When we talk about cutting down on added sugar, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to start buying expensive sugar substitutes. In fact, you probably already have quite a few simple, affordable ingredients at home. They can add sweetness to your food and, in some cases, also give you fibre, vitamins, minerals and other useful nutrients.
Because not every sugar alternative is the same, however, it is important to understand what each option actually contains,.
Tavishi Dogra is a Deputy Chief Content Producer, Health & Wellness, at Hindustan Times. She joined Hindustan Times to simplify wellness subjects by cutting through jargon. She has over 9 years of experience writing about fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being, translating medical research and expert insights into practical advice readers can trust. Career journey and experience Tavishi began her health journalism journey in 2017, and has since reported for RSTV, Financial Express, Jagran, HT Media Labs and Zee.
Education and professional background Tavishi holds a Master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and began her career reporting on public affairs for broadcast. Editorial Philosophy I write with one single goal: To simplify health in a world full of noise by finding what’s actually doable, safe, and evidence-based for my readers. I test claims against research and user experiences. If you specifically want something very low in calories, you can look at stevia and monk fruit. They can provide sweetness with very few or no calories. However, they may be more expensive and less easily available than fruits, dates or jaggery. “So, if cost and easy availability are your main concerns, I would keep it simple and choose ripe banana, apple, dates or a small amount of jaggery. The idea isn’t just to replace white sugar with something else. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.)
When all else fails, I speak to the expert who sees 50 patients a day, not the one with the most followers.
“Stevia gets its sweetness from steviol glycosides, while monk fruit gets its sweetness mainly from mogrosides” Dt Payal Dutt, Senior Dietician, Kailash Hospital, Dehradun, tells Health Shots . Still, to gradually get used to less sweetness overall,” says Dutt. (Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Those early years in policy and TV shaped how she writes today: fast, factual, and human-first.
Subject expertise With 9+ years tracking India’s health conversations, Tavishi knows the gap between clinical advice and daily life. She knows fads from fundamentals and curates science-backed, expert-recommended solutions. In fitness, she breaks down bodyweight training, recovery, and posture fixes for desk-bound readers. In nutrition, she translates guidelines into affordable, desi meal tweaks. In mental well-being, she focuses on stigma-free, actionable tools — all backed by research, expert input, and lived context.
From decoding health trends and interviewing doctors to testing fitness routines herself, Tavishi always approaches content with one filter: “Will this help someone make a better decision today?
