On consumption of natural sugars over the refined ones, which is being done excessively these days, Dr Ramesh Goyal, Head of Department of Endocrinology & Diabetes, Apollo Hospitals, Ahmedabad says Jaggery is not a good substitute for sugar when it comes to patients with diabetes. The reason being that the glycemic index, an indicator of how a food item affects your glucose level, of jaggery is the same as sugar. A diabetic person consuming jaggery has the same level of high blood sugar which we expect from him/her eating sugar.
Shedding more light on the assumption that jaggery is a safer alternative to sugar, Dr Jhingan says sugar and jaggery both come from the same source which is sugarcane. Hence it is not a good substitute.
“Eating jaggery instead of sugar gives a false sense of security to patients with diabetes,” he adds.
The advantage of consuming jaggery is that it serves as a high source of iron and magnesium and is therefore good for your hemoglobin, but only for non-diabetics, he suggests.