Sugar, i.e. white household sugar, does not have many friends from a conventional medical point of view. For example, sugar is largely responsible for obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. How does Ayurveda see this? And how does it help people to give up sugar?
The role of sugar in Indian medicine
Anyone who has ever been to India or is familiar with Indian cuisine knows that Indians are not afraid of sugar. The typical Indian diet is sweet and uses sugar in abundance. Even in traditional Indian medicine, Ayurveda, sugar is not considered bad per se. On the contrary: sugar is described as energizing, nourishing and flavour-enhancing and is added to medicinal formulas to treat emaciation, exhaustion or deficiency symptoms.
The properties of sugar
Ayurveda describes the properties of sugar as sweet, cooling, restorative and energizing. People with obesity, diabetes, respiratory diseases and other ailments that Ayurveda attributes to a high Kapha dosha should of course avoid sugar as much as possible. However, a little sugar is important even for these people, as it sweetens life and nourishes the psyche with feelings of happiness and contentment.
Interpret your sugar cravings correctly
The big problem with sugar is that it is often used as a substitute for high-quality food that is rich in vital substances. Whenever we are under stress and our digestive fire is unable to break down food well and we therefore suffer from deficiency symptoms, our body reacts with a craving for sweet. If we eat sugar-rich sweets instead of fruits, nuts and vegetables rich in vital substances, we are deceiving our body and exacerbating the deficiency symptoms. So we should first interpret the craving for sugar correctly and then choose our food accordingly. For Vata and Pitta types, the sweet taste - and therefore a moderate amount of sugar - has a calming and balancing effect. Kapha types, on the other hand, should try to avoid all types of sugar as much as possible. Alternatively, honey is recommended for Kapha.
How Ayurveda can help you give up sweets more easily
If the body and mind are balanced and the metabolism is working well, we feel little desire for sugar or denaturalized foods. In general, it helps to eat a healthy, high-quality diet, to eat your daily meals in peace and without stress and to make food easier to digest with stimulating spices such as ginger, cumin or pepper.
In my experience, eating a little sweet fruit - such as grapes, dates or dried fruit - in the afternoon between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. helps to reduce cravings for sweets.
It doesn't have to be a complete sacrifice
In the Ayurvedic diet for healthy people, a sweet dish is an important part of a healthy and balanced lunch. So there is no reason to give up sweets completely. A healthy diet for sick people may also include a small sweet, but this consists of special recipes with ingredients that are individually tailored to the patient.
Ayurvedic dessert recommendations
In Ayurveda, we are fans of healthy and nutritious desserts such as almond pudding, mango cream, chickpea confectionery or rice pudding, which are delicately flavored with digestive spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and cloves.
