Jaggery vs sugar for diabetes: the short answer
- India (ICMR-NIN, 2024): as reported when the Dietary Guidelines for Indians came out, "Refined sugar, jaggery, and honey are all sugars, with none being superior to the others."
- WHO: "free sugars" means all sugar added by the factory, the cook or the person eating, plus the sugar in honey, syrups and fruit juice. The WHO says keep them below 10% of daily energy, and better still below 5%.
White sugar | Gur (jaggery) | Honey | |
|---|---|---|---|
Counts as free sugar (WHO)? | Yes | Yes, when added | Yes |
Better than the others (ICMR-NIN)? | No | No | No |
Charaka on prameha | – | Named as a cause | Used in small amounts in some recipes, with strict rules |
Is jaggery good for diabetes? What Charaka said
In his chapter on prameha, the old name for sugar disease, Charaka lists "sweets made of jaggery" among its causes. The same verse names sitting in comfort, too much sleep, curd, freshly harvested grains, and everything that makes the body heavy (Chikitsa chapter 6, verse 4).
So on jaggery vs sugar for diabetes, Ayurveda and modern guidelines fully agree. Gur chai, gur laddoo, chikki and "jaggery cookies" are not diabetes-friendly swaps. Neither India's guidelines nor Charaka treat gur as safe for sugar.
Image: gur chikki and laddoos ("still sugar") beside roasted chana and almonds ("better snack")
Is honey good for diabetes? The Ayurveda twist
Here is where it gets interesting.
What Charaka really says: in the prameha chapter, "various food recipes of barley with honey are advised in the heavy type of prameha" (Chikitsa chapter 6, verses 18–24). Honey is also listed for people with too much body fat (Sutra chapter 21, verses 22 and 26). So Ayurveda does use honey. But in small amounts, with barley, as part of a treatment. Not as a free sweetener.
Honey in Ayurveda: the rules, in full (Sutra chapter 26):
- Never heat honey. Never add it to hot food or drinks.
- Never take it with warm water. Only cool or room-temperature water.
- Not for someone suffering from heat.
- Never with ghee in equal amounts.
What modern guidelines say: honey is a free sugar (WHO). ICMR-NIN puts it in the same group as sugar and jaggery.
Putting it together: honey is not a "healthy sugar" to stir into chai. And hot chai with honey breaks Ayurveda's first honey rule anyway. If an Ayurvedic doctor gives you a small amount of honey as part of a remedy, follow their dose and the rules above. And tell your diabetes doctor.
Sugar free products for diabetics, and artificial sweeteners
- "Sugar-free" labels: India's ICMR-NIN guidelines warn that sugar-free foods may be full of fat, refined grains (maida, starch) and even hidden sugars. Read the ingredients, not just the front of the pack.
- Artificial sweeteners for diabetes: the WHO's 2023 guideline advises against non-sugar sweeteners for weight control (sucralose, aspartame, saccharin, stevia and others). But it does not apply to people who already have diabetes. If you have diabetes, talk to your doctor about sweeteners.
- The WHO's advice for everyone: make your whole diet less sweet. Get sweetness from foods with natural sugar, like whole fruit. Or choose food and drinks with no added sugar.
Image: "sugar free" mithai box turned over to show maida and other ingredients circled
Beyond jaggery vs sugar for diabetes: how to cut sweetness, step by step
- Cut chai sugar slowly. Reduce it a little at a time. This follows the WHO's advice to make the diet less sweet.
- Stop counting gur and honey as "free". Count every spoon of sugar, gur or honey the same way.
- Swap the sweet snack. Roasted chana or a few almonds instead of chikki or biscuits.
- Keep mithai for festivals, in small portions. And walk after eating it: a 10-minute walk after meals cut post-meal sugar in a diabetes trial (walking after meals for blood sugar).
- Read every "sugar-free" label before you buy.
Jaggery vs sugar for diabetes in one table
Question | Answer | Source |
|---|---|---|
Is gur better than sugar? | No. Both are sugars | ICMR-NIN 2024 (as reported); WHO |
Did Charaka warn about gur? | Yes: jaggery sweets cause prameha | Charaka, Chikitsa chapter 6, verse 4 |
Is honey a healthy sweetener? | No. It is a free sugar. Ayurveda uses small amounts as part of remedies | WHO; Charaka, Chikitsa chapter 6 |
Honey rules | Never heated, never with warm water, not when suffering from heat, never equal with ghee | Charaka, Sutra chapter 26 |
"Sugar-free" foods | May hide fat, maida and sugar | ICMR-NIN 2024 (as reported) |
Sweeteners | WHO's advice against them does not cover people with diabetes; ask your doctor | WHO 2023 |
Printable card: jaggery vs sugar for diabetes, and honey's four rules
Cutting sugar, gur and honey alike? Add daily support too.
Ayuvya Diabo is made for people who want healthy sugar levels. See Diabo. Take it along with your doctor's medicine, not instead of it.
Read next:
- Foods that increase blood sugar: the list Charaka wrote
- Methi seeds for diabetes: what 10 trials and Ayurveda say
- Fruits for diabetes: which ones, how much, and when
Sources
- South First: ICMR releases Dietary Guidelines for Indians after 13 years (ICMR-NIN, 2024)
- Down To Earth: Food labels misleading, India's new dietary guidelines warn (ICMR-NIN, 2024)
- World Health Organization: Guideline on sugars intake for adults and children (2015)
- World Health Organization: Guideline on non-sugar sweeteners (2023)
- Charaka Samhita, Chikitsa Sthana 6 (Prameha Chikitsa), verses 4 and 18–24
- Charaka Samhita, Sutra Sthana 21 (Ashtauninditiya Adhyaya), verses 22 and 26
- Charaka Samhita: incompatible foods (Viruddha Ahara), Sutra Sthana 26: rules for honey
- University of Otago: Short walks after meals (Reynolds AN and colleagues, Diabetologia, 2016)
