Skip to main content

No sugar, please



Cut down on our sugar intake.

That is my response to the sugar price hike in Malaysia.

The Malaysian Government raised the price of sugar by 20 sen (US6 cent) per kilogramme beginning January 1, this year.

Endocrinologist and Monash Malaysia academic Professor Dato' Dr Khalid Kadir warns that one in five adults in this country will develop diabetes this year.

Eating less sugar reduces the risk of obesity which is said to be a major factor behind the increase.

Giving up sugar in your diet won't be easy.

Still, there are useful tips on how to do so.

TIPS

CUT DOWN SLOWLY. Forget going cold turkey. Therein lies failure. Instead, if you normally have two candy bars a day, cut to one a day.

Then next week, one every other day.

The following week, one every three days, until you're down to just one a week.

If you normally take two 2 of sugar in your coffee, use the same routine, cutting down to 1 1/2 teaspoons for a week, then 1, then 1/2.

Eventually, get to the point where you're using artificial sweetener if you still need the sweet taste.

The more sugar you eat, the more you'll crave.

So cutting down slowly is the best way to tame a sweet tooth gone wild.

CONTINUE ... 


NOTE: For information on living with diabetes and news updates, visit the Malaysian Diabetes Association website.



Picture by Jehan Mohd.








Comments

Anonymous said…
I am not a sugar addict, and when i do consume sugar, i like to enjoy it slowly so that the indulgence will last as long as possible. For example, i don't normally take sugar in my drinks (including tea and coffee) because the intake of calories would be within too short a span of time. But i will enjoy cakes and cookies that are laden with sugar, because i can enjoy these slowly and make the caloric intake worthwhile. I therefore have the best of both worlds when i consume my cake or cookie (with sugar) accompanied by my tea or coffee (without sugar) and they go so well together.

Popular Posts

Dealing with death of a loved one

Today marks the end of Rabiaa's mourning period. She had completed four months and 10 days or 130 days of grieving, the stipulated period for expressing sorrow for Muslim widows.  The death of her husband on Dec 30, 2020 was expected  but it still came as a huge shock to her. It was too sudden, she felt. Yet  observers would not agree. Her husband became bedridden in mid-November after a collision between his big bike and a car which had come from the opposite direction after taking an illegal turn.  In addition to being bedridden, Anwar, lost his voice which was the direct result of the  brain injury he had suffered after the accident. He was diagnosed with traumatic brain injury. How does Rabiaa feel now? The pain is bearable but the memories remain as vivid as ever. She is still unwilling to clear up all of her husband's things and some items remain in their original positions as before he became bound to the bed. His belongings connect Rabiaa to Anwar and sh...

Buah Tarap: A chance encounter

You learn something new everyday. My friend Alina is very fond of repeating this. And I agree with her. Today I tasted the Buah Tarap (Tarap Fruit) which is said to be unique to Sabah/Borneo. My colleagues and I arrived in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah this afternoon; we are here for the RHB New Straits Times Spell-It-Right Challenge which will take place at the Suria Mall over the weekend. After checking into the Beverly Hotel we walked to a nearby eatery for a spot of tea. It was then that I chanced upon the Buah Tarap and began snapping away. My colleague, who had eaten the fruit in Bandung, Indonesia, was excited to see it. He bought one for us to try. The stall vendor split the fruit into two and we bit into its flesh. Everyone liked it but describing its flavour remains a challenge. The fruit, which looks like nangka (jackfruit) or chempedak,  has an unusual combination of tastes: it is sweet but not as sweet as the jackfruit nor as chunky. Words fail me. It feels so lig...

Next stop, Sungkai

The locomotive joins the failed train A routine trip to Kuala Lumpur Hospital for a medical check up turned out to be a nightmare for Rabiaa Dani and her husband. Their ticket was for a day train ride to KL Sentral , leaving Ipoh railway station at 8.20am, and returning to Ipoh at night. The couple arrived safely at KL Sentral Station and proceeded to the hospital immediately. Everything went well at the hospital. They even managed to sneak a shopping trip to KLCC for a quick look see before returning to KL Sentral for their 7.40pm train back to Ipoh. The train (9032), like clockwork, departed at the scheduled time. Both Rabiaa and her husband fell asleep about ten minutes after the train had left KL Sentral station. They woke up shortly before hearing the sound of a heavy object hitting something; the train came to a halt soon after. Replacement train at Sungkai station Their nighmare had begun. Rabiaa and her husband later learned that the train had hit a pig...