A Niche Thing - Is No Added Sugar A Lie?

There's a lot of misinformation and misconceptions when it comes to what healthy food is - labels like high fiber, no added sugar, sugar-free, natural and unprocessed might lead you to believe that what you consume is healthy and/or won't negatively affect your health; which is far from the truth.

?

To burst this giant bubble of misconceptions, we have Harsh Kedia , Founder of the brand ‘ A Diabetic Chef ’, on our podcast ‘A Niche Thing with Aneesh Bhasin ’ - a great episode for anyone who wishes to make better health choices and a must-listen for people maneuvering their way through life with diabetes, PCOS and other health issues that are gravely affected by food.

?

Harssh started ‘A Diabetic Chef’ back when he was in the 11th grade and had been diagnosed with diabetes. His need to cook diabetic-friendly meals and his passion for food birthed his Facebook blog, where he shared his cumulative knowledge and recipes with the world to help people make better food choices and have fun while at it! During the lockdown, he converted that food blog and brand into a B2c business that deals with making genuinely healthy, sugar-free products that are medically proven to be diabetic-friendly.

?

Breaking down ingredient lists and labels on protein powders, protein bars, breakfast cereals, breakfast bowls and the countless other “healthy” products marketed to us is Harssh’s daily regimen. Regulatory bodies give a certain leeway to manufacturers where they can spin around terms and entice customers into believing that their products are healthy. Labels often use terms to disguise the sugar in the product - like fructose, fruit sugar, pre-added sugar in whey protein, lactose etc.

?

We live in a culture that is happy to pass off fresh, natural food as healthy - dates, honey, jaggery, and tons of other fresh fruits have loads of sugar in them - “just because they’re unprocessed doesn't mean they won't mess with your body,” Harssh adds. Here, he gets into the more technical details of glycemic index and glycemic load that can be used to calculate the way foods affect your blood sugar levels.

?

Tune into the episode to listen to a well-informed take on the role of the F&B industry, regulatory bodies, manufacturers and consumers when it comes to giving out complete information and addressing the nuances related to the food we consume.

?

India is on its way to becoming the world's diabetes capital, and consumers ought to have complete information regarding their food choices. Because, as Aneesh says, “You cannot outrun a bad diet.” This episode gives our delusions some essential myth-busting.?