Jaggery (गुड) vs White sugar | Is Jaggery a better option?

These days, Jaggery (गुड) a popular sweetener, is becoming more popular as a healthy replacement of white sugar. But is there such a replacement of white sugar which is healthy? In this article we are going to talk about facts and try to find out whether Jaggery is worth including in our diet or not.


What is Jaggery?

Jaggery is an unrefined sugar, produced from sugar cane, mostly produced in Asia and Africa, the biggest producer of jaggery in the world is India (about 70% of the total produce takes place in India). It is also referred to as 'non-centrifugal' sugar, as it is not spun during the process to remove the nutrition molasses. 

It is not unique, similar non-centrifugal sugar products are found all over the world where they are know by their traditional names. For example,

Gur: India.
Panela: Colombia.
Piloncillo: Mexico.
Tapa dulce: Costa Rica.
Namtan tanode: Thailand.
Gula Melaka: Malaysia.
Kokuto: Japan.

Nutrition content in both

Jaggery is slightly more nutritious as compared to white sugar because of it's molasses content, Molasses is a nutritious by-product of the sugar making process, which is removed while making refined sugar. But in the case of jaggery, it is not.
Nutrition
Jaggery (100 grams)
White Sugar (100 grams)
Calories
387
387
Carbohydrates
98 grams
100 grams
Protein
0.5 grams
0 grams
Fat
0.2 grams
0.2 grams
Iron
0.1 grams
0.1 grams
Magnesium
1 grams
0 grams
Potassium
1.1 grams
2 grams
Manganese
0.2-0.5 mg
0 grams

Please keep in mind that the usual serving which one would take would be around 20 grams and not 100 grams.  

Jaggery may also contain small amounts of B vitamins and minerals, including calcium, zinc, phosphorus, selenium and copper, which are absent in the case of white refined sugar.

When we compare the nutritional values of both the products, we find that jaggery is slightly more nutritious. Refined sugar contains only 'empty calories', which is calories without any vitamins and minerals.

But jaggery is also essentially sugar, as is depicted by the table above, a very huge amount of jaggery contains a very less amount of vitamins and minerals, which you can get easily from other sources.

So, while it may be slightly "healthier" to replace refined sugar with a sweetener that has more vitamins and minerals, it's not really necessary to add jaggery to your diet.

Some health benefits of Jaggery

The reason why jaggery is considered healthier is because it has certain health benefits. These benefits include :
  • Improved digestive health
  • Anemia prevention 
  • Liver detoxification
  • Improved immune function 
  • Dealing with the cramps which women may feel during periods
However, the evidences supporting these claims are lacking. Also if there is some benefit, it effects when you consume a huge amount of jaggery, suppose 100 grams, which is unlikely and is also not advisable. As discussed above, the nutritional benefits of jaggery are there, but are very less as compared to the quantity which is required to be consumed. But it is true that white refined sugar has non of these benefits.

So hey, it is still better than white sugar! 

Some negative health effects of Jaggery

So can the people who are diabetic consume jaggery? the answer is NO 

Because jaggery is also a high glycemic ingredient, it will spike the insulin levels of blood and will alleviate the levels of blood sugar. However it is possible that it may strike the blood sugar levels after 10 minutes, but it still will! Because the glycemic index of jaggery is also high.

So is it worth replacing white sugar with jaggery?

If you are replacing white sugar with jaggery, then you will get a few extra nutrients with your calories. In this way, it is a healthier choice. However, it's worth remembering that very little evidence supports the health claims made about this sweetener.

Happyletics!


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