Simple and effective ways to cut down on sugar

Pay close attention to your sugar consumption with these easy tips

One of the simplest and easiest ways to switch to a healthier lifestyle is to pay close attention to one’s sugar consumption. With medical practitioners always recommending the need to cut down on sugar as much as possible, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) recently listed down some ways in which sugar consumption can be reduced.

“Did you know you end up consuming a lot more sugar drinking carbonated beverages than you realise. Make the healthy swap today!” it said in a tweet.

Why does sugar consumption need a check?

Lifestyle conditions like diabetes and blood sugar have seen an increase owing to excessive sugar consumption. Which is why it is advised to avoid foods with high amounts of added and free sugars, and instead opt for foods with natural or inherent sugars, as it is considered acceptable as long as they are not overly consumed.

FSSAI recommends these dietary changes

Avoid sneaky sugars

Swap your carbonated sweetened beverages with coconut water, buttermilk and fruit smoothies or fruit juices.

Add dates, raisins and figs or even yoghurt to your breakfast porridge instead of adding sugars or sweeteners.

Pick chutney over sauce

Replace bottled sauces and ketchup with fresh homemade chutneys

Coronavirus FAQs: Should I Purell My Nostrils? Can Lysol Disinfect The Air?

Each week, we answer frequently asked questions about life during the coronavirus crisis. If you have a question you'd like us to consider for a future post, email us at goatsandsoda@npr.org with the subject line: "Weekly Coronavirus Questions."

Malaka Gharib/NPR

When I get in my car, I always use a squirt of hand sanitizer for my hands. With the tips of my forefinger and thumb, I then rub some of the sanitizer just inside my nostrils. Does this have any helpful or detrimental effect?

Wait, what? Well, good for you for remembering the hand sanitizer for your hands. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says keeping your hands clean is always important to reduce infection but especially so now to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

But ... not in your nose, says Leana Wen, an emergency physician and public health professor at George Washington University who previously was Baltimore's health commissioner. "Putting hand sanitizer on your nostrils isn't a barrier to breathing in the virus."

If your hands come in contact with the virus — say by touching a steering wheel that someone with COVID-19 sneezed on, "then using hand sanitizer can kill the virus from your hands and keep it from entering your body if you touch the mucus membranes in your nose, eyes or mouth," Wen says. "But hand sanitizer on, or in, your nose, won't keep you from inhaling in virus particles which can attach to mucus membranes deep inside your nose and throat. "

Your best bet is the whole combination of protective measures: frequent washing or hand sanitizing your hands, especially if you come in contact with an item or surface that someone else might have touched, physical distancing and wearing a mask.

With so many people using hand sanitizer, some popular brands can be hard to find. But don't just settle for any brand: The Food and Drug Administration has found that some hand sanitizers contain hazardous ingredients such as methanol or wood alcohol, which "can be toxic when absorbed through the skin or ingested and can be life-threatening when ingested." Check this FDA website to see if the brand you have or are planning to buy is on its list of hand sanitizers to avoid.

And as long as we're talking about hand sanitizer, here are some refresher tips you might have forgotten since the beginning of the pandemic, courtesy of the CDC and University of Pennsylvania:

• Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol, a recommended percentage for wiping out viral particles.
• Squeeze out enough sanitizer to cover all surfaces on your hands.
• After applying sanitizer, rub your hands together until they feel dry — about 20 seconds.
• Don't rinse or wipe off the hand sanitizer before it's dry or it may not work well against germs.
• Hand sanitizer does have a shelf life, so get a new bottle when this one reaches its expiration date.
• Consider storing that sanitizer in the purse or any carrying case you typically bring with you when you get in the car. Sanitizer can evaporate from heat if left in the car, and you may find yourself with none to use when you need it.

We want to plan a birthday party for 13 people. We are all committed to wearing masks and social distancing. Would it help to spray Lysol in the rooms every 30 to 60 minutes to help with disinfecting the air?

The only time we wouldn't have on a mask is to eat.

We hate to be a literal party pooper, but, in a word, no, says Steve Bennett, senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs at the Household & Commercial Products Association, the trade association for cleaning products such as Lysol.

