In early 2000s there was a delicacy that I loved. It was sweet corn. It was corn but sweeter. I remember asking specifically for it when buying roasted corn (Butta! For Indians 😊).

There was roasted corn seller near the vegetable shop in my locality. Winters were a busy time for him. My mom and I were waiting for him to roast the corn we’d selected. We were 4^th in the line of customers. He had two types of corn. Normal and sweet corn. The normal ones were very less in quantity. I had selected a normal one and it looked not as fresh as the sweet corn. “Why is there so less?” asked him. “No one wants it Beta,” he said, “Everyone wants sweet corn. No one wants the normal one.” “Oh…” I replied with a frown. He smiled and explained more. “People like sugar. Add a little bit of sugar in things and they gobble it up.”

I kept nibbling on the sentence. You know there are things that keep dropping in till you feel like you have investigated enough? This sentence was that to me. I started to check for ingredients in all packaged items; Started to mindfully eat things to identify the faint difference. It was sugar. The packaged items, like Kurkure, Lays and even masala groundnuts had sugar. The potato chips form Hot Chips tasted different form Lays. I verified with the shop owner in Hot Chips. They did not add sugar.

The pasta sauce I make at home is different than the ones that come in a glass bottle. The packaged ones have sugar.

I am not saying all packaged goods have sugar in it, but most do. The type of sugar you eat is important because sugar is bad only when it does not add any nutrient value and hampers digestion. Cane sugar is not bad in minimal quantities. Corn sugar is bad. Be mindful of the ingredients when you buy packaged items. Check for corn syrup. If the ingredients are not clearly printed, research a little. If you are still not clear, do not use the product.