Is Jaggery Good For Diabetes?

What is diabetes?

A condition where there is an increase in blood glucose levels. What many don’t know is that an essential treatment of diabetes is diet control, especially those foods which lead to a sudden spike in sugar levels. It is due to this factor that most diabetes patients are advised to completely avoid sweets, desserts or any foods which contain sugar.

So how does a diabetic with a sweet tooth carry on?

They prefer to replace sugars with natural sweeteners like stevia, honey, and jaggery to name a few. Out of all these, jaggery is the most commonly used sugar substitute. What can it be added to? Teas, snacks, sweets and desserts.

There are multiple beliefs when it comes to the use of jaggery for diabetic patients. Some people say jaggery causes diabetes, some say jaggery is good for diabetes. But what do the experts have to say? Is jaggery good for diabetes?  You won’t have to wait for the answer too long. Let’s break it down. To understand that for diabetic patients sugar or jaggery which is better, we need to understand the difference of manufacturing processes of both sugar, and jaggery.

Even though we get both jaggery and sugar from sugar cane, jaggery is not heavily processed like sugar. Hence, it still retains its nutrients like iron, calcium, phosphates and magnesium . Conversely, upon processing, sugar undergoes crystallization. Through this process, it loses all its  nutrients. So if we discuss Jaggery Vs White Sugar, Jaggery wins.

Regarding the dietary management for diabetes, it is not just the nutritive value of food but also its glycemic index that is important. Glycemic index represents the ability of the carbohydrate to increase glucose levels in the blood. The use of jaggery for diabetes is not recommended. Jaggery Vs Sugar nutrition, Jaggery contains a high amount of Sugar in form of the sucrose. Compared to Sugar, jaggery is surely high in nutrients. Despite jaggery’s high nutritive value, however, it is also high in terms of its Glycemic index. Jaggery glycemic index is 84.1. This number is definitely enough to lead to a sugar spike which is not good for your body if you are a diabetic.

Generally when comparing sugar, honey and jaggery, both honey and jaggery are healthy due to presence of micro nutrients and antioxidants. But in case of a diabetic patient it is better to include honey vs jaggery as honey has a comparatively lower glycemic index and also it does not undergo too much processing. But when using honey, it has to be raw or organic honey and it has to be used in moderation.

For all the folks not affected by diabetes, please eat Jaggery as it is a splendid replacement for sugar. Jaggery also helps to treat a sore throat, acidity issues, migraine, asthma and boost immunity.

If you are a diabetic and have been thinking that in comparison with sugar jaggery for diabetes is a good fit for you, you’re mistaken. So what can you use? Try to incorporate Organic honey and stevia leaves grown at home, to your diet. Stay healthy!