The Risks of Sugar-Free

Sugar-free goodies and sugar substitutes seem like the answer for diabetics, for whom sugar is poison. But even as the industry booms, many are questioning its promise of safe sweetness

- By SONALI ACHARJEE

SUGAR-FREE SWEETS CAME ASA GODSEND FOR SHANTA BOSE, a 51-year-old homemaker in Gurugram, who was diagnosed as diabetic when she was 47. “Everywhere I went, there were desserts I could not eat,” says Bose. Then, she discovered the sugar-free shelf in her local department store, laden with cookies, cakes, candy, soft drinks and ice cream. She also read up on the low glycaemic index (GI)—a scale that ranks foods based on how quickly they raise blood sugar (glucose) levels post ingestion and where foods like fruits, millets, leafy vegetables and beans, which are digested slowly and therefore cause glucose levels to rise gradually, are considered good for diabetics. This prompted Bose to buy brown rice, millets, whole wheat and natural sweeteners like syrups from agave, tapioca, dates, yacon, coconut and monk fruit. For three months, she ended her meals with these, until one day she woke up with blurry vision. Tests showed her blood sugar to be abnormally high. It is a rude shock that greets many in India.

The vilification of sugar as the source of all ill health has seen a surge in demand for sugar-free products, with companies rising to the occasion with gusto. In 2019, a study by market research firm Mintel discovered that almost three in five Indians wish to consume less sugar for a healthier lifestyle, and a 2025 survey found a third of Indian parents seeking less sugar candy for kids. The fears associated with sugar are not unfounded. India is the diabetes capital of the world. A study published in Lancet in 2023 found over 100 million Indians to be diabetic and another 136 million as pre-diabetic. Today, sugar is associated with disorders of practically every part of the body: be it the feet or the eyes, the brain or one’s bones. “Clamping down on sugar has become a known narrative. Every obese, pre-diabetic, diabetic and non-diabetic/ non-obese person wants sugar-free products,” says nutritionist Ishi Khosla.