Apr 20, 2018
What Is Healthier: Natural Sugar, Table Sugar Or Artificial Sweeteners?
Take this with a pinch of salt (no pun intended) but the excess of any kind of sugar, natural or otherwise, is very unhealthy. High consumption of sugar (of any kind) will lead to almost the same health problems.
However, a moderate amount of these sugars is where you’ll see the difference of impact. According to some reports, India is one of the largest consumers of sugar. The per capita intake of India is about 20.2 Kg, which is just a few kilos shy of the global average consumption of about 24.8 Kgs. in this article we will throw a light upon which type of sugar should you consume in order to stay healthy and which ones to avoid for the same.
Some Facts About Sugar
Here are few facts about sugar which you should be aware of in order to decide which type is the best for you.
- Sugar is considered a class of carbohydrate
- It is one of the prime sources of energy
- The most popular sources of sugar are:
- Fruits, which contain the sugar component called Glucose.
- Vegetables and honey, which contain the sugar component by the name Fructose.
- Milk products, which contain the sugar component by the name Lactose.
- During digestion, the food when broken down gets converted into molecules of sugar, which after some processing release energy required for the sustenance of vital body functions.
Types Of Sugars And Which One Is Best For You
There are majorly three types of sugar; natural, refined and artificial. Each of these has a different impact on your body and metabolism. Let’s discuss both in detail.
1. Natural Sugar
Natural sugar, as the name suggests is the one which can be found in naturally occurring food sources such as fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. These sugars are more advantageous over artificial sugars because of added nutrients like fibers and proteins.
- Natural sugars are more beneficial from a health perspective as compared to artificial sugars
- Natural sugar sources are low-GI foods.
- Low-GI foods are the ones which take longer for the body to process meaning, you will feel fuller for a longer time.
Some sources of natural sugar are as follows:
Honey
Honey is known for its antibacterial properties and is recommended to be consumed with lukewarm water first thing in the morning to help you lose weight. Honey is an ideal alternative to common table sugar.
Maple Syrup
Maple syrup is derived from the sap of the maple tree. Consumption of maple syrup is encouraged because of its antioxidant properties. Maple syrup is also considered to promote a healthy immune system and improved cardiovascular functionality.
2. Refined Sugar
Refined sugar or more popularly known as table sugar is prepared by processing sucrose extracted from sugar cane and sugar beets. This type of sugar is liberally used in manufacturing sugary treats like candies, donuts, cookies etc. Refined sugar is infamous because of the following reasons:
- Foods containing refined sugar fall in the high-GI category, these foods are digested quickly, leaving you feeling hungry even though you just had something to eat.
- They are also closely related to obesity because in a relatively small amount of food with this type of sugar, one can consume high amounts of calories.
- Refined sugar is the prime culprit for causing diabetes and tooth decay as well.
3. Artificial Sweeteners or Zero-Calorie Sweeteners
Advertised as a healthy replacement for refined sugar, artificial sugar has taken the market by storm. More and more people are switching to artificial sweeteners.
- Extensive studies have been conducted which prove that artificial sweeteners pose no viable threat to health and are safe for consumption by humans.
- Artificial sweeteners have been given the green light by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to be used in foods and drinks.
- While deemed healthy by manufacturers, artificial sweeteners have also been reported to make people switch to a more sweetened meal plan, which may not be all the healthy choice of a lifestyle.
Take Home – Difference Between Natural Sugar, Table Sugar Or Artificial Sweeteners
There are pros and cons to all types of sugar but in the end, the main concern isn’t “what you eat” but more like “how much you eat”. Meaning, it doesn’t matter where the sugar comes from, if it is consumed in excess the results will always be equally harmful.
Action against 11 ice factories in city
Presence of coliform bacteria was found to be high in the water samples collected from 11 ice factories operating within the city corporation limits.
As many juice parlours and hotels were found to be using the ice blocks from these plants, District Collector U.V. Jose has recommended action against these units. The water being used by these plants should be decontaminated and sent for laboratory tests. They should be allowed to resume operations only after the Food Safety Department certifies that the water is fit for consumption.
The health section of the city corporation and the district food safety officials had inspected 28 ice factories and collected water samples some time ago. They were sent to the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM) for microbiological analysis.
The corporation Health Officer and the Assistant Commissioner, Food Safety, submitted a report to the district administration incorporating the findings of the report from the CWRDM. The District Collector’s decision is based on this report, which also said that the ice from those plants were not even fit for preserving fish.
‘Verify FSSI, ISI certifications of packaged drinking water online’
Tuticorin: The demand for packaged drinking water has gone up with the soaring mercury levels. At the same time, this has also raised concern over the quality of water sold by the companies. To empower residents to check the quality of water and certifications obtained by their manufacturer, the district administration has asked people to check for Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and ISI certifications of the companies online.
