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Sugar vs Jaggery: Sugar and jaggery are used the most in everything from tea to sweets, but every time the question arises that which is most healthy, sugar or jaggery.

Both jaggery and sugar are made from sugarcane juice, but due to the difference in the method of preparation of both, their nutrients are also different. If you also want to choose a healthy option while eating sweets, then know the advantages and disadvantages of both.

What do experts say

Be it jaggery or sugar, both have almost the same effect on the body. When sugar or jaggery enters our body, it forms glucose there. Our pancreas does not differentiate between sugar and jaggery.

glycemic index

• Sugar is 100% sucrose, which has a glycemic index of 65.
• Jaggery contains 65-85% sucrose and has a glycemic index of 84.

Meaning the glycemic index of jaggery is higher than sugar. Glycemic index is a scale that tells how quickly food increases sugar. Eating things with high glycemic index is often prohibited.

Which nutrients are found in jaggery

According to the doctor, when it comes to jaggery, it is often said that it contains iron, potassium, calcium and minerals. But do you know that its quantity is actually very less? Approximately 11 mg iron is found in 100 grams of jaggery. Although it sounds good, but do we eat 100 grams of jaggery daily. Most people eat a small piece of jaggery after meals, which provides about 1.1 mg of iron. This much iron can also be obtained from spinach leaves. But, when you consume jaggery, along with iron, sugar and calories also enter our body. For example, eating jaggery for iron is equivalent to squeezing lemon in wine for vitamin C.

Jaggery (Photo. Social Media)

If jaggery is healthy then we start consuming more of it without any worry. A study published in 2017 shows that if a packet is labeled as natural, people consume 35% more of it.

According to doctors, sugar and jaggery are actually the same thing. Both can cause fatty liver, insulin resistance, and belly fat. It is more important to pay attention to the quantity of sugar and jaggery than the selection. One spoon sugar is much better than two spoons of jaggery.

Chinese (Photo.Social Media)

Although sugar provides quick energy to the body, it increases blood sugar rapidly. You will be surprised to know that 100 grams of jaggery contains 98 grams of carbohydrates and sugar contains 100 grams of carbohydrates. There is only 2 grams of carbohydrate difference between the two.