Ancient Raja Rata civilizations petered out due to invasions or malaria it is suspected, but will the collective sweet tooth of Sri Lankans lead to their downfall in this modern era?
This is the worry that Consultant Medical Nutritionist Dr. Renuka Jayatissa has been grappling with and attempting to drive home the message that we need to cut down on that daily sugar intake.
Urging that food labels on yoghurt, milk packets, sauces, salad creams, chutneys, cordials, fizzy drinks and even soup cubes be checked out to find out for ourselves what we have been eating so far, she says, “They all have ‘added’ sugar.”
Pointing out that although the availability of sugar in Sri Lanka in per capita terms has reduced when the period 2000 to 2009 is studied, Dr. Jayatissa who heads the Department of Nutrition of the Medical Research Institute says the hankering for sweets by Sri Lankans is a major problem.
A Sri Lankan, on average takes 12 teaspoons of sugar or more a day, not only refined sugar but in the form of added sugar, she has found from her in-depth research, when the World Health Organizations (WHO) recommendation is a maximum of 10 a day of free sugar.
Dr. Jayatissa discloses how much sugar we take without giving it scant thought when we nibble on a biscuit, tuck into a piece of cake or have that glass of fizzy drink. Here are a few of the red flags:
- 1 chocolate biscuit – 1¾ teaspoons of sugar
- 1 wafer biscuit -- ¾ teaspoons of sugar
- 1 glass of cola -- 7 teaspoons of sugar
- 1 glass of ginger beer – six teaspoons of sugar
- 1 glass of lemonade – 3 teaspoons of sugar
- 1 slice of cake – 4 teaspoons of sugar
- 1 cup of ice-cream – 8 teaspoons of sugar
Sugar should only be 10% of our total daily calorie requirements, she stresses, getting down to facts and figures. A woman who has a sedentary lifestyle should take 1,800 calories per day and a man 2,100 calories.
The ideal sugar quantity would be six teaspoons for a woman and eight for a man, according to Dr. Jayatissa, as whatever starch we eat also turns to sugar in our bodies and food such as cereals and fruit brings in a certain amount as well.
Why is there such concern over our sugar intake? While we cannot live without sugar, whenever we take a high quantity of sugar the pancreas gets overworked and continued stimulation of the pancreas raises the spectre of diabetes, she explains, adding that excess sugar also makes people overweight and obese leading to many other health problems.
Requesting caterers and food manufacturers to act responsibly and wean Sri Lankans from sugar slowly and gradually, Dr. Jayatissa appeals for a 5% reduction every year to prevent the whole nation careening into an abyss of chronic diseases including high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, heart disease and osteoarthritis. If we begin cutting down on sugar now in five years we’ll get used to a different level of sugar.
“Don’t tempt housewives to add sugar when cooking meals but get the different flavours from herbs and spices as they are better and healthier,” she also tells those who conduct cookery sessions on TV, while pointing a finger at the irresponsibility on the part of the media in promoting unhealthy preparations.
Her advice to the mothers of Sri Lanka is that as the family revolves around them, they should be conscious more about healthy food than just palatability.
With Sri Lanka having to deal with an aging population, she paints a dismal picture of an elderly nation living with chronic diseases on lifelong medication.
Unless there is a drastic change, Dr. Jayatissa predicts a tsunami wave of sweetness engulfing the whole of Sri Lanka and leaving in its wake a sick population.
The causes of tooth decay
Chronic illness is not the only outcome of a sweet tooth – dental caries is leaving a huge cavity among the young, the Sunday Times learns.
More than 5 gms (10 teaspoons) a day are liable to result in dental caries, the WHO has warned and 70% of Sri Lankans have dental problems.
Giving sugar-added drinks in bottles with teats to small children affects their front teeth, says Dr. Jayatissa, herself a mother who understands that children cannot be prevented from eating sweets.
Don’t give sweets in-between meals but with meals, she says, adding that then the chances of teeth getting assailed by bacteria would be less. If the child can be persuaded to brush and floss the teeth after every meal, it would be ideal. Otherwise cosmetic factors would be another burden as they grow older. |
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