her first complaint is that sugar makes children hyperactive and excited, leading them to get too tired too soon. Yet, in adult life many of us tend to gorge on sweet treats, leading to a whole host of health problems – diabetes and obesity only skim the surface of the entire spectrum.

Sugar is often put into the carbohydrate group as a nutrient, and seen as necessary for survival and an energy boost. Yet, it is also much-maligned as the root of all dietary evil – diabetes, tooth problems, obesity, even attention deficit disorder.

Sugar belongs to the group of simple carbohydrates, like polished white rice, white flour, corn flour, etc. Simple carbohydrates contain no fiber, protein, vitamins or trace minerals that preserve bodily health, and end up drawing on those trace nutrients to aid their own metabolism. Thus sugar leads to depletion of the body’s valuable nutrient store to yield instant energy (giving a pleasant “sugar high” and temporarily relieving depression), but ends up producing toxic products such as cholesterol and fatty acids.

The scariest thing about sugar is that it lurks in the most unexpected places of our diets. The several “-oses” (glucose, fructose, dextrose, maltose, sucrose) and “-saccharides” in Ingredient lists are all sugars of various types. Added sugar is found in aerated drinks, and even most juices (except those marked “no added sugar”), apart from the obvious sources like cakes and confectioneries, candy, chocolate and desserts.

Now if you’re thinking of going on a sugar-free diet with sugar substitutes, think again. Synthetic sweeteners like Splenda and Aspartame have been linked to nerve damage, cancer and a host of other health problems. A limited intake of sugar is probably safer than going the synthetic way.

One thing to remember is that sugars in it is not a bad thing, nor are carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates like brown rice, oats and whole wheat are rich in fiber and trace nutrients such as manganese, selenium and tryptophan. In fact, even fruits – bananas, apples, citrus, guava, you name it – are fairly high in sugars, but these are not harmful since they contain very little fat, and high amounts of water and micronutrients.

So if you want to lose weight, cut out all the obvious sources of sugar and simple carbs from your diet. Opt for fruits when you want something sweet, water or fresh juice instead of coke or coffee, and whole wheat bread or brown rice instead of polished white cereals.

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