While the number of highly processed foods have increased, the health stats have declined even further. While processed foods are to blame, there is another item that has been flying under the health raider, sodas. These fizzy drinks may not be a part of your daily life, but they are worse than you think! One of the biggest appeals of sodas and beverages is that sugary and fizzy taste of them. Because they are easier to consume and the sugary taste has an addictive effect, people buy more and more of it, without realizing that amount of sugar.

One thing that made people realize how much sugar they had been consuming was when videos of people boiling these fizzy drinks surfaced. Those videos showed that as soon as all the liquid vapored off, the residue was just burnt sugar.

Sugary drinks like sodas and, energy drinks are popular worldwide, but new research shows they're seriously harming our health. These drinks are linked to millions of new cases of diabetes and heart disease each year. Sadly, developing countries are hit the hardest. This study shows how big of a problem sugary drinks are globally and why we need to do something about it. It’s a call to action for better health worldwide.

Sugary Drinks, Diabetes, and Heart Disease

Sugary drinks are beverages with added sugars, like soda, juice drinks, and sweetened teas. While sales are down in some places, they're rising in others. Researchers studied millions of people across many countries and found a strong link between drinking these beverages and developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease. These drinks contribute to a significant number of new cases each year, especially in certain parts of the world. This means that cutting back on these drinks could greatly improve health globally.

Sugary drinks are quickly digested because they're liquid, causing a fast rise in blood sugar. They also pack a lot of calories without making you feel full, which can lead to overeating. Unlike other treats, they don't offer much nutrition besides sugar. This combination of factors can lead to weight gain, problems with how your body uses sugar (insulin resistance), and other health issues that increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease. It’s not just about the calories, but the type of calories and how our bodies process them.

Sodas have an addictive nature because the main ingredients are caffeine and sugar. The reason why people like consuming them is because they were built to trigger the release of dopamine in the brain. The hormone dopamine is a feel-good hormone that makes you feel happy and good, which makes you feel like consuming it more!

What We Can Do to Cut Back on Sugary Drinks

To protect our health, we should drink fewer sugary drinks. Healthier options include water, unsweetened tea or coffee, and sparkling water. Even diet soda is a better choice than regular soda, but it's best to limit those too. Reading labels is important to know what you’re drinking. Governments can also help by taxing sugary drinks, putting warning labels on them, and restricting their sale in places like schools. These actions can make a big difference in reducing consumption and improving public health. There are many ways you can avoid getting addicted to sugary drinks,

Avoid Using It As A Reward

When you give the position of a reward to things, you are actively making your brain think it is a good thing and that can trigger a dependence on it.

Don’t Use It To Make You Feel Happy

We all have days when you feel low and do not like how things are going, in days like those you feel like having a comfort food or drink, which can make it a crutch and is a one way street to addiction

Drink A Lot Of Water

Staying hydrated is one of the best ways to keep your addiction as bay, sometimes you may as well need some water to keep you straight and not stray from their path.

Do you ever feel energetic in the morning only to feel sluggish in the afternoon? Unable to stifle the yawn at meetings or fighting to keep your eyes open in classrooms? And you find yourself inevitably reaching for that cup of coffee? You are not alone! This is called ‘post-prandial somnolence’. Medical jargon aside, let’s decode why it happens and how to beat it.

What Drives the Post-meal Drowsiness?

The body has a natural clock, called the Circadian rhythm, which drives sleep – wake cycles. This clock brings about a slight dip in alertness in the early afternoon, between 1PM to 4PM and hence the afternoon sleepiness.

But circadian rhythm isn’t the only one driving this slump. The status of digestive power and food plays an important role.

A weak digestive capacity or a weak Agni, as Ayurveda puts it, makes one sluggish after a meal. Also, the quantity and quality of the meal, that is, Matra and Guna of food, help make the distinction between being active or feeling sluggish in the afternoons. A diet rich in refined carbohydrates and fats like maida parotta, Poori, curd, buns/ breads, desserts, etc in large quantities drives this slump. These foods increase Kapha in the body, which makes a person sleepy.

