What is Coconut Sugar and is it healthy?

People all around the world are rapidly switching to healthier sugar variants after learning about the harmful effects of white sugar. Apart from adding to your weight, white sugar also leads to liver diseases, heart issues and diabetes.

One such sugar alternative that is quite popular nowadays is coconut sugar. But is it actually a healthier option for sugar or just a facade? Read on to know how coconut sugar is made, its benefits and whether you should switch to it or not.

This sugar variant is made from coconut palm sap of the coconut palm tree. It is extracted by making a cut on the flower of the coconut palm and collecting the liquid sap in containers. This liquid is then put under heat until most of the water evaporates. The end result gives you brown coloured sugar which resembles raw sugar. The differentiating factor is that the particle size of coconut sugar is very small.

Glycemic index (GI) measures the impact of carbohydrate-rich foods on your blood sugar levels. People with diabetes are said to consume foods with very low GI. While regular sugar has a glycemic index of 60-65, coconut sugar has just 35.

In terms of sugar content, coconut sugar contains 70-75 percent of sucrose and 10-20 percent of fructose, which less as compared to white sugar. Fructose is not easily broken down by the body and gets converted to fat in no time.

Apart from having a low glycemic index, coconut sugar contains insulin which helps in slowing down glucose absorption. It can be helpful for people with pre-diabetes but not more than 1-2 teaspoon a day.

When it comes to nutrients, coconut sugar provides you with a good dose of antioxidants, iron, calcium and potassium, which are nutrients found in the regular coconut as well.

A major benefit of coconut sugar is that it is free from all the artificial processing that the white sugar goes through. Coconut sugar is a completely natural product and is not obtained by any type of refining process.

Coconut sugar also keeps a balance of electrolytes in the body as it is loaded with potassium, magnesium and sodium. Coconut sugar contains 400 times more potassium than white sugar, which helps in regulating your body’s water content.

Coconut sugar is quite similar to regular sugar in terms of flavour and calories. You can try this variant if you are trying out different sugar variants already and are planning to ditch white sugar once and for all. Coconut sugar anyway provides some extra nutrients apart from having a low glycemic index.

For people who have already quit sugar and are using substitutes like jaggery, shakkar and stevia, there is no need to keep coconut sugar as your option.

People who are finding it difficult to ditch white sugar, can slowly switch to coconut sugar, then brown sugar and then pick out some other healthier alternatives. This will help in making the transition smoother.