The Sweetness We Forgot

Recently, I came across the idea of a No Sugar Challenge. It immediately caught my attention.

Over the years, many of us have experimented with different forms of self-discipline and purification. Some have tried fasting. Others have experienced periods of silence through practices such as Vipassana. Each of these experiences invites us to temporarily step away from something familiar so that we can observe ourselves more clearly.

This challenge felt similar.

My own fitness journey has been stagnant for some time, and I felt this challenge could be an opportunity to reset. Not only physically, but mentally as well. In many ways, I see it as a simple form of sadhana. A mindfulness practice.

Most of us consume sugar every single day. Not occasionally. Every day. It appears in our coffee, tea, snacks, desserts, sauces and drinks. It has become so integrated into our lifestyle that the idea of removing it for even a few days can feel uncomfortable.

And perhaps that discomfort itself is worth exploring.

This challenge is an invitation to find out.

Everything we eat contains sugar.

People use many different terms: sugar, glucose, carbohydrates and starch. These are essentially different names referring to the same basic thing. Foods such as idli, dosa, pongal and chapati all contain sugar in the form of carbohydrates. When food is eaten, it is digested in the mouth, stomach and intestines, and eventually enters the bloodstream as sugar.

One of the biggest misconceptions people have is that sweetness and sugar are the same thing.

They are not.

There are many forms of sweetness that have existed for generations. Jaggery (Vellam), Palm Jaggery (Karuppatti), Traditional Country Sugar (Nattu Sakkarai), Dates and Honey.

Nature provides sweetness too. Fruits are sweet. Honey is sweet. Sweetness has always been part of life. But nature rarely offers sweetness instantly. A fruit takes months to grow. A flower must bloom before a bee can gather nectar. Honey requires the labour of thousands of bees.

There is a process behind natural sweetness.

Modern sugar, on the other hand, is available everywhere, all the time, in almost unlimited quantities. Perhaps that is why so many of us struggle with cravings.

The story of sugar begins with something very simple: sugarcane juice.

The sugarcane juice sold fresh on the roadside is the starting point. The juice is heated in large vessels and, as it boils, impurities rise to the surface. Lime and other substances are added, causing these impurities to separate. Once removed, a golden-coloured syrup remains.

White sugar takes the process much further.

This raises an interesting question.

Which should cost more: palm jaggery or white sugar?

Since white sugar supposedly undergoes many more processing steps, one would expect it to be more expensive. Yet it is often cheaper. Manufacturers increase the volume of white sugar through industrial processing and chemicals, making it cheaper to produce in large quantities.

White sugar became popular because luxury hotels preferred the clean white appearance over the darker appearance of traditional sugar. Eventually, it became fashionable, and widespread commercial production followed.

One perspective that I found particularly interesting comes from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), where sweetness, digestion, emotions and certain parts of the body are believed to be deeply connected through what is known as the Earth Element.

• Organs: Spleen (Yin) and Stomach (Yang).
• Flavor: Sweet.
• Tissue/Body Opening: Muscles and Lips.
• Emotion: Pensiveness (worry/overthinking) when imbalanced; contentment and grounded happiness when balanced.
• Tonic Effect: Naturally sweet foods tonify and strengthen Spleen Qi.
• Digestion: The Spleen and Stomach convert food into energy (Qi) and blood.
• Craving Signal: Strong cravings for refined sugar often signal a depleted or fatigued Spleen.
• Overindulgence: Excessive refined sugar weakens the Spleen, leading to dampness and sluggish digestion.
• Visual Mirror: The health of the Spleen manifests directly on the lips.
• Healthy Spleen: Lips are naturally rosy, moist, and plump.

Whenever the stomach and spleen need nourishment, the tongue naturally craves sweetness. Sweet foods help digestion. Some people experience discomfort after meals, and consuming an appropriate sweet taste can stimulate digestion and help the stomach work better.

This may also explain why, in traditional Indian meals served on a banana leaf, sweet food is often served and eaten at the end of the meal.

Suppose someone eats a quarter kilogram of jalebi.

People assume jalebi contains a lot of sugar because it tastes very sweet. However, a similar quantity of potato actually contains far more sugar.

Sweet taste and sugar content are not the same thing.

This is another example of why sweetness and sugar should not be confused.

At the heart of this challenge is a simple question.

Are we eating because of true hunger, or are we responding to habit, craving, stress, boredom or emotional comfort?

For the next 21 days, we are not trying to become perfect. We are simply becoming more aware. More conscious. More intentional.

Perhaps this challenge is not about removing sweetness.

Perhaps it is about remembering where true sweetness comes from.