Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Blog Post #84 - Salt and Sweet - the chemicals of life!


Go find a jumpy kid (it is not that difficult ..if you don't find one come to my house - I have a couple =2!). 

Get to their Parent and ask 'why is your kid running around like crazy'. 

Most parents in the modern(what ever that means!) nations would answer 'Sugar'

Now - talk to some one about loyalty and ask for a proverb from their native language or Holy scripture (Bible,Torah,Koran - you name it) most likely it might involve - 'Salt'

It is said that a WHO leader used to carry a packet of Salt and Sugar mixed together and met world leaders and philanthropist and let them know that if you add pure water and this magic mixture will stop Diarrhea and save lives. He pleaded for funds for pure water and ensuring access to sugar and salt for dehydrated people. 

Bill and Melissa Foundation (Bless their heart - Bill and Melinda Gates!) funded this effort and lot of organizations supported it.

Simple idea - when you find kids and adults dehydrated and about to die (which they did in various parts of world) this SSS - Salt Sugar Solution was the savior!    Most of us take this for granted and some of us eat more of these on daily basis.

Salt is made up of Sodium and Chlorine = Sodium Chloride
Sugar is made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.


Now mix them and they become SSS = Salt Sugar Solution

Countries have waged wars over Salt.


Citizens were traditionally taxed over salt in Colonized nations. 

Think Gandhi and Colonial India. 

Gandhi's Dandhi March where he walked to the coast with thousands of followers picked up salt/made salt and acted against the British government as  the salt was owned by British and had to be  taxed before used by Indians.

'Salt March' is a major mile stone and one of the most successful non violent protest launched by Gandhi.




Salary - the word comes from Salt and no one knows how salarium the Latin word linked the soldiers to salt. May be the Roman soldiers were paid in salt. 




Sugar  - The magic ingredient of life. Our body loves them and they are the most preferred form of food the body can easily absorb. Fructose ,Glucose and Sucrose (table sugar! like table salt) are examples of Monosaccharides (or simple sugar) and the list goes on and on in terms of complex sugars.


Body can get sugar from fruits and Nature is very smart - by nature you are smart too!

The sugar in fruits are packaged with fibers,vitamins and minerals, The sugar is released slowly into bloodstream thus avoiding sugar rush!

Try this  - go to kitchen grab a table spoon and eat 2 table spoons of sugar...poof it is gone.. you will also feel hungry in few minutes  - Why? Sugar is absorbed quickly and body had experienced sugar rush and it will ask for more!!

You must eat 100 calories or 6 table spoons (today 4 if  you had done the experiment above and didn't drink coffee/tea with sugar!). A can of soda has little less than 1 day's worth of sugar.

The fun begins now - check every food you touch today from milk to rice - every single one of them have sugar.If you take sugar away from products 90% of products in your grocery store are to be shelved!!!

Next time look at the potato chip or a carrot and wonder how much sugar is in this ? You will be surprised most processed food you eat has both sugar and salt mixed! Gatorade and all sports drink use this magic formula to hydrate and energize you. 
A large McDonald's coke has about 20 tea spoons of sugar.

Do you know the difference between table spoon and tea spoon-?




1 Tablespoon = 3 Teaspoons 

Your body needs 

2/3 tea spoon of Salt
6 table spoons  of sugar

on a daily basis!




Keep Learning and Keep eating
Sivakumar Manikanteswaran


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