Why is sweet given with water in Indian culture, does it have anything to do with health?

Why Was Sweet Served With Water In Indian Homes: In Indian homes, whenever a guest comes for the first time, he is not given just water. A little sweet is also served along with water. Somewhere sugar candy was given, somewhere jaggery and somewhere a small piece of sweet was given. Today, even though this tradition is gradually decreasing, the reason behind it was not only hospitality, but also many reasons related to health and culture. In Indian culture, sweets have always been associated with auspiciousness, happiness and respect. The tradition of starting any auspicious work by serving sweets is centuries old. This was the reason why giving sweets along with water to a guest coming home was considered a way of showing respect and belonging.

Why was sweets with water considered beneficial for health?

Now let us come to the point whether it has any relation with our health also. The answer is yes. Dr. Nischal Gupta told in one of his videos that whenever guests came to our homes, they were not only given water, but something sweet was also served with it and especially jaggery was included in it.

Why in earlier times people were given sweets with water?

Explaining the reason behind this, Dr. Nischal says that whenever a person used to come to our house, he used to travel a long distance to reach there. In ancient times, there were no AC vehicles like today; people often traveled on foot or by ordinary means. In such a situation, they were tired and many essential nutrients were also released from the body through sweat. According to Dr. Gupta, at such a time, jaggery was considered very beneficial, because many essential elements like vitamins, iron, calcium and magnesium are found in it. This helped to compensate for the hydration loss in the body as well as the nutrition loss to a great extent.

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Sweets are also considered beneficial in Ayurveda.

Even in Ayurveda, sweets are not considered completely wrong. It was believed that limited quantity of sweets helps in providing instant energy to the body. Especially in summer, giving some jaggery or sugar candy with water to a person coming from outside was considered a way to provide relief to the body. The ingredients used in many traditional sweets were also seen to be associated with health. Just as cardamom is considered good for digestion, saffron is considered helpful in improving mood. Jaggery was shown to increase oxygen in the blood and ghee was shown to absorb nutrients better.

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Disclaimer: This information is based on research studies and expert opinion. Do not consider this as a substitute for medical advice. Before adopting any new activity or exercise, please consult your doctor or relevant specialist.

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