Refined Sugar: The Chai Problem Nobody Talks About
Two teaspoons of sugar in the morning chai, two more in the afternoon cup, a mithai at the office, by evening, the average Indian has consumed enough refined sugar to meaningfully raise inflammatory markers. A 2014 analysis published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that regular consumption of sugar-sweetened foods increased circulating levels of interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein, two of the primary inflammatory signals that drive rheumatoid arthritis flares. Sugar does not cause rheumatoid arthritis, but in someone who already has it, high sugar intake keeps the immune system in a state of low-grade activation. The joints pay the price.
