By Setareh Kiumarsi
Did you know why consuming sugar and sugary products feels so satisfying? Because the reaction it triggers in your brain is very similar to what happens when using addictive substances like opium, cocaine, or nicotine… When you eat sugar, dopamine is released in your brain, increasing feelings of pleasure and satisfaction. However, regular consumption of this delicious poison leads to diseases such as diabetes, obesity, hypothyroidism, and many more…
Now let’s see what Ayurveda says about sugar.
In Ayurveda, sugar (whether white or brown) is considered cold, moist, very heavy, sticky, and difficult to digest. Every time you eat sugar or sugary products, it’s like sending a thick, sticky lump of phlegm into your digestive tract disturbing the balance of the Kapha dosha.
In many cases, your digestive system simply cannot handle this sticky lump. This undigested sweetness cools the digestive fire, clogs body channels, turns into fat layers, causes weight gain, weakens the immune system, and creates deep and chronic imbalances in the body.
Unfortunately, in today’s world, the consumption of sugar and sugary foods has become so normal that our daily diets are filled with this harmful, addictive substance… Worse still, we often reward our children with candy, cakes, and ice cream, filling their small bodies with this white poison day after day.
Saying Goodbye to Sugar
Would you like to remove sugar from your life but don’t know where to start?
Let’s look at the sugary foods in your daily routine.
Do you add sugar to your tea, coffee, or herbal drinks in the morning? From tomorrow, don’t bring sugar to the breakfast table. Instead, use natural sweeteners such as honey, apple syrup, or grape molasses.
Do you eat jam for breakfast? From now on, cook your jam with apple or grape syrup and digestive spices like saffron, cardamom, or cinnamon. You can even cook the jam without any sweetener, and once you pour it into a jar, add honey instead.
If you eat cereal with milk for breakfast, look for unsweetened cornflakes or those sweetened naturally with honey , they’re easy to find both inside and outside Iran.
Do you usually have cakes, cookies, or biscuits as snacks?
The first and most important step is to fully realize that every time you eat sweets or pastries made with sugar, white flour, cream, and heavy oils, you are without exaggeration committing a crime against your digestive system. You are preparing your body for future illnesses.
If you enjoy baking…make your own sweets using whole-grain or gluten-free flour, natural sweeteners, and digestive spices. There are plenty of healthy recipes available online…
If you don’t bake, look for cookies, sweets, or protein bars made with natural sweeteners and whole-grain or gluten-free flour… These products are widely available abroad, and in recent years, they’ve become easier to find in Iran as well.
Believe it eliminating sugar from your life is completely possible… You just need to spend a little time finding healthy alternatives for the sugary products in each of your meals.
Healthy Alternatives to Sugar
Suppose you’ve decided to cut sugar out of your diet. Now, every time you have tea, you eat two dates or dried figs instead of sugar cubes… That’s about six or seven per day, right?
Or, maybe for breakfast, with the intention of eating healthy, you start having a few tablespoons of sesame paste (tahini) with some grape molasses or date syrup every morning. You tell yourself, “These are natural sweeteners the more, the better!”
But after a couple of weeks, you realize you’ve gained weight and your face is breaking out. Why? Because in Ayurveda, most sweet-tasting foods are moist, anabolic, and can cause weight gain.
Some natural sweet foods produce excessive moisture and heaviness in the body these are suitable for people who are underweight and want to gain healthy weight… Examples include:
Dates (and date syrup), figs (and fig syrup), grapes (and raisins and grape molasses), bananas, melons, pineapples, and cantaloupes.
However, there are lighter natural sweeteners that produce less moisture and are easier to digest. These are better for people struggling with disorders… related to excess Kapha or bad mucus in the body (such as diabetes, high cholesterol, or obesity). Examples include mango, papaya, watermelon, maple syrup, mulberries (and mulberry syrup), stevia, and agave.
But did you know there are two natural sweeteners that are actually drying and Kapha reducing meaning they help burn fat instead of creating it? Which ones?
Honey and apple syrup. These are the best choices for people with excess moisture or weight in the body.
So, it’s wise to choose your sweeteners based on your dosha type and physical condition.
Be full of health and light.
Please make sure to mention the author, “Setareh Kiumarsi,” if you share or republish this article, which was written with hope for everyone’s health and love.
