Sugar vs Honey vs Jaggery- Which is better?
With the exponential increase in consciousness and awareness among people about the importance of health, people are looking into various options and alternatives to the conservative foods that might cause harm to their health. Among a lot of health complications that arise due to food, diabetes remains at the top as a concern.
As a result, many people are targeting white processed sugar to be the culprit and hence are shifting to alternatives like jaggery and honey.
But how far do the alternatives help?
The real question is, how much difference do they make? To know about that, let us get into a few insights about what they are and how they are made, in order to understand the answer.
Sugar
Sugar is nothing but white colored crystals that are fully processed. Sugar is a component that constitutes a part of both fructose and sucrose. Sugar contains 387 calories per 100 grams.
Honey
Honey is a natural sweetening agent that is produced by honey bees, extracted from the sweetness of flowers. It is a natural sugar that is not processed. Honey contains 304 calories per 100 grams. However, unlike sugar, honey has enormous benefits as it is a naturally occurring substance. Honey contains antioxidants, anti-bacterial properties, relieves from cough and throat problems, it cures skin inflammation, and marks.
Jaggery
Jaggery is a semi processed non-centrifugal sugar. It is basically sugar-coated with a substance called molasses which is removed during the manufacture of white sugar. Jaggery contains 383 calories per 100 grams. Jaggery is rich in iron, copper and helps in proper digestion and reduces constipation.
Sugar vs Honey vs Jaggery- Which one is better?
Honey is an alternative that can be added to beverages in the place of sugar. Jaggery can be added to sweets and desserts in the place of sugar. But how much difference does it make while replacing sugar with these?
Firstly, why is sugar unhealthy? Sugar is not natural and is highly processed whereas honey and jaggery are natural and semi or not processed. The fact that sugar has high calories makes us shift to alternatives. But, when taken on a scale of 100 gm, almost the three kinds of sweeteners contain the same amount of calories. If we talk about a teaspoon of each of them, the difference is almost zero. Also, honey and jaggery have those extra beneficial properties in relatively very small amounts which makes the content even smaller when consumed in small quantities. To enhance the benefits, they need to be consumed in large quantities which in turn is contradicting our trial to reduce calories.
Therefore, any kind of sweetening agent you name it, must be always consumed in small quantities to keep oneself healthy. No one substances can be a healthier alternative to other. It always remains a healthier choice to reduce the consumption amount.
All the higher grades of the above mentioned sweetening agents are available at MHG’s online store. Shop now!
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