Many people today are aware that eating too much sugar is harmful to the body. The problem lies elsewhere: many struggle to choose a substitute for it.

It is hard to find an alternative that tastes like sugar yet does no harm. People also hold several misconceptions about eating sugar, which were discussed in a report in the Indian Express.

Many people cut sugar sharply during the day and take sugar-free sweeteners, honey or refined sugar instead. But remember that whatever you choose as a sugar substitute carries more or less the same amount of calories. So if you want to cut your daily sugar intake, you have to eat fewer sweet foods, and reduce the amount of sugar in cooking.

A World Health Organization report says that, given the body build of South Asians, a healthy adult man can eat 8 teaspoons of sugar a day and a woman 6 teaspoons. For both men and women, this amount applies only if body weight is at the right level. If a person is overweight, they cannot eat this much sugar.

Many people have a big misconception that eating sugar causes diabetes. This is entirely wrong. Doctors do usually advise controlling sugar intake once diabetes is diagnosed, and people who eat too much sugar build up fat in the body, which can lead to diabetes in future. But medical science has found no proof that eating sugar will necessarily cause diabetes.

Do not stop eating sugar completely, or cut it sharply overnight, without a doctor's advice. A drop in the body's blood sugar level can even be fatal. If you want to cut down, do it gradually.

Source: Dhaka Tribune. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.