Ditch the sugar! Here’s why you must add jaggery to your diet this season

For the summer, Dr Vedika Premani clinical dietician, Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital, Mumbai, says, jaggery aids in cooling the body (Source: Freepik)

Jaggery, also known as ‘gur’ has been used in Indian cooking since ancient times. Made by boiling raw sugarcane juice, jaggery, unlike the popularly consumed refined sugar, is nutritionally packed and offers several health benefits.

Dr Vedika Premani, clinical dietician, Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital, Mumbai, supports the consumption of jaggery during summers, but in moderation. “Firstly, jaggery contains some amount of electrolytes such as potassium, magnesium, and sodium, essential for maintaining the body’s fluid balance and preventing dehydration,” she says.

She suggests that refined sugar should be replaced with jaggery as trace amounts of minerals such as iron and calcium are present in it. These minerals are required by the body to maintain bone health and facilitate energy metabolism.

For the summer, Dr Premani says, it aids in cooling the body according to Ayurveda, “making it particularly beneficial for alleviating heat-related ailments such as heatstroke and prickly heat”. She adds that jaggery consumption affects perspiration, which helps to regulate body temperature in turn helping it cool itself in warm weather conditions.