Short Answer: Jaggery is good for diabetes because it contains some nutrients that can help lower blood sugar levels but bad for diabetes because it contains a lot of calories and carbohydrates that can raise blood sugar levels if consumed too much or too often.
Diabetes is a condition that affects your blood sugar levels.
It can cause various health problems, such as nerve damage, kidney failure, heart disease, and vision loss.
One of the key factors in managing diabetes is diet.
What you consume can affect your blood sugar levels, which can impact your diabetes symptoms and overall health.
To effectively manage diabetes, you should consume foods rich in fiber, protein, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals like oats, beans, nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, and fish.
And avoid foods rich in refined carbohydrates, added sugars, saturated fats, trans fats, and sodium like white bread, pastries, candy, soda, chips, and fast food.
Now, jaggery is a natural sweetener made from sugar cane juice or palm sap.
People usually use it as a substitute for sugar or honey in their tea or coffee.
Jaggery is good for diabetes because it contains some nutrients that can help lower blood sugar levels.
It also has a lower glycemic index than refined sugar or honey.
This means it causes a smaller rise in blood sugar levels after consumption.
However jaggery also contains a lot of calories and carbohydrates.
It can raise your blood sugar levels if you eat too much of it or if you have diabetes type.
It can also increase your risk of weight gain and heart disease if you consume it regularly.
Therefore you should limit your intake of jaggery to no more than 10% of your daily calories from added sugars.
You should also check your blood sugar levels before and after eating jaggery to see how it affects you individually.
Furthermore jaggery is a type of non-centrifugal sugar that is made by boiling sugarcane juice or palm sap until only the solidified part remains.
Non-centrifugal sugars are not processed to remove the molasses or other impurities that are present in sugarcane juice or palm sap.
Non-centrifugal sugars are considered healthier than refined sugars because they retain some of the beneficial compounds that are found in sugarcane juice or palm sap.
These compounds include antioxidants that can protect against oxidative stress and inflammation.
However non-centrifugal sugars are still high in calories and carbohydrates and should be consumed in moderation by people with diabetes.
You can eat up to 50 grams (about 2 tablespoons) of jaggery per day safely if you have diabetes type 1 or type 2 under medical supervision.
More than that can cause high blood sugar levels and other complications.
You should also choose organic jaggery over non-organic jaggery because organic jaggery does not contain any pesticides or chemicals that may harm your health.
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Finally remember maintaining a healthy lifestyle including a balanced diet regular exercise stress management and essential medical care is key to managing diabetes effectively.
I always recommend my diabetes patients to follow a diabetes-friendly diet to improve their overall well-being and enjoy a longer and healthier life.
