Is Jaggery Good or Bad For Diabetes Patients? Here’s What We Know

Jaggery, also known as Gur in India, is a natural, traditional sweet made from concentrations of sugarcane juice that is eaten mainly in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Jaggery and honey are also known as healthier alternatives to white and brown sugar.Also read – It’s time to get rid of sugar and replace it with 5 natural and healthy sweeteners

Jaggery is considered safe because it contains all the minerals and vitamins found in sugarcane juice, but unfortunately, people recommend it as a sweet-substitute for patients with type 1 diabetes and type 2 without any scientific evidence. So, discussing this, the co-founder of Glamio Health, Dr. Preet Pal Singh shared his inputs on whether diabetics should include jaggery in their diet. Also read – 5 Kitchen Friendly Foods That Can Help Improve Physical And Mental Health

Myth: Diabetics may include jaggery in their diet

While it is true that the presence of iron in the sphere has a high medicinal value, including blood pressure regulation. It protects against oxidative stress and improves digestion, however, jaggery contains about 65 to 85 percent sucrose, which is why diabetics should avoid it altogether. The ideal diet for diabetics includes foods with a low glycemic index while jaggery has a very high glycemic index. When ingested, it immediately raises blood sugar levels and can lead to serious health consequences, especially in patients with type 2 diabetes, such as kidney disease, heart disease and organ failure. A 100 gram serving of jaggery has 383 calories, 65-85 grams of sucrose and 10-15 grams of fructose and glucose which is comparable to regular sugar. Also read – Eat these 5 foods to stay warm and healthy this winter

In summary, if you are perfectly healthy and you have no problem with blood sugar, you can replace the jaggery for white sugar. If you have diabetes, you should avoid jaggery altogether

The best approach to living well with diabetes is to manage blood sugar, and eating well is a way to control blood sugar. Therefore, before including any food in the diet, diabetic patients should consider their glycemic index and it is always recommended to consult a diabetologist to determine what a person can and cannot eat.