The bitter truth

We often read about the “staple diet” of various regions and marvel at the variety the world has to offer. But one particular food item has crept into the lifestyles of very geography, without us even realizing that it now influences almost every dish we prepare. It’s the new staple of the world, it’s devil’s own – sugar.

Its presence is irrefutable. Be it the morning cuppa or the glass of milk or satisfying a craving, sugar plays the vital ingredient. So addicted we are that we blissfully ignore the perils that come with it: obesity, rheumatism, pyorrhea and the occasional but large bills from the dentist. What is worse, if we analyze sugar as a food, it is little more than a cocktail of chemicals. All its nutrients are sacrificed at the altar of consumerism. And what we get are crystals bathed in sulphur dioxide, lime, phosphoric acid, formic acid, bleaching agents and viscosity reducers to name a few.

All that whiteness makes me suspicious

 So what is one to do? We will, under no circumstance, compromise with the taste nor will we give up the traditional yummness that form our early memories. So I googled “substitute for sugar”. Yes, I know what you are thinking. Artificial sweetener was my top bet too. But Google did surprise me, that too pleasantly. The answer it threw at me was jaggery. So I googled jaggery and I stumbled on the following nuggets:

• Ancient medical scriptures dating back to the period 2,500 years ago state how jaggery purifies the blood, prevents rheumatic afflictions and disorders of bile and possesses nutritive properties of a high order.

• Mahatma Gandhi in 1935 exhorted everyone to put gur in their milk and not refined sugar. Gur has a mild laxative effect. It has calcium, phosphorous, iron, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, absorbic acid and a host of other nutrients.

Jaggery or "Gur" is a pure, wholesome, traditional, unrefined, whole sugar. It contains the natural goodness of minerals and vitamins inherently present in sugarcane juice and this crowns it as one of the most wholesome and healthy sugars in the world. It is rich in vitally important minerals. Magnesium strengthens the nervous system and potassium is critical to conserve the acid balance in the cells. It is very rich in iron and prevents anemia. The natural processing of jaggery requires no chemical treatment  but an organic variant can ensure that you totally eliminate it. 

Phew! I don’t remember the last time I had such a long list of virtues for anything. But living close to nature does have its perks. It remains only for us to find and recognize the treasures buried in our traditions.