Drinking water manufacturers should print the licence number issued by FSSAI and ISI number issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). This is applicable to 20 litre bubble top cans, five litre, two litre, one litre, 500 ml and 300 ml bottles and the 200 ml water sachets. Collector N Venkatesh said that people can check for the certifications online at https://safewater.fssai.gov.in/CleanWater/home by entering the FSSAI or ISI number.
Apart from knowing the validity and truth of details furnished by the companies, people would also be able to have a look at result of water samples tested from those companies for the last six months and one year, obtained from the periodical tests in National Accreditation Board for Laboratories (NABL) accredited laboratories for chemical and microbiological analysis.
Designated officer for food safety, Tuticorin district, J Thanga Vignesh said there are 40 packaged drinking water manufacturers that have their units in the district. “Two of these units are closed for the last few months as they have not obtained the ISI certification,” he said. The officer added that they collect samples from all packaged water sellers once in every six to eight months.
“Apart from this, we also test samples if we receive specific complaints against a particular unit,” he said and added that this year, tests on samples collected from five manufacturers in the district showed they were not fit for consumption. Results showed that the samples from three units were unsafe due to some problem in the filter. The two others were samples were substandard.
He added that these flaws were rectified and verified by food safety officials. However, they are preparing the chargesheet against these companies because they were selling poor quality water to customers. “The companies would have to deal with it legally,” added the officer. Violations in the details disclosed by companies or water quality can be reported to FSSAI through WhatsApp at 9444042322 or over phone at 0461-2340699.
Food Regulator FSSAI Proposes To Ban Advertisement Of HFSS For Children
Introduction
India's Food regulator, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (hereinafter referred to as "FSSAI") has issued a notice on April 11, 2018, wherein it has called for suggestions on the draft Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2018 (hereinafter referred to as "Draft Regulations")1. The Regulations seek to prescribe the labelling requirements of pre- packaged foods and display of essential information on premises where food is manufactured, processed, served and stored.
Prohibition on advertisement of HFSS food
An important provision of the Draft Regulations is that food products containing high levels of fat, sugar and salt shall not be advertised to children. The Draft Regulations have defined HFSS food or High Fat, Sugar, Salt to be "processed food product which has high levels of total fat or trans-fat or total sugar or salt2, and states that HFSS food products shall not be advertised to children in any form.
Takeaway
Popular and largely consumed foods like chips, cold drinks, etc., contain high fat, sugar and salt. These items comprise of a huge chunk of advertisement in India, and therefore, many advertising companies and companies selling, or manufacturing such foods will be restrained from advertising these products to children. However, the Draft Regulations do not provide any guidelines or enforcement mechanism to ensure ban on such advertising. Moreover, it is not clear as to how advertisements, being available on public forums like television channels, billboards etc., will be prevented from being specifically advertised to children. The question arises whether to adhere to this provision, companies will have to ban all advertisements of HFSS food.
Footnotes
2. Section 2(9) of the Draft Regulations
FDA conducts training for Mid-Day Meal operators
Food and Drug Administration Department(FDA) conducted training for Food Business Operators from the Mid-Day Meal Catering domain and was attended by 31 Self Help Group representatives.
“The objective of the training is the ensure that Food Business Operators are made aware of the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 and are also provided informative tips on hygienic handling of the food, to ensure the availability of Safe and Wholesome food to the consumers,” said FDA Director Jyoti Sardesai.
A Food Safety Supervisors training under the Food Safety Training and Certification (FoStaC) scheme, a flagship program of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India was conducted by the Directorate of Food and Drugs Administration in collaboration with Vivanta by Taj Panaji and supported by the Confederation of Indian Industries. The training was specifically organised for Food Business Operators from the Mid-Day Meal Catering domain and was attended by 31 Self Help Group representatives. This program for Mid-Day Meal Caterers was inaugurated by Smt Jyoti Sardesai Director FDA and Commissioner Food Safety in the presence of Mr Jaikanth Shroff, General Manager Vivanta by Taj Panaji.
As FSSAI has mandated the requirement of one Food Safety Supervisor per 25 employees trained under the FoStac Scheme, for all the licensed Food Business Operators in the State, this Directorate will continue in organising such programs in association with the various training partners and hence the FBO’s from various sectors are requested to contact the Directorate to get themselves enrolled for this mandatory training. The above requirements has to be complied with within the time span of 2 years.
Earlier in the month of March, a similar program was organised in association with TAJ, for the Mid-Day meal caterers, wherein 30 FBOs were trained and this training held on 17/04/18 was the second training to follow. The training was a blend of classroom session, audio-visuals, group activity Kitchen Visit and was culminated with a written exam. The training was imparted by Quality Manager from Taj Vivanta Dhoroty Pereira and Mr Richard Noronha Designated Officer North Goa of the Food and Drugs Administration.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)