Jaggery vs Sugar: Is Gud Really Healthier? What ICMR-NIN Says

The box of mithai says "made with jaggery, no refined sugar". The gajak stall says gud is good for you in winter. And somewhere along the way, gud started to feel like the healthy version of cheeni. So jaggery vs sugar: is gud really better?

The short answer:

• Not by much. India's own dietary guidelines count jaggery, and honey, as added sugar, just like table sugar.
• Jaggery does carry some iron and other minerals, but you would need to eat a lot of it, close to a full day's sugar limit, to get a meaningful amount.
• For diabetes and weight loss, the amount you eat matters far more than whether it is gud or cheeni.

Is jaggery better than sugar?

ICMR-NIN's 2024 Dietary Guidelines for Indians define added sugars as sugars and syrups added to food and drinks during processing or cooking, and the list explicitly includes sucrose (table sugar), jaggery, honey, glucose, fructose and dextrose. In other words, the guidelines do not treat gud as a separate, healthier category. Spoon for spoon, it goes into the same added-sugar count as cheeni.

The WHO takes the same view. Its definition of free sugars covers sugars added by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, plus the sugars naturally present in honey, syrups and fruit juices.

That does not make jaggery bad. It just means "it's gud, not sugar" is not a reason to eat more of it.

Jaggery vs sugar: what is actually in it?

ICMR-NIN's Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 give a detailed breakdown of cane jaggery. Here is what 100 g contains:

In 100 g of cane jaggery	What it means
84.32 g of sugars, including 58.23 g of sucrose	Jaggery is mostly sugar. Sucrose is the same sugar ICMR-NIN calls table sugar.
1,480 kJ of energy, about 354 kcal	Not a low-calorie food by any measure.
4.63 mg of iron and 107 mg of calcium	Real amounts, but spread over 100 g of a food that is mostly sugar.
488 mg of potassium and 115 mg of magnesium	Again, present, but you eat jaggery in small amounts.

Does the iron in jaggery actually help?

Iron is often the reason people give for choosing gud. At 4.63 mg of iron per 100 g, you would need to eat about 22 g of jaggery to get just 1 mg of iron. That is almost the entire 25 g a day above which ICMR-NIN counts added sugar as high.

You may see a higher figure, around 11 mg per 100 g, quoted online. That number comes from India's older food tables, Nutritive Value of Indian Foods (1971). This article uses the newer, freshly analysed IFCT 2017 value.

So yes, jaggery has more minerals than table sugar, which ICMR-NIN describes simply as sucrose. But it is not a practical way to fix low iron. Beans, green leafy vegetables and other whole foods do that job without the sugar.

Jaggery vs sugar for diabetes and weight loss: does it matter?

For blood sugar, remember the first row of that table. Jaggery is about 84% sugar, mostly sucrose. You will see claims online that jaggery has a much lower glycemic index than sugar. Treat those with caution unless they point to a proper study. Jaggery is not a free pass.

If you have diabetes or prediabetes, do not switch to jaggery thinking it is safe. Ask your doctor how much sweetener of any kind fits into your plan.

For weight loss, the maths is simple. At about 354 kcal per 100 g, jaggery adds calories just like sugar does. What decides your weight is how much you eat overall, not which sweetener you picked. Our free calorie deficit calculator can help you see how much room your day really has.

How much jaggery or sugar is okay in a day?

ICMR-NIN treats more than 25 g of added sugar a day as high, and says that if possible, added sugar can be cut out completely because it adds nothing but calories. The WHO recommends keeping free sugars under 10% of your daily energy, and says going below 5%, roughly 25 g or six teaspoons a day, brings extra benefits.

That 25 g covers everything: the sugar in your chai, the gud in your gajak, the honey in your lemon water and the sugar in packaged foods. A few easy ways to stay under it this festive and winter season:

• Cut down the sugar in chai gradually, half a spoon at a time, so your taste adjusts.
• Enjoy gud as a small treat after a meal, not as a "healthy" snack through the day.
• Use whole fruit for sweetness where you can. The WHO's free sugar limit does not apply to sugars in fresh fruit.
• Read labels on "jaggery" or "no refined sugar" sweets. They can still be high in sugar. Our piece on hidden sugars in packaged juices shows how easily sugar adds up.

The same lesson applies elsewhere in the kitchen. "Natural" does not automatically mean "better", as we found when comparing sendha namak and normal salt.

Frequently asked questions

Which is better, jaggery or sugar?

Jaggery has small amounts of minerals like iron that table sugar lacks, but ICMR-NIN counts both as added sugar. Neither is a health food, and the total amount matters most.

Is jaggery good for diabetes?

No sweetener is automatically safe for diabetes. Jaggery is about 84% sugar. If you have diabetes, ask your doctor before using jaggery or any sweetener.

Does jaggery have fewer calories than sugar?

Jaggery has about 354 kcal per 100 g, according to ICMR-NIN's food tables. It is not a low-calorie swap.

Is honey better than sugar or jaggery?

Not in sugar terms. ICMR-NIN lists honey as an added sugar, and the WHO counts the sugars in honey as free sugars, the same group as table sugar.

Amaayu makes functional waters. Like any packaged drink, check the label for added sugar, ours included.

This article is general information, not medical advice.