"A disinfectant spray is actually designed for surface use, so spraying it in the air will not be effective in protecting indoor guests from COVID-19," Bennett says. He adds that there are no sprayable household products currently registered with the Environmental Protection Agency that can be used to disinfect the air. (And as we reported in an earlier FAQ: "Portable air cleaners can limit the spread of the virus via long-range airborne particles by capturing most of those particles in a HEPA filter and cleaning the air at a rate of up to six times per hour.")

It would be nice to think we could spray away the virus, but the problem with disinfecting spray is that "it only lasts in the air for a few seconds and then falls to the ground, or evaporates, ending any protection," says James Malley, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. So even if you sprayed the air with disinfectant, it wouldn't linger long enough to be effective in the next moment if anyone who's contagious (and not showing symptoms) has resumed talking or breathing in the indoor space.

Like Bennett, Malley says disinfectant sprays are really meant for cleaning surfaces such as kitchen countertops or doorknobs — though he prefers disinfecting wipes. With wipes, you can be sure you've disinfected the entire surface because "you can visually see what has gotten wet and what hasn't," he says. With spray disinfectant, it can be harder to distribute the product across a surface and harder to tell where you've already sprayed. If you do choose to use wipes, Malley has a tip: To ensure a surface is fully disinfected, wait for the surface to dry before touching it.

To learn more about how COVID-19 spreads through the air and how to protect yourself, watch this video from NPR correspondent Pien Huang.

DID YOU KNOW SPICY FOOD IS GOOD FOR YOU?

Curries seem to be the go-to comfort food during the pandemic. One survey showed orders for Indian takeaways doubled after Covid-19 hit the UK. And the good news is that when chosen wisely, curry can be a hot tonic for your body. Experts say spicy ingredients can help lower your risk of everything, from cancer to heart disease. So how do you reap the benefits without piling on the pounds? Here are hot tips on how to cut the calories when it comes to fiery cuisine.

Deep-fried samosas and onion bhajis, which are like sponges for oil, are high in fat and calories. Opt for a starter such as chicken tikka or simply move straight to the main event.

Cracking idea

There’s nothing like a few dips to kick off your meal. Try to stick to one or two deep-fried papadums, at 60-100 calories a time, and go for lower-calorie cucumber dip raita or hot lime pickle, rather than sugary mango chutney.

Saucy advice

When it comes to main dishes, try to avoid curries that are creamy, such as masala and pasanda, which are packed with calories and fat. Choose tomato-based dishes, such as rogan josh, or drier dishes, such as bhuna. Simply swapping a korma for a jalfrezi could halve the calories. A chicken tikka masala can come in at more than 1,000 calories. Go for ovenbaked chicken tandoori instead.

Did you know spicy food is good for you?

Get tricksy

If you do opt for a creamy dish, try to stick to eating the meat, spooning it onto your plate and leaving some of the sauce behind in the container. Choosing fish, such as prawns or cod, and white meat, such as chicken, will tend to be healthier than fattier red meat curries — beef, pork and lamb.

Spice things up

If your taste buds can handle it, order a hotter curry, such as a madras or a vindaloo. These are so spicy you’ll eat more slowly and tend to eat less. Likewise, if you are making a curry at home, add plenty of chilli flakes. Research has shown that they contain a hot substance called capsaicin, which can boost your metabolism to help you burn more fat.

Rice idea

Pilau rice, cooked in extra oil can be 600 calories per portion. Swap it for boiled rice and save 300 calories – that’s an hour’s walking – plus around 30g of fat. Ordering a biryani, which includes rice as part of the meal, can also cut calorie and fat levels. At home, why not try some fibre-rich brown rice with your curry for a change?

Naan better

That naan bread might seem like a good idea, but each one can contain more than 400 calories and 12g of fat, especially if stuffed with cheese or sultanas. Shave off 50 calories by choosing a plain one, or ordering a chapati, which has only about 115 calories and as little as 1g of fat.

Veg out

Do order some veggie side dishes. Not only are they packed with vitamins and minerals, but something like dal has lots of protein and fibre to help fill you up. Making a veggie curry at home is a great way to use up leftovers – simply add lots of spices for flavour. Homemade curries can also help you slash salt levels — which is great for your blood pressure.