The technical or scientific definition of the jaggery is an amorphous form of unrefined and non – distilled sugar which is prepared from the juice or sap of plants that have a considerable amount of sugar or sucrose. This is including things like sugar cane and some palms like Palmyra and date palm. In some cases it is also known as country sugar because it is prepared in rural households of some countries. Also it is called molasses because it has semi – solid state. Jaggery has many health benefits such as provide good amounts of minerals, sweeten your food in a healthy manner, act as a digestive agent and ability to cleanse your body. There are many people who do not find the jaggery attractive as a food because it has dark yellow color and its gooey and amorphous look. But also there are some people who find its appearance and color interesting and appealing over the white and crystalline sugar.
Jaggery health benefits
- Sweetener: There are many different natural and artificial sweeteners which are available on the market and they have good old white sugar at the top. But most of these sweeteners are pain sweeteners. Jaggery is a healthy, tasty and colorful sweetener. You can see the experience if you taste plain sugar and jaggery one after another and it will be very clear to you. You should not limit yourself to the sugarcane flavor. You should go ahead and taste the date palm, palmyra jaggery or any of the other flavors that are available.
- Rich in minerals: Jaggery is rich in minerals, mainly iron but also it has traces of other mineral salts. It is known fact that the most of the iron comes through its processing in iron vessels while other minerals come directly from the sugar cane juice because the juice does not undergo bleaching or refinement of any kind. This is a reason why the jaggery is one of the best sources of minerals for our bodies.
Jaggery benefits & uses
- Relieves constipation: Jaggery can pull out the dust and the unwanted particles from the food whole at the same time it will give a relief from the constipation because it has fiber in it. It can reduce the constipation and it will stimulate bowel movements which mean that it can cleanse your body of toxins.
- Cleansing agent: When someone mentions about connect sweeteners and sugars, then he is not thinking that they can cleanse the body but this is a well – proven health benefit of the jaggery. It can effectively cleanse the intestines, stomach, food pipe, lungs and respiratory tracts.
- Improves digestion: It is known fact that in India it is recommended to take a few grams of jaggery after eating a meat or after a heavy meal because it can facilitate digestion. It can activate digestive enzymes and functions like acetic acid in your stomach. Also it can speed up the digestion and it will smooth the process which will ultimately reduce the strain on the digestive tract and intestines.
- Boosts energy: The carbohydrates which are consumed in our food are giving us energy upon oxidation. The simpler the carbohydrate is the sooner energy will be released. This simplicity is very important for athletes and people and for people who suffer from serious fatigue because they need instantaneous energy and quick relief. This is a reason why glucose and sugar are proper carbohydrates for them because they get absorbed into the bloodstream immediately which is giving them a quick burst of energy. But also there are some studies in which is said that the sudden rise in sugar or energy level can be a major threat of internal organs particularly if someone suffers from diabetics. In the long run, this can give a rise to diabetes because the fluctuating sugar levels can affect the pancreas to a point where it can lose its capacity to release large amounts of insulin at once and to counter the quick increase in the sugar level of the body. This sudden uplift can raise blood pressure, cause severe damage to eyes and kidneys and create many problems in the related organs. When you are consuming jaggery, then it is digested and absorbed gradually and it is releasing the energy over an extended period.
