We all love desserts, don’t we? Don’t we all imagine swimming or sailing in the pool of cakes, waffles, pancakes, ice creams, jalebis, gulab jamuns, rasgullas, Sandesh, etc.? The very thought of the situation is also so satisfying and elates us so much. Desserts; be it hot or cold; Indian or Foreign; are always welcome on our plates. They offer us a sense of happiness and divert our mind from our tensions substituting as stress busters. It might have happened with you; that you are feeling like crying and gorging on a large cake is improving your mood. So desserts are good for our mental health. BUT, maybe the normal cake you are eating is not that good for your gut and your heart. SHOCKING, BUT TRUE!!!! Your dessert might be containing refined wheat flour and sugar in a high quantity.
We all agree that we are not having desserts for health benefits, but it should not harm our body in the long run. MAIDA and sugar are prime ingredients of most of the desserts.
Metropolis, The pathology specialist in India, iterates in its TruHealth Blog the side effects of maida. White flour or commonly known as MAIDA is the flour made from the least nutritious part of the wheat grain. It is refined and chemically bleached due to which, the flour is stripped off of precious fibres, Vitamin B and even Iron. People regularly consuming MAIDA have an increased risk of Obesity, Type II Diabetes, Insulin Resistance and Elevated Cholesterol.
Times of India, the most trusted brand of newspaper in India seconds the same points in its article ‘why is refined flour bad for human body’
SOME LESSER-KNOWN FACTS ABOUT MAIDA
Maida, a waste introduced in the diet of human beings only a few centuries ago managed to evolve into a billion dollar industry and made a permanent mark in the lifestyle of human beings. But the physiological, psychological and ecological impacts caused by this waste already have an adverse effect on the current generations and will definitely take a toll on the generations to come. Despite knowing the damage caused by this waste, no strong action was taken for it, till date. Maida has become a perfect example of self-destructing and invasive product to human beings.
SUGAR – SWEETEST THING FOR YOUR TONGUE BUT DEFINITELY NOT FOR YOUR BODY
Too much added sugar can be one of the greatest threats to cardiovascular disease.
Sugar has a bittersweet reputation when it comes to health. Sugar occurs naturally in all foods that contain carbohydrates, such as fruits and vegetables, grains, and dairy. Consuming whole foods that contain natural sugar is okay. Plant foods also have high amounts of fiber, essential minerals, and antioxidants, and dairy foods contain protein and calcium.
Since your body digests these foods slowly, the sugar in them offers a steady supply of energy to your cells. A high intake of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains also has been shown to reduce the risk of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers.
However, problems occur when you consume too much added sugar. All of us know that excess sugar causes obesity and diabetes but are we aware that consuming a lot of sugar could also lead to a danger to your cardiac health.
In a study published in 2014 in JAMA Internal Medicine, Dr. Hu and his colleagues found an association between a high-sugar diet and a greater risk of dying from heart disease. Over the course of the 15-year study, people who got 17% to 21% of their calories from added sugar had a 38% higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared with those who consumed 8% of their calories as added sugar.
"Basically, the higher the intake of added sugar, the higher the risk for heart disease," says Dr. Hu.
How sugar actually affects heart health is not completely understood, but it appears to have several indirect connections. For instance, high amounts of sugar overload the liver. "Your liver metabolizes sugar the same way as alcohol, and converts dietary carbohydrates to fat," says Dr. Hu. Over time, this can lead to a greater accumulation of fat, which may turn into fatty liver disease, a contributor to diabetes, which raises your risk for heart disease.
Consuming too much added sugar can raise blood pressure and increase chronic inflammation, both of which are pathological pathways to heart disease. Excess consumption of sugar, especially in sugary beverages, also contributes to weight gain by tricking your body into turning off its appetite-control system because liquid calories are not as satisfying as calories from solid foods. This is why it is easier for people to add more calories to their regular diet when consuming sugary beverages.
"The effects of added sugar intake — higher blood pressure, inflammation, weight gain, diabetes, and fatty liver disease — are all linked to an increased risk for heart attack and stroke," says Dr. Hu.
In order to save our world of desserts for our consumption, we need to convert it into a ‘HEALTHY WORLD OF HEALTHY DESSERTS’. We need to find healthier alternatives for our most loved desserts. We are definitely not the pioneers in thinking and paving the path to ‘Healthy desserts’ concept as a lot of people are making innovations in desserts with healthy ingredients and bringing the taste to an almost similar level.
Cake batter with refined wheat flour
Cake batter with whole wheat flour