What is coconut sugar? The dehydrated and boiled sap of the coconut palm, coconut sugar has caught the eye of well being lovers as a result of its low fructose content material and low glycemic index. Coconut sugar has an edge over different sweeteners as a result of it isn’t refined or chemically altered. Although it seems to be and tastes very similar to clumped brown sugar, coconut sugar has a slight trace of caramel. It is used as a pure sweetener in baking in addition to in cooking. But the large query is: Is coconut sugar a more healthy alternative compared to refined sugar? Nutritionist Lovneet Batra has answered it in a current Instagram submit. She defined, “Coconut sugar is a healthier, sweetener option than most other sugars that are commercially available. While coconut sugar has some nutritional advantages, it is not a one-size-fits-all ‘healthier’ option.” 

Also Read: 5 Types of Sugar That Are Better Alternatives to Refined Sugar

Coconut Sugar vs. Refined Sugar – Check Out The Comparison Here: 

1. Origin

Coconut sugar is a pure sweetener derived from the sap of coconut palm tree flowers. It undergoes a course of involving assortment, boiling to take away water, and subsequent cooling and drying for crystallisation. On the opposite hand, common sugar, also referred to as desk sugar or sucrose, is obtained by extracting juice from sugarcane or sugar beets, adopted by purification, focus by evaporation, and crystallisation to supply the tip sugar product.

2. Glycemic Index

According to Lovneet Batra, coconut sugar boasts a decrease Glycemic Index (GI) falling inside the 35-54 vary per serving, which aligns with low GI diets. A low GI weight-reduction plan is alleged to cut back a number of persistent situations equivalent to kind II diabetes. In distinction, desk sugar holds a GI of roughly 60. When evaluated amongst totally different sugar sorts, coconut sugar emerges with a “nutritional advantage.”

Also Read: 10 Everyday Foods With A Low Glycemic Index

3. Impact On Blood Sugar Level

Coconut sugar, in a single serving, features a small amount of inulin, whereas consuming common sugar contributes to an elevated danger of diabetes by each direct and oblique pathways. Its impression on the liver, significantly the consequences of fructose, can result in problems equivalent to fatty liver, irritation, and localised insulin resistance.

Inulin is a soluble fibre that aids in minimising sudden rises in blood sugar ranges after meals. Inulin can be very important for producing short-chain fatty acids like acetate, butyrate, and propionate.

4. Nutritional Value

Coconut sugar is wealthy in vitamins. It is wealthy in nutritional vitamins C and E, important minerals like zinc, iron, potassium, and phosphorus, in addition to health-enhancing phytonutrients equivalent to antioxidants, flavonoids, anthocyanidins, and polyphenols. On the opposite, abnormal desk sugar and excessive fructose corn syrup supply energy with none dietary worth.

“Though coconut sugar contains slightly more nutrients than cane sugar, it has some potential adverse effects as other added sugars if consumed in excess,” the nutritionist concluded. 

Also Read: What is Palm Sugar? Is it Really Good for You?