Is jaggery good for diabetes?

Can a diabetes patient eat jaggery? A patient of diabetes should not even dream of eating jaggery because jaggery is not good for diabetes. Most of the patients of diabetes keep longing for sweet dishes. Patients with high blood glucose levels start looking for sugar-free alternatives. Let us find, whether jaggery is good for diabetes or not.

Jaggery is believed to be a great alternative for sugar because it provides a number of health benefits. But the question remains, ‘Is jaggery good or bad for diabetes patients?’ Jaggery is not better than sugar. So, jaggery is not good for diabetes. We have seen jaggery as a traditional form of sweetener. Clarified sugarcane juice is boiled to prepare jaggery.

When we compare jaggery and sugar, we find the following things:

• Jaggery is less refined than sugar.
• Jaggery contains potassium.
• Jaggery contains iron.
• Jaggery also contains calcium.

From the above points we can be sure that jaggery contains a lot of essential nutrients. But that doesn’t encourage a patient of diabetes with high glucose level to eat jaggery. The brown colour of this sweet dish prompts us think that it is healthy but the patients of diabetes are not advised to eat jaggery. If you are diabetic and have been eating jaggery thinking that it is heathy for a diabetic patient, you are clearly harming your health.

Is jaggery good for diabetes patients?

A patient suffering from high blood pressure can eat jaggery to maintain his blood pressure levels because jaggery contains iron which helps in fighting oxidative stress and maintains blood pressure of the body. But if you are suffering from diabetes, you should keep long distance from jaggery.

The answer to ‘is jaggery good for diabetes?’ is clearly 'no', because jaggery also contains sugar.

Jaggery contains a lot of sugar. It has about 65 to 85 per cent of sucrose which is a form of sugar. Since jaggery is loaded with sugar, that is why, you should avoid eating jaggery if you are diabetic. Many people advise that it is a natural sugar which contains minerals. Jaggery must be a nutrient-rich sweetener but this sweet alternative of sugar is not fit to be consumed by diabetic patients.

Is jaggery good for diabetes in controlling high sugar level?

No, jaggery can raise the blood sugar level of diabetic patients. Eating jaggery is no different than eating sugar. People might think that it is good to replace sugar with jaggery, if you want your blood sugar levels to be under control. But the case is just opposite of this perception. Jaggery contains a high percentage of sucrose which raises the blood sugar levels of diabetic patients. That is why, we can say that jaggery is also as harmful for a diabetes patient as sugar.

Must read: Ayurvedic medicine for diabetes in Kerala

What is the difference between jaggery and sugar?

Answer: The only difference between jaggery and sugar is that ‘jaggery takes more time to get absorbed in the body than sugar’.

Is jaggery good for diabetes? What is the glycaemic index of jaggery?

Jaggery can be a great alternative of sugar for the people who are not suffering from diabetes. They can replace their sugar with jaggery to make a healthy choice. Patients of diabetes are recommended to eat foods items that have low Glycaemic Index. Hence, it is clear that jaggery is not good for diabetes.

Is jaggery good for diabetes according to Ayurveda?

Let us now discuss what Ayurveda says about eating jaggery in Diabetes.

According to Ayurveda, jaggery is very helpful in treating asthma, migraines, sore throat and lung infections. Ayurvedic doctors never recommend jaggery for diabetes patients because Ayurveda restricts the use of jaggery in the diet of a patient suffering from diabetes. This ancient method of treatment calls jaggery an ‘offender’ which should never be eaten by diabetes patients.

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