Hydration plays an equally important role. Poor hydration, poor nighttime sleep, and a sedentary lifestyle can worsen the phenomenon.

How Do We Overcome It?

The trick to overcome this slump is to combine food wisely, rather than skipping food. Instead of a large bowl of polished rice with rasam and papad, one can go with a moderate amount of brown rice, a bowl of sambar, vegetable fry, sprouts, or nuts. Maida-based rotis can be replaced with barley-based chapathis with a bowl of moong dal, chana, green leafy vegetables, etc. One can also opt for millet-based khichdi, millet rotis for the same. Foods that are not heavy for digestion and in the right quantity help avoid mid- day sleepiness.

Maintaining hydration by adequate water intake is recommended. One can also opt for fresh fruit juices, water-rich fruits like melons, or water-rich vegetables. Buttermilk is another healthy option for the same.

Physical activity, or Vyayama as Ayurveda describes, is another important aspect to keep in mind. Prolonged sitting often leads to an increase in Kapha in the body, which results in sluggishness. It is especially true after meals. A short walk of 100 steps after lunch helps beat the sluggishness. Light shoulder and neck stretches in between work too shall keep one active.

However, persistent or excessive daytime sleepiness could be because of underlying medical conditions like thyroid disorders, diabetes mellitus, etc. Hence, it is important to consult the physician if one feels excessive sleepiness or an energy slump during the day.

One need not let the post–meal drowsiness define the rest of the day. A combination of the right food, hydration, and exercise can go a long way in restoring energy without the caffeine!

(By Dr Meghana K A, Assistant Professor, SDM College of Ayurveda, Hospital & Research Center, Udupi)

In today’s times, the consumers are becoming more health conscious and whenever they buy a new product, they tend to check the nutrition labels that helps them in making a better choice between multiple brands. However, making that choice can be a huge task since there is a surge in nutrition and health claims such as high protein, no added sugar, low fat, multigrain, etc., which usually confuse and often mislead them.

So now the question is: how do they make the right choice? The answer is by understanding how to read food labels. This understanding will help them in making informed decisions and choosing what is better suited for their health and needs. All packaged foods have a nutrition information label either at the back of the package or on the side.

Now let us look at a sample label and understand how to read it effectively.

1. Start with the serving size information:

While looking at the nutrition label, the first thing to notice should be the total number of servings in the package and the recommended serving size. The serving size equates to the quantity people usually consume, not how much should be consumed. So, all the nutrients that are shown on the label refer to the serving size. If we consider this label,

1 serving = 25 grams, so if 50 grams of supplement is consumed, the calorie and other nutrient values will also double.

2. Calories:

Calories refer to the amount of energy that is yielded from 1 serving of that particular product. So, in this scenario, there are 90 kcal in 1 serving of the supplement. If the entire container is consumed, it would equate to 10 servings or 361 kcal. So, one important point to remember is that the number of servings will determine the number of calories consumed. It is always advised to be mindful of the portion size to avoid excess calorie consumption.

3. Nutrients

The next thing to focus on is the list of nutrients. This list can be used to understand what would be suitable for individual dietary needs. The choice can be made based on which nutrients are required in larger quantities and the nutrients that have to be limited. Ideally, the nutrients that should be limited or consumed in lesser quantities should be saturated fats, sodium, and added sugars. These nutrients are associated with adverse health effects such as increased cholesterol, obesity, and high blood pressure.

One very common confusion is what is the difference between added sugars and total sugars? Total sugars refer to the sugars naturally present in many foods, such as milk and fruits, along with any added sugars present in the product. On the other hand, added sugars refer to the sugars that have been added during food processing, such as dextrose, sucrose, sweeteners like table sugar, etc. So, in this product, the total sugar is 10 grams per serving, and added sugar is 7.6 grams per serving.

