Who doesn’t love sweets? We all do! But, have you ever wondered why many Indian sweets are made with jaggery? Why do elders ask us to have a piece of jaggery when we feel tired? It’s for good reason that we have included natural sweeteners in our cuisine for so long. The high mineral content, delicious taste and ZERO fat content in jaggery make it ideal for anyone to consume guilt-free.
Having doubts about using jaggery as your natural sweetener? Keep reading. In this blog, we shall take you through the miraculous effects jaggery has on your body and why you need to switch to jaggery, from white sugar right now.
How is Jaggery Prepared?
Commonly known as Gur, Vellam, Bella and Gul, Jaggery is a household sweetener in India. A common favorite for traditional sweets, jaggery is paired with various ingredients, to bring out its flavour, and essence and to boost the health benefits of the dish.Â
Jaggery is predominantly prepared from sugarcane, although it’s also sourced from coconuts and palm. Sugarcane jaggery is derived by crushing sugarcane, obtaining its juice, and heating the juice at very high temperatures until it solidifies and cools. When the juice is hardened and becomes solid, it is cut into big chunks of jaggery, which are again split into smaller pieces or powdered for everyday use.Â
The major difference between white sugar and jaggery is the presence of molasses, which contains high deposits of iron, selenium and copper. When sugar is processed, all these nutrients are lost and we’re only left with a harmful, yet addictive sweetener.Â
However, jaggery has the best of both worlds: it contains the delicious sweetness of sugar, whilst also possessing the health-boosting properties of molasses.Â
What Can Jaggery Do For You?
100 mg of jaggery contains 60-85% sucrose (much better, compared to 99.7% in white sugar), 5-15% glucose and fructose. It also contains several important vitamins and minerals, namely, choline, betaine, vitamin B12, B6, folate, calcium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, selenium and manganese, whose combination brings about amazing health benefits.
Calms Your Nerves, Improves Cognitive Function, Regulates Mood
The presence of selenium in jaggery promotes cognitive function by ensuring an unhindered blood supply and keeping the brain active. This property of selenium reduces the chances of getting Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease or multiple sclerosis. Choline in jaggery improves memory and regulates your mood.
Moderates Blood Production & Blood Flow
Vitamin B12 content in jaggery makes certain of consistent blood production, nerve generation and repair, thereby keeping the nervous system and immune system running effectively. High potassium and sodium content in jaggery dilates blood vessels and reduces blood pressure, proving to be heart-friendly.
Diabetic Friendly
When consumed in measured portions, jaggery can be beneficial in maintaining good health for diabetics. The sugar levels in jaggery take time to dissolve in the blood, which means a longer digestion period and fewer food cravings.Â
Great for Weight Loss
A suitable alternative to white sugar for weight-conscious folks. The potassium in jaggery ensures water is not retained in the body, thus promoting the loss of unwanted weight. Moreover, consuming jaggery at the end of the meal helps in faster and better digestion, as it activates digestive enzymes.Â
Full Body Detox
Jaggery has detoxing qualities. It removes toxins from the lungs, liver, respiratory tract, food pipes, stomach and intestines and wards off any potential ailments or infections. Betaine in jaggery helps in effective hassle-free live function.
Eases Menstruation, Spikes Red Blood Cell Count
Consuming jaggery releases endorphins in the body, which eases menstruation pain and averts food cravings. The rich iron content in jaggery is a major contributor to easier menstruation. Iron boosts the production of RBCs and haemoglobin, which carry oxygen in the blood to all organs. When all organs receive sufficiently oxygenated blood, they perform effectively. When there’s proper, healthy blood flow in the body, period cramps are minimal. Iron also plays an important part in energizing the body, hence consuming jaggery during menstruation only helps alleviate discomfort.Â
The presence of folate and vitamin B12 in jaggery promotes RBC formation, keeps cells healthy and boosts the production of new healthy cells, thus treating anemia among adolescent and pregnant women.Â
Averts Cough, Cold
Jaggery is consumed extensively during the winter season, to steer clear of cough, cold and winter-induced infections. Owing to its detoxing nature, jaggery keeps infections at bay. Consuming hot milk with jaggery can help you treat fever, cold and sore throat.Â
Cleaner Gut, Better Digestion, Healthy Bowel Movement
Keep your stomach cool during peak summers with a piece of jaggery. The high fibre content in jaggery ensures a fuller stomach for a long time. When taken with warm water, jaggery can increase your metabolic rate, thus promoting faster weight loss, quicker digestion and a healthy system overall. Jaggery makes way for a cleaner gut and intestines, which when paired with ghee acts as a natural laxative to ease constipation.Â
According to Ayurveda, jaggery is a hot potential food and contains the ‘ushna’ trait, which adds to Agni (fire that induces digestion) and hence promotes faster digestion.Â
Peak Bone & Muscle Health
Jaggery is high in calcium and phosphorus, both of which are great in promoting and maintaining bone health. High calcium deposits slow down bone density loss, prevents osteoporosis, regulate pain-free muscle contraction and significantly lower the risk of attracting blood pressure during pregnancy.Â
Phosphorus, on the other hand, comprises 1% of a human’s body weight and is a primary contributor to muscle recovery, tissue growth, maintenance and repair.Â
Shiny, Supple Skin
Glycolic acids in jaggery are best to correct skin abnormalities. Get the soft, supple and shiny skin you’ve always wanted by consuming jaggery regularly. Selenium in jaggery ensures good nail and hair health. The presence of Zinc helps treat acne, heals tissues and builds protein.Â
Stronger Immunity
B6 and Selenium deposits in jaggery are instrumental in keeping a body immune to diseases. B6 regulates the immune system, while selenium regulates thyroid levels, boosts immune response and wards off infections effectively.Â
Treats Urinary Tract Issues
Having hot milk with jaggery reduces all urinary tract and bladder troubles. Reduce bladder inflammation and stimulate the easier pain-free flow of urine by consuming jaggery regularly.Â
How Can You Distinguish Authentic Jaggery from Artificial?
Authentic Jaggery, made without chemical pesticides or fertilizers or toxic purifiers is dark brown. The texture is mostly smooth to mildly coarse and the deep colour talks of its authenticity.Â
Why is Himalayan Jaggery Special?
If farm-grown and processed jaggery has so many health benefits, imagine the properties of jaggery derived from sugarcane that grows amidst the purest air, water and soil. If you wish to taste the original taste of the purest jaggery, you need to check out https://valleycultureindia.com/products/himalayan-jaggery-powder right now!
Our farmers grow and harvest sugarcane using 100% sustainable, natural and cruelty-free techniques. The sugarcane extract is cleaned with natural purifiers, which leave distilled extracts for further processing. The pure extract is heated, solidified and cut into cubes. We hand pound the cubes to form fine jaggery powder, ideal for use in sweets, hot beverages, meals etc.Â
Bring home a sweet replacement for white sugar with the finest Himalayan Jaggery. Place your order at https://valleycultureindia.com/products/himalayan-jaggery-powder right now!
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