Oh, I am a sweets person, or “I prefer salty food.” But have we pondered what is at the root of these cravings? Can a salty person become a sweet person, or vice versa?
Invariably craving for sugary and salty foods arises from various factors, which include stress, dehydration, sleep deprivation, nutritional deficiencies, emotional upheavals such as tragedies, illness, separation, bulimia, premenstrual syndrome or an individual unable to achieve his/her goals in life.
Such foods trigger the release of dopamine which tends to provide a temporary sense of comfort or rush of energy. It is pyrrhic and provides a temporary high to the mind which has a long-term impact on the gut and our physical and mental wellbeing. Upon quitting alcohol, I developed a strong craving for sweets. Sweets were to replace spirits as I embarked on my journey of sobriety.
Now I am making a serious attempt to kick this habit. The mind yearns for something sweet after every meal. By eating refined sugar not only does an individual add weight at all the wrong places in the body which makes him or her appear ungainly, sugar is also hazardous for the gut.
“How will you do yoga watching me gorging a delicious pastry,” my Yoga teacher admonished me.
The problem begins at the level of the abdomen and slowly, but surely spreads to various parts of the body. Sugar addiction is as deleterious as being hooked on cocaine. A close relative, also a doctor by training, talking about her husband, a former alcoholic, mentioned, “So long as he does not drink, sweets are fine.”
But excessive consumption of sweets is equally dangerous to the body. Be it white or brown, sugar remains an anathema. The same applies to the excessive intake of salt. Excessive salt causes high blood pressure and cardiac-related ailments. Recently I read a thought-provoking article by a runner. For the last forty years, this gentleman had been running incessantly across the country and was sprightly and fit.
He also advocates running barefoot quite like the celebrity Milind Soman. The runner champions a no-sugar and no-salt diet. “Humans get adequate quota of salt from the vegetables we partake,” says the runner.
Excess of sugar causes Diabetes Mellitus or DM. The disease is a chronic condition that is associated with abnormally high levels of sugar (glucose) in the blood. The common symptoms associated with diabetes are reflected in excessive urination, uncontrolled thirst, weight loss, pangs of hunger, fatigue, skin-related problems, tardy healing of wounds and injuries, yeast infection and tingling or numbness in feet and toes. Diabetes, like high blood pressure, is a silent killer if left untreated.
Therefore, a combination of dietary habits, change in lifestyle patterns and a positive approach to life is paramount to combat the Scylla and Charybdis of diabetes and blood pressure.
Overweight people, obese individuals, those leading a sedentary lifestyle, humans with a family history of diabetes, those suffering from hypertension and hypotension, low levels of HDL (efficacious cholesterol) and elevated triglycerides are all prone to be afflicted by Diabetes Mellitus.
Madhumeha Mukt Bharat is a Nationwide Stop-Diabetes Movement under the aegis of Swami Vivekanand Yoga Anusthana Samsthana (SVYASA), Bengaluru, to spread awareness about diabetes and to aid in its prevention among a wide cross-section of Indians across the country, using the ancient holistic approach of yoga.
The Art of Living is supporting SVYASA in their noble efforts to promote health and harmony. Therefore, on World Diabetes Day that is on November 14, an event was flagged off, the first training programme for Yoga Teachers for Diabetes Management was held at the Bangalore Ashram of the Art of Living.
Several other schools of yoga and other organisations too participated in the workshop. Around 100 teachers of the Art of Living are being identified to tackle the menace of diabetes and provide holistic treatment through yoga. There is a Zen story about a monk named Haku as he learned from his master about the impermanent and temporary nature of life as one feels after drinking a coke, eating a pastry, or consuming a packet of chips.
Through the simple act of tasting salt and sugar, Haku grasped the truth that beneath the changing phenomena of life, there is an enduring essence. Giving up salt and sugar required training of the mind. This is simple Zen story which ignites our minds to reflect on the nature of existence, reality and impermanence of human life.
To begin with we need to train our minds to unflinchingly say no to sugar and salt. Can we? Maybe the mind would resist this change, but certainly, humans can take baby steps by reducing the quantities significantly and will soon see radical changes in their bodies, minds, and souls.
By consciously reducing our intake of sugar and salt, we take the first step toward a healthier body and mind. With discipline and awareness, we can break free from cravings and embrace a more balanced, fulfilling life.
(The writer is the CEO of Chhattisgarh East Railway Ltd and Chhattisgarh East West Railway Ltd. Views expressed are personal)
