I WILL STILL choose sugar-free alternatives. They cater to my requirement of sugar substitutes in foods," says 29-year-old Sumati Sharma, reacting to the World Health Organization's July 14 announcement that declared the popular artificial sweetener aspartame "possibly carcinogenic to humans". Sharma is a graphic designer based in Delhi and has used sugar substitutes since 2021. "I am not diabetic but there is a history of diabetes in my family, which is why I have gone completely off sugar. Plus, I am calorie-conscious," she says.
Sugar substitutes are substances used in place of sweeteners that have sugar (sucrose) or sugar alcohols. They have negligible or zero calories because, unlike sugar, they do not get broken down by the body into products that provide energy or calories. Also called non-sugar sweeteners (NSS) or non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS), sugar substitutes are primarily of two types: artificial (which are prepared in laboratories; for example, aspartame) and natural (which are derived from plants; for example, stevia). They are used as tabletop sweeteners as well as in food items labelled "sugar free", "lowcalorie" or "diet" across the world.
The global rise in cases of diabetes and obesity has resulted in many opting for sugar substitutes to avoid developing the disease, manage weight or cut calories. This is reflected in an increase in the sale of sugar substitutes. A 2023 report by global market consultancy The Business Research Company projects a rise of 29.4 per cent in the sale of sugar substitutes-from $20.52 billion in 2022 to 29.08 billion by 2027.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة December 16, 2023 من Down To Earth.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة December 16, 2023 من Down To Earth.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
THE GREAT FARM HUSTLE
Agroforestry is fast emerging as a win-win strategy to mitigate climate change and improve farmers' income. It is particularly so in India, home to one-fifth of the agroforestry carbon projects in the world. Over the past months ROHINI KRISHNAMURTHY has travelled to almost 20 villages across the country to understand how this market works. At all locations, she finds that communities and their land and labour are central to the projects. But they do not always benefit from the carbon revenue
CAN AGROFORESTRY CREDITS BE SAVED?
Ensure that farmers benefit from the carbon revenue and stay protected against market failure
Urban trap
Fearing loss of autonomy and access to government schemes, several villages across India are protesting against the decision to change their status to town
Dubious distinction
How Madhya Pradesh displaced Punjab as the country's leading state in stubble burning
TRADE TENSIONS
Why the benefits of agroforestry carbon trade do not trickle down to farmers
A fantastical lens
BIOPECULIARIS A LAUDABLE ATTEMPT TO CARVE A SPACE FOR SPECULATIVE CLIMATE FICTION WITHIN INDIAN LITERATURE. WHILE THE STORIES MAY NOT ALWAYS HIT THEIR MARK, THE ANTHOLOGY IS AN IMPORTANT STEP IN A GENRE THAT DESERVES MORE ATTENTION
Help on hold
US' decision to pause foreign aid could lead to hunger deaths, ruin economies of nations across Africa
Irrigation by snow
Declining rain and snowfall make farmers collect snow from higher altitudes to water their apple crops
Stem the rot
A fungal disease has hit the most widely sown sugarcane variety in Uttar Pradesh, threatening the country's sugar production
The mythos of ancient India's scientific excellence
Policymakers are obsessed by a fuddled idea of resurrecting a glorious civilisational past, and even IITs have fallen in line
