Is Coconut Sugar Healthier Than Regular Sugar?

Coconut sugar is produced from the flowers of the coconut tree (not to be confused with the palm tree). Nectar is extracted, which is processed to obtain a honey-like substance, which is dried and converted into coconut sugar crystals.

Coconut sugar is a natural sweetener and substitute for our familiar regular sugar, but it is quite expensive. Many still think it's worth it, given some health benefits that make it a better choice than the traditional one. One of the advantages is that it is more suitable for diabetics and better for intestinal health than regular sugar, it also contains vitamins and minerals.

Nutritional value

100 grams of coconut sugar contains:

• 375 calories
• 0 grams of fat
• 0 grams of protein
• 100 grams of carbohydrates
• about 1000 milligrams of potassium
• 29 milligrams of magnesium
• 2 milligrams of zinc

Coconut sugar is often advertised as a source of nutrients and minerals, but is it worth getting them from? For comparison, the daily requirement of potassium is 4700 milligrams, and in a teaspoon of coconut sugar, which would be a normal dose, there are only 43 milligrams.

Is coconut sugar better than regular sugar?

Many people who want to lose weight think that coconut sugar is harmless and can add it to their diet indefinitely. Although it has a lower nutritional value than regular table sugar, the differences are negligible.

Coconut sugar also contains sugars and carbohydrates that are equivalent to its weight, and they should be limited to people who want to lose weight.

So, if you have decided to follow a diet, do not think that replacing plain white sugar with coconut is a solution.

In fact, women and men should not consume more than 6 and 9 teaspoons of added sugar per day, respectively, whether it comes from coconut sugar, plain or other sources.

Lower glycemic index

The glycemic index is a topic that needs to be addressed. Coconut sugar is offered to people with diabetes as a useful alternative to white sugar. Without enough information you can find yourself in a very complicated situation. The truth is that coconut sugar does have a lower glycemic index than table sugar, it also contains the substance inulin, which slows down the absorption of sugar to some extent.

The glycemic index of coconut sugar is 50% lower than that of pure glucose, but none of you sweeten your coffee with glucose, right? You use sugar, and its glycemic index is 60, that of coconut sugar is 54. The difference is again negligible, and coconut alternatives cannot be considered healthier for people with diabetes.

Coconut sugar contains fructose

For fructose, we are left with the impression that it should be said either good or nothing, because it is contained in the fruit. The truth is that in the form of added sugar, things are different than in fruits.

Ordinary sugar contains 50% glucose and 50% fructose. Despite the common claim that coconut sugar is fructose-free, it is made from 70-80% sucrose, half of which is fructose.

Ordinary calculations show that the fructose in sweet coconut crystals is almost as much as in ordinary sugar, which we know is harmful and we all avoid.

Added sugars increase the risk of developing metabolic syndrome and concomitant diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Conclusion

As much as we want to say that coconut sugar is magical in its content and is a great choice for people with diabetes, for those on a diet or for all those who strive to eat healthier, this is not the case.

It is very similar to regular sugar, so if you decide to eat coconut, use it in the same way as regular sugar. Impose the same restrictions. The fact is that it contains minimal amounts of minerals and has not gone through as many refining processes as usual. This is its only advantage, which, however, cannot be compared to a life without sugar, whose health benefits are much greater.