Jaggery: Sugar Marketed Well? Is It Good for Diabetes?

Jaggery has somehow acquired a health halo.

It is ‘natural’.

It is ‘traditional’.

It is ‘less processed’.

It contains iron and minerals.

And therefore, somewhere along the way, we decided it was a healthy alternative to sugar.

There is just one problem.

Jaggery is still sugar.

But jaggery is natural ... ?

Yes. So is sugar.

Both start with sugarcane. Jaggery is generally made by concentrating sugarcane juice without the extensive refining used to produce white sugar. That means it retains more of the minerals and other compounds naturally present in the cane.

But “less processed” does not automatically mean “low GI”, “diabetes-friendly” or even metabolically healthier.

Jaggery is predominantly sugar, containing sucrose along with additional glucose and fructose.

Your bloodstream does not award bonus points because that sugar came wrapped in a rustic brown block.

Glycemic Index of Jaggery: The Blood Sugar Response May Surprise You

Published measurements vary depending on the type of jaggery and the way GI is measured, so there is no single GI number that applies to every jaggery.

But the important point is this: jaggery is not a low-GI sweetener.

A classic study in people with type 2 diabetes found a glycaemic index (GI) of 87.4 for jaggery, compared with 83.9 for sucrose, concluding that jaggery could not be recommended as an alternative sweetener for people with diabetes.

In that study, jaggery had a higher GI than sucrose and honey, although these values should not be treated as universal comparisons for every product.

So, does jaggery increase blood sugar? The idea that replacing sugar with jaggery somehow protects you from a glucose spike simply does not stand up well.

Jaggery Health Benefits: “But Jaggery Has Iron!”

This is probably my favourite most ridiculous defence of jaggery.

Yes, jaggery contains micronutrients that refined sugar largely does not. Analyses have found iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium and various other compounds.

But think about what you are doing.

You are eating a concentrated source of sugar in order to obtain micronutrients that are readily available from nutritious foods without the accompanying sugar load.

Want iron? Eat dals, beans, leafy vegetables, seeds, meat or other iron-rich foods appropriate to your diet, which can provide iron without relying on jaggery as the source.

Jaggery does not suddenly become health food because some minerals survived the manufacturing process.

My Encounter with Thati Bellam Coffee

Driving from Hyderabad towards Vijayawada, I once stopped for a thati bellam coffee, coffee sweetened with palm jaggery.

I have a serious sweet tooth. Even for me, the sweetness was almost nauseating.

Yet this drink was being sold with an unmistakable implication: this was somehow the healthier coffee.

That is where the problem begins.

Not with someone occasionally enjoying jaggery because they like its flavour. There is absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying something sweet.

The problem is when sugar is given a health halo and people consequently consume more of it.

Jaggery vs White Sugar: The Products That Worry Me Most

Walk through a supermarket today and you will find:

“No refined sugar.”

“Sweetened naturally with jaggery.”

“Millet + jaggery.”

“Traditional energy drink.”

Millets on the front.

Jaggery somewhere in the wholesome-looking imagery.

And suddenly what is essentially a sugar-sweetened product feels virtuous.

It isn’t.

Indian labelling regulations define added sugars as mono and disaccharides added to foods and beverages, and packaged foods are generally required to declare total sugars and added sugars in their nutrition information. FSSAI also restricts “no added sugar” claims where sugars or ingredients used to substitute for added sugars have been added.

Whether the sweetness came from a spoonful of white crystals or a beautiful block of artisanal jaggery does not make the glucose disappear.

Is Jaggery Healthy for Children? PLEASE Don't Fall for This

This is perhaps the part that matters most.

Jaggery is not a free pass for children.

A biscuit, cereal, malt drink or “health drink” loaded with jaggery is still delivering free sugar. Calling it traditional or natural does not protect children’s teeth or metabolic health.

Children don’t need their sugar to be healthier.

They need less unnecessary added sugar.

So, Is Jaggery Good for Diabetes? Should You Never Eat It?

Of course not.

If you love the flavour of jaggery in a sweet, have it because you enjoy it in moderation.

Food is also culture, pleasure and memory.

But call it what it is.

Jaggery is a sweetener.

It may be less refined than white sugar. It may retain some micronutrients.

But none of that turns it into a metabolic health food.

Eat it because it tastes good.

Just don’t eat sugar because somebody convinced you it wasn’t sugar.