IN a speech on Oct 1, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim commented on the increase in diabetes among Malaysians.
He said the people would be compelled to reduce their sugar intake if the price of the commodity was increased.
Budget 2024 two weeks later raised the excise duty on sugary drinks from 40sen to 50sen per litre. One small step, will it make a big difference?
Higher prices of such drinks may lead to reduced consumption among price-sensitive individuals, but addicts will go on consuming sugary products as there is such a vast array of them.
The effectiveness of this higher tax on drinks in curbing sugar consumption depends on whether it is part of a comprehensive public prevention strategy that includes other regulatory measures.
Addiction must be fought through intervention and there is precedence for such forceful action.
The most celebrated case was at the University of California in San Francisco, which banned the sale of sugar-sweetened beverages across all its campus sites in 2015.
The ban removed all sugar-added drinks from the university’s cafeterias, vending machines and food trucks.
Ten months after the ban was enforced, participants in a before-and-after study had lost 2.1cm from their waistlines and showed a decrease in insulin resistance.
Food manufacturers add sugar to enhance taste and texture and to extend shelf life, and Malaysian eateries do it to increase the sweetness of the dishes they cook.
Based on the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019, approximately 3.9 million Malaysians are living with diabetes.
This number is equivalent to one in five adults in the country, giving Malaysia the title of “Sweetest Nation in Asia”.
Diabetes is the biggest driver of kidney failure and you are also two to four times as likely to develop heart disease if you have diabetes.
Diabetics can develop peripheral arterial disease, which leads to a narrowing of blood vessels and threatens the circulation in the legs and feet.
Amputation is a significant and life-changing complication. Diabetes can also cause nerve damage.
Even if you don’t get diabetes from excessive consumption of added sugars, your heart will be impacted.
One in three adult Malaysians live with hypertension, two in five live with high cholesterol and half are overweight or obese (a more advanced stage of excess body weight).
Weight gain and the development of obesity increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, cancer, kidney disease, premature ageing and psychological health issues.
“Basically, the higher the intake of added sugar, the higher the risk for heart disease,” said Dr Frank Hu, professor of nutrition at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.
“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,” he added.
In terms of the psycho-physical health dangers and absence of nutritional benefits, excessive intake of added sugar can produce similar effects to alcohol such as mood swings, irritability, depression, anxiety, cognitive malfunction and difficulty in focusing attention.
Unlike meats, alcohol and shellfish, there was no intervention from the Tripitaka, Torah and Quran to stop the consumption of added sugar because it was just a luxury item in scriptural times consumed by the tiny privileged classes who revered it as a status symbol befitting their wealth.
The colonial period brought about an expansion of sugar plantations, advancement in production technology and a steep reduction in cost, with global trade widening its availability.
It was only in the modern era that refined sugar became a must-add ingredient to everyone’s food.
Nevertheless, the scriptures are clear in their instructions that natural foods that are “wholesome and strengthening” should be consumed (Rig Veda I, 187) and that the Earth “bears plants and herbs of various healing powers” (Atharva Veda XII, 1).
The Vedas say of any food that is natural and intended for human consumption: “Whatever you eat or drink, the grain of the field or milk, food of all kinds, all these I make for you devoid of poison.”
Is added sugar a natural food devoid of poison? Most certainly not.
Added sugar is either fructose — a simple sugar extracted from fruits or veggies — or made principally from sugar cane juice, which is extracted and then boiled to evaporate the water to increase the sugar concentration.
When cooled, pure sucrose crystals form and you get refined white sugar. Brown sugar is just white sugar mixed with molasses to give it colour and flavour.
Too much fructose – from table sugar, high-fructose corn syrup or processed foods – raises your chances for kidney stones.
Added sugar is unnecessary as there is already sufficient sweetness in natural foods.
“Sweet be the plants for us,” the Vedas proclaim.
If you want amazing sweetness, take natural honey, as it says in the Asvalayana Grhya Sutra: “I feed you with the wisdom of honey.”
The role of government is to ward off dangers that threaten people’s lives.
If a food substance is dangerous, restrict its sale and use before medical revenue emerges as the top component of national income, and hospitals spring up in every neighbourhood with an ambulance parked on every road.
Refined sugar is the top culprit because of its omnipresence.
It is in many brands of soft drinks, energy drinks, sweetened juices and sports drinks as well as in teh tarik and sugar-layered iced beverages widely sold in drinks stalls.
It is also a key ingredient in most ultra-processed foods that go into the breakfast, lunch and dinner of virtually all Malaysians.
Ultra-processed foods are the biggest cause of early-onset diseases but are difficult to restrict as there are few chances for anyone to eat an all-natural meal.
Added sugar, usually refined white sugar, is an easily identifiable single product and the effort to prevent deadly illnesses crippling our society demands forceful intervention.
Many countries have implemented restrictions on the use of added sugar in various forms, particularly in processed foods and beverages.
Medical experts are in favour of even tighter regulations to dampen skyrocketing healthcare expenditures, early deaths and rising medical insurance premiums.
Besides raising the excise duty on sugary drinks, here is an interventionist measure that our government should implement to break sugar addiction: target all educational institutions from kindergarten to university, public and private; all medical outlets from clinics to hospitals, public and private; all sports venues and all government-supported agencies.
This is the proposed measure. A ban on all food operators in these premises from using added sugar or selling any food and beverage item containing added sugar.
Empty all vending machines of cans and cartons that have added sugar as an ingredient.
This means no more sales of soft drinks, fruit drinks, flavoured yoghurts, teh tarik, sweetened coffee and tea, cereals, cookies, cakes, candy, packaged foods and drinks, and any processed food with added sugar.
In these premises, food operators and food trucks should use alternatives.
On supermarket shelves, there is already a good selection of packaged beverages with no added sugar.
To make a sweet soup, gravy or sauce, blend in turnip instead of using refined white sugar.
In cooking vegetables or meats there is no necessity to add sugar-laden oyster sauce, as veggies and meats already contain natural sugar.
The writer champions interfaith harmony. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com
