PVPF 2024

Interview with Damayanti Dutta, author of "Sugar – The Silent Killer"

on Aug 30, 2022

Damayanti Datta has worn several hats over the years: a researcher, a teacher, a communicator, a correspondent, an editor and, now, an independent writer. Starting with a PhD in history from Cambridge University, her career path has taken her towards storytelling in various fields. Over her 14 years at India Today magazine, she has reported from places as diverse as hospital wards, courthouses, science labs, police stations, heritage landscapes and tribal homes. She has been honoured with numerous fellowships and awards, including the first Press Council of India Award for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. Sugar: The Silent Killer is her maiden book on the public health disaster the ubiquitous kitchen ingredient can trigger—from diabetes to Covid-19.

Frontlist: In the book, you’ve mentioned how Buddha often practiced time-restricted eating. With intermittent fasting being popular nowadays, how do dietary habits of the past influence the present?

Damayanti: My research shows that time-tested dietary habits work, especially at a time we are bombarded with new foods, drinks, ingredients, processes and it’s hard to tell what hides in those. Our diets are based on what we inherited from our ancestors. Dietary habits develop over centuries in response to geography, climate and natural resources of a region. For instance, people living close to coastal areas get fish easily and hence eat fish, while those in rainy areas eat a lot of rice. The Mediterranean Diet has its origins in the unique geography and culture around the Mediterranean basin. The problem is that, today we eat too much and the eat too many ‘wrong’ foods—foods that our ancestors never had. The biggest example is polished rice and wheat. Sugar has entered in unprecedented ways, under unrecognisable names, in our food chain. Most people don’t understand that even the simple tomato ketchup is rich in sugar. There is, however, an increasing recognition of this the world over. There is a new attempt to eat healthy. The Lancet Commission Report formulated by top scientists in 2018 shows how desperately bad the planet’s food situation is. All this has given new salience to the Buddha’s food philosophy. The Buddha believed in consciousness and in simplicity. Hence, his attitude towards food was also conscious and simple. Buddhist texts go into great detail on this—be it mindful eating, not eating anything after sundown, what to eat and not to eat and so on. All these are being embraced now across the world.

Frontlist: According to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, diabetes is considered a serious threat. How can the next generation avoid this situation so that more people are unaffected?

Damayanti: That’s true. I think, he is the only Indian Prime Minister who talks about the threat that diabetes poses in his speeches repeatedly: from the ramparts of the Red Fort to his Mann ki Baat talks on radio. He has also lost a number of prominent members of his Cabinet to the sugar disease. For the next generation to avoid this situation, I think, we need to be extremely conscious of what we eat, how and when. Think why your grandparents consumed so much more healthy millets and you munch on unhealthy chips. Do some research on the Indian traditional eating habits. How many people, for instance, know that the Mughals did not use onions and garlic in their food? That was too gross for them, I suppose. Instead, the flavouring was done with spices, saffron, hing and dry fruits. Today, what we consume as Mughlai food are thick, red and full of onions. We have moved far away from what our ancestors consumed. The first step towards good health is to be aware of that.

Frontlist: Although diabetes is labelled an affluent and urban disease, how has the changing lifestyle been responsible for bringing this disease to the people in rural areas?

Damayanti: The simple answer is malnourishment. Growing up without wholesome foods and a different type of hunger that is invisible, called hidden hunger, where stomachs may fill up but the food lacks vital micronutrients. There is growing evidence hat nutritional deprivation in childhood and hidden hunger increase the risk of numerous chronic diseases later in life by raising blood sugar levels higher than normal. The Green Revolution also added its own burden of rampant insecticide use and chemical fertilisers. The increasing focus of governments on rice and wheat, with price support, over the decades, has removed vital sources of protein like pulses, seeds and millets from poor people’s palate. We have also lost a whole lot of healthy, heritage grains.

Frontlist: In the 1970s, Dr John Yudkin was ridiculed and sidelined for talking about the dangers of sugar, and nowadays, people are taking it seriously. What is the role of science in making such discoveries?

Damayanti: Nutrition science has played an unwholesome role, especially in the 20th century. Research now shows how the sugar lobby influenced studies, with scientists not bringing to light the devastating impact of sugar. Fat was vilified, instead. Dr Yudkin’s life is a case in point: he suffered for going against the mainstream.

Frontlist: Be it white rice or sugar, are taste and flavours the reason people are reluctant to use their substitutes in the long run?

Damayanti: I don’t think so. White rice does not necessarily taste the best, it is just available more. Red rice, for instance, is rich in iron, vitamins and antioxidants, and tastes really great. Still, you have to look hard for it to make it an everyday part of your diet. There was an ancient rice grain in Bengal, called radhunipagal for its incredible aroma. Apparently, it drove cooks insane with its fragrance. That rice has disappeared, although some efforts are on to bring it back. So, I don’t think it is taste that makes something popular. I do believe, it all comes down to commercial interests and how wealthy manufacturers manage to promote and influence people at large. That’s why, we need to really be conscious of what we eat, do our own research and develop a demand for the foods that are best for us.

Frontlist: By combining science, history, and culture, how does it attempt to understand people’s relationship with sugar?

Damayanti: Sugar has such an ancient and complex history that just telling people that it is bad for health will not work. And it hasn’t worked. Sugar is part of our culture, it signifies many things—from sweetening the mouth to celebrate to bribing one’s way out of a sticky situation. It is linked to every ritual, every rite of passage, in the subcontinent. Why would people care for dry scientific facts, stats or lectures? Also, sugar enters the body not just through sweets but a range of poor carbohydrates. I do think, people need to understand the story of sugar differently—in ways that influence their imagination and make them understand how they are eating wrong foods. Science, history, culture—all these must come together, if you wish people to understand the way we ate once and now. That is they reason I have written this book.

Frontlist: Despite people who have diabetes and low blood sugar, insulin costs remain high in the market. Should the prices get subsidised for accessibility and affordability?

Damayanti: Absolutely. That should be the biggest agenda of governments and pharma. Unfortunately, diabetes drugs are blockbuster drugs. They bring in enormous profits. People with diabetes are dependent on these for a lifetime. Why would the pharma sector care?