Hi, I'm Cane. Sugar Cane.

So who says sugar is bad for your health? Sugar is directly related to diabetes?

Sugar= White poison?

If this was so, nature would have never gifted us with the taste buds to know what sweetness is! If everything that is sweet is bad, why do these useless taste buds even exist? Because it is something that's absolutely important for your digestive system, important for a healthy living; as important as water.

Introducing SUGAR CANE.

Sugar Cane is a plant native to India. The process of making sugar was refined in India long long ago. So long that there is a mention of crystalline sugar in Charaka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita and Rig Veda. An essential part of Ayurvedic medicine, sugar was once considered medicinal. Sadly, it is looked upon as something evil.

Let us learn a little more about this 'sweetie'.

HISTORY:

• Sugar Cane, like mentioned above, was grown only in India once upon a time. When European powers came to India, they took a bunch of slaves back to the American continent for sugar cane farming. They knew that this sweet bamboo like plant is worth a lot more. Once planted, sugar cane continues to grow through its stem even when chopped. It replenishes itself.

• 326 BC: Alexander, the great's army has mentioned about the use of a 'sweet salt' in milk served as dessert. While Alexander himself calls it a 'sweet stone', yellow in colour and tastes like figs or honey.

• King Harsha who ruled the northern part of India, cultivated Sugar cane. As the popularity of Buddhism spread across the continent,King Harsha had Chinese missionaries as guests, who wanted to learn the art of making crystalline sugar from sugar cane. Later, China started exporting sugar in large amounts to India and therefore, in Hindi, sugar is called 'Chini'.

Beet you sugar:

Post WW2, a lot of things changed in Europe and likewise, in America as well. Women had to leave their homes and work to make a living. There was not a lot of homemade food on the table, like it did once upon a time. Processed, bulk made food became popular. Bleached flour, packaged breads, cookies, jams etc became the staple.

And more importantly, the sugar used in manufacturing this was derived from Beets or Corn as the process is a lot simpler and faster.

Hot breakfast was replaced by cold breakfast with added sugar and unnatural flavours.

Beet sugar is not as sweet as Cane sugar and therefore, anyone like me who spent more than 20 years eating cane sugar, would find that one tsp sugar which was enough to sweeten a cup of tea, now is not even close to be enough.

Corn sugar or HFCS (High fructose corn syrup) is even worse. Both these processes of deriving refined sugar make use of chemicals for extracting sugar from juices. Therefore, can not be called 'natural sugar' legally.

And this kind of sugar, my friends, is what causes diabetes or obesity along with sedentary lifestyle, lack of exercise, improper eating habits, late nights and poor sleep.

How I consumed sugar traditionally:

• Sugar + Milk (A2)

• Gulkand (Rose petals cooked in sugar syrup)

• Laddos

• Shrikhand (Thick yogurt + sugar + nuts + saffron)

• Kheer (Milk + Vermicilli + sugar + nuts + spices)

• Nankatai (Indian shortbread cookies)

• Barfi

• Lemon sherbet/ Kokum Sherbet

• Jaggery + Peanuts/ Chana

How people consume sugar now:

• Juices

• Cookies

• Biscuits

• Cereals

• Flavoured milk

• Jams

• Spreads

• Salad dressing

• Dipping sauces

• Cola

• Pasta sauce

• Cakes

• Muffins

... and the list is endless. Every product out there has this beet or corn sugar in it.

Eat a fruit over its juice: When you juice a fruit, all the fructose is concentrated and it is a one big blow on your digestive system with all that sugar (though natural). However when you chew on a fruit, digestive juices from your saliva, fiber in the fruit gets all chewed and broken down and that way, gives your system time to process all the 'information'.

TRADITION:

• Makar Sankranti is celebrated as a harvest festival in January all over India. Though it is called by a different name in different parts of the country, it is the harvest season celebration.

• Sugar cane, jujube, fresh (green) chana (called Harbhara) are harvested and given as gifts to near and dear ones. Some also offer it to God.

• Sugar cane is also given as one of the many gifts to the bride. (Fertility problems, anyone?)

• Ancient India had perfected the skills of extracting sugar from sugar cane and every by product at every stage was used. Nothing was wasted. ( Hello sustainable living).

• It is one of the 5 panchamrit (5 nectars of life) including milk, yogurt, ghee, and honey.

• Sugar + Yogurt is offered before leaving for accomplishing something huge (example: war, signing treaties in olden days and exams, job interviews, travel etc today). This combination of sugar and yogurt is rich in bacteria that supports your guts. Feeling stressed or anxiety affects your guts and we may feel sick, constipated or uneasy. Yogurt and sugar help you stay calm, sharp, alert and charged.

• Fennel with sugar or jaggery aids digestion and is offered after meals.

• Sugar or Jaggery with ghee is one of the most important meals for pregnant women.

• Every chef's secret is a pinch of sugar. May be not obviously sweet but definitely balancing flavours elevates the dish up a notch.

• Sweets are offered on happy occasions or during festivals to remind us of happy times. Sugar is a brain fuel and helps us relive these happy times.

• Sugarcane has positive nitrogen balance which is again very important for our system especially in teenage years or for pregnant mothers.

Different forms of sugar cane:

• Sugar: Rich in minerals, vit B. Anti aging secret. Sugar is used in ip balms, lip scrubs, face scrubs, body masks and what not. What sugar really does is provide Want to add a caption to this image? Click the Settings icon. hydration to the skin, moisturize and keep it healthy, younger looking. If it can do so much by external applications, why not consume and reap its benefits.

• Juice from sugar cane : Crushing the cane is done using roller blades and not in a blender or a juicer. This helps it retain most of the nutrients and minerals. But, has to be consumed right away as it is rich in anti oxidants. It is not the best when store

• Jaggery: Jaggery is condensed sugar cane juice, rich in iron. While sugar has calming effect on your body, jaggery provides you with the warmth which is essential in winter.

• Molases: Thick, dark syrup is rich in gut friendly bacteria, minerals and fights aging of organs.

• Pulp is used as fuel or to make paper.

Other sweeteners:

Honey: Honey has a different composition and different structure. Though it is healthy and it is sweet, it can not replace sugar in everything. Example, coffee or tea with honey will increase the heat in your system. Adding sugar, balances the heat of your drink, thus keeping you away from acidity or heart burns. Honey has its use in various applications like soar throat or ayurvedic medicine. But definitely not an alternative to sugar.

Stevia: Comes from a plant in South America but was banned in the 90s for its toxicology. It is now 'generally recognised as safe'. Reb A is considered safe while other forms of stevia are not approved.

On the other hand, sugar cane was, is and always safe in any form. And more importantly, sustainable. Because sustainable living is trendy and we need that in our lives today!