Coming to fats, the different types of fats that are mentioned on the package are total fat, trans fat, unsaturated fat, and saturated fat. Out of these, trans and saturated fats increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. On the other hand, unsaturated fats reduce the risk of heart diseases and are healthier. Ideally, foods with total fat less than 5 grams, saturated fats less than 2 grams, and trans fats at 0 grams should be chosen. Another way to understand the trans fat content is to check the ingredient list and see if ‘partially hydrogenated oils’ is mentioned.

Sodium is another important nutrient whose content must be definitely checked. The daily limit of sodium intake for an adult is limited to 2000 mg/day. Per serving, the amount of sodium may be categorised as:

· Low sodium: <140 mg

· Very low sodium: <35 mg

· No sodium foods: <5 mg

Another nutrient that can usually be misleading is protein. A lot of foods claim to be ‘high protein,’ but the reality can be otherwise. Look for foods that have at least 10-30 grams of protein per serving.

In conclusion, it is important to learn and understand how to spot marketing gimmicks such as low fat, low sodium, natural, etc., and read the labels properly to see whether the health claim is actually right or wrong. Ensure to read these on the label to make an informed purchase: the serving size, ingredients, sugar, fat and sodium content, calories per serve.

Remember: don’t let the label confuse you; let it inform you.

(By Asmita Jotshi, Nutritionist at Cloudnine Group of Hospitals, Pune)

If you are considering switching from dairy to plant-based alternatives such as oat and almond milk, a new study warns that the move could increase the risk of nutrient deficiencies, particularly among women and children.

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Published in The Lancet Planetary Health, the study found that replacing dairy products with unfortified plant-based alternatives could reduce the intake of essential vitamins and minerals.

“With the growing need to address environmental sustainability, many dietary recommendations are focused on plant-based diets and the reduced intake of animal products,” said Dr Katie Nicol, co-author of the study and Research Fellow at the University of Surrey, UK.

Dr Nicol explained that plant-based alternatives may not provide the same micronutrients as dairy products, putting vulnerable groups such as young children and adolescent females at greater risk of deficiencies that could affect their overall health.

Which Nutrients Could Be Lost When Replacing Dairy?

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The study warned that replacing dairy products, even partially, with unfortified plant-based alternatives could reduce the intake of four essential micronutrients:

• iodine
• calcium
• riboflavin
• vitamin B12.

In the study, the researchers examined the impact of replacing milk, yoghurt and cheese with commercially available plant-based alternatives on micronutrient intake.

They analysed data from more than 3,500 individuals aged between 18 months and 100 years from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey. Using a modelling technique, they assessed how different levels of dairy replacement affected the intake of these four nutrients.

The findings showed that even modest replacements led to marked declines in all four micronutrients, with iodine intake being particularly affected.

Replacing just 20% to 35% of dairy products with plant-based alternatives, under current market fortification levels, increased iodine inadequacy among adolescent females from 54% to 65%. Among women aged 19–49, it rose from 32% to 42%.

With complete replacement, iodine inadequacy increased to 80% among adolescent females and 72% among adolescent males.

Why Is Iodine Particularly Important?

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Iodine is essential for producing thyroid hormones, which regulate metabolism and support healthy growth and brain development.

“People may also be unaware of the importance of iodine, which is needed to make thyroid hormones to regulate our metabolism, support healthy growth and brain development,” said lead author Dr Sarah Bath, Associate Professor at the University of Surrey.

She added that iodine is particularly important during pregnancy, when requirements increase, but adequate stores are also needed before pregnancy.

Dairy products are a major source of iodine, while unfortified plant-based alternatives contain very little of the mineral.

Can Fortification Prevent Nutrient Deficiencies?

The researchers also assessed whether mandatory fortification of plant-based dairy alternatives could help prevent nutrient deficiencies.

They found that fortifying these alternatives with essential micronutrients prevented declines in their intake when dairy products were replaced. However, iodine inadequacy remained high, affecting 59% of adolescent females.

The study also found that iodine-fortified bread could further improve iodine intake, reducing inadequacy among adolescent females to 37%.

The findings suggest that combining mandatory fortification of plant-based dairy alternatives with iodine-fortified bread could be the most effective strategy to reduce iodine inadequacy.