In recent times, when sugar is being vilified as dangerous for our health, rustic jaggery has emerged as the top choice. It's an ancient South Asian food that has found references in the Vedas and ancient traditions across India, Sri Lanka, and even across South Asia. Jaggery found its way to Europe through the Portuguese trading community. History lesson apart, jaggery could be one of the most important foods in your kitchen, especially in the wake of our need for sweets.

Read on to know about the health benefits of jaggery!

Jaggery, known as ‘gur’ in Hindi, is unrefined sugar made from the sap of sugarcane, coconut, or palm trees. Molasses is a by-product of the production of jaggery. It is also sometimes called ‘country sugar’, as it is prepared in rural households. Some say that jaggery originated in Eastern India, and some say that the Portuguese brought it here. So the exact point of location is debatable. But jaggery was predominantly produced in regions with high sugarcane growth; one can say that jaggery was produced in places with high sugarcane growth, viz., the Indian subcontinent, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

Jaggery is a quintessential food ingredient used in many Indian recipes, reflecting the culture and taste of India. It is also considered beneficial to health in traditional Ayurvedic medicine.

Did You Know?
– Jaggery is typically known as “panela” in Mexico, Central and Latin America.
– Arguably, the best form of Jaggery comes from the fishtail palm variety or the Kithul tree from Sri Lanka and yes, it is the costliest too.
– It contains up to 50% sucrose, 20% invert sugars and 20% moisture, with the remaining made up of other insoluble matter such as wood ash, proteins, and fibers.
– Mujjafarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, India is the largest jaggery market in the world.

In South India, jaggery is added to “sambhar” and "rasam" to add sweetness to them in order to balance the spicy, salty, and sour components. In Maharashtra, it is tradition to eat “tilgur” (a mixture of sesame seeds and jaggery) during the festival of “Makar Sankranti." Jaggery made from dates is mostly used in West Bengal to make sweets during the winter like “notun gurer payesh” and “notun gurer sandesh," which get eaten in no time.

Whereas, in Tamil Nadu, people use jaggery exclusively as a sweetener. It is used in a dish called “chakkarai pongal," which is prepared during the Pongal festival that is held when the harvesting season begins. It is mixed with other ingredients, such as peanuts, condensed milk, and coconut, to produce several locally marketed delicacies and is the most loved drink served to guests.

In North India, jaggery is a staple food during chilling winters, where they eat gur with fresh millet chapattis and ghee for building immunity and keeping the body warm.

In Myanmar, jaggery is harvested from toddy palm syrup. The translucent white syrup is boiled until it becomes golden brown and then made into bite-size pieces. It is sweet and is generally eaten by children and adults alike, usually in the afternoon with a pot of green tea.

Is Jaggery better than Regular Sugar?

White sugar is refined sugar, which undergoes a chemical crystallization process that results in the complete loss of all nutrients. Jaggery, being unrefined sugar, has essential minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus, among others.

This high nutritional value is responsible for strong teeth, bones, and muscles, making it a better choice than white sugar. Zinc and selenium present in it help build strong immunity. Dietary fibers in jaggery help improve bowel movements.

Jaggery also contains iron, which helps to cure anemia. Proteins present in jaggery aid in the overall functioning of the body. It contains simple carbohydrates, which provide instant energy to the body. It gets absorbed into the bloodstream immediately after consumption and provides a quick burst of energy.

Jaggery is a common ingredient in Gujarati food, where they put it in tea, dal, and even eat it with hot chapattis. They believe that jaggery helps digest food efficiently. It is an unrefined sugar, but unfortunately, it’s slowly being replaced by the high-glycemic-index white sugar.

Health Benefits of Jaggery

Improves Digestion

Jaggery has digestive-stimulating properties, which help boost digestion and appetite. Digestive stimulation occurs due to the conversion of jaggery to acetic acid in the stomach. It helps in correcting enzymatic activity in the stomach, which aids in proper digestive function and improves appetite.

Relieves Constipation

Jaggery contains magnesium, which helps in strengthening the intestines. This provides improved peristaltic movement of the intestines, which helps in the smooth movement of fecal matter. Thus, the bowel movement gets better and relieves you of a serious constipation problem.

Reduces Menstrual Discomfort

Jaggery helps in providing relief from menstrual cramps. It has high levels of selenium, which relaxes muscles and nerves, in turn having a soothing effect on the walls of the uterus and providing relief from menstrual cramps.

Cures Coughs and Cold

Jaggery helps in preventing and curing common coughs and colds. Jaggery produces heat in the body, which is why people generally consume it in the winter. The warming effect of jaggery makes it an amazing sweet that can treat colds and flu.

Boosts Immunity

Jaggery contains minerals such as zinc and selenium, which help prevent free radical damage and boost resistance against infections. The high calorie content of jaggery may also boost your energy levels when sick.

Fights Cancer

Jaggery is also an effective antioxidant. So, it acts as a powerful natural fighting agent against free radicals in your body, helping you overcome the effects of aging as well as becoming a useful ally in your fight against cancer. 

Know more about breast cancer here!

Promotes Weight Loss

Jaggery helps with weight loss when eaten daily after each meal in moderation. It contains fiber, which is absorbed into the blood and destroys fat cells, which gradually helps in losing weight.

How to use Jaggery as a Natural Remedy?

Jaggery has an old connection with Ayurveda, where a simple piece of it was used to treat many health problems. Our grandmothers used to feed us jaggery when we suffered from bodily pain or a common cold and advised us not to always run to the doctor.

Here we bring you a few simple natural home remedies that you can use and save your money from spending it on paying your doctor!

• Consume a small piece of jaggery every day after a meal. It gives you instant relief from bloating and acidity.
• Crush jaggery, mix it with dry ginger powder, and eat this mixture with warm water to get rid of hiccups.
• Eat crushed jaggery, mixed with dry ginger powder and black pepper, three times a day after a meal to get relief from coughs and colds.
• Intake of jaggery with ghee (clarified butter) helps provide relief from ear pain.
• Experts recommend drinking “Gur Sharbat” (jaggery soaked in ice-cold water) during the summer months to keep the stomach cool.
• Drinking hot milk with jaggery can improve urine flow.
• Drink jaggery mixed with water for about 15 days. Then again, repeat it and do it for 3 months to get rid of low blood pressure.
• Make a paste of jaggery, curd, and multani mitti (fuller’s earth) and apply it to your scalp twice a month before shampooing to get healthy and lustrous hair.

Thus, next time you drink tea or want to make something sweet, add jaggery instead of refined sugar. It is a healthier and tastier alternative, which is a must-have! Do you like jaggeries? Let us know about your views in the comment box below.

Disclaimer: People who are diabetic or are on a weight loss regime should keep track of their jaggery consumption. Excess consumption can lead to weight gain and fluctuations in the blood sugar level. 

Nutritional Information
100gms of Jaggery (cane) contains 1480 calories.
Carbohydrates-93g, (Sugar-88g), Protein-2g, Fat-0.16g (Saturated fat -69.23mg, MUFA-21.67mg, PUFA-33.1mg), Sodium-25mg, Potassium-488mg
And a percentage daily value of Iron-4%, Calcium-9% Magnesium-11% (based on a 2,000-calorie diet).