Table of contents:
- The origin and benefits of Javanese sugar
- Nutrients contained in brown sugar
- Which one is better with regular granulated sugar?
"Sweet brown sugar, laughing after crying." In the old days, you may often hear ridiculous slogans like that. Yes, besides the benefits of Javanese sugar as a traditional cooking ingredient with a sweet taste, the myth is that eating brown sugar can also make the body more energized? Is it true? The good thing, you first consider the explanation below.
The origin and benefits of Javanese sugar
Palm sugar is sugar made from palm trees. Brown sugar is yellowish or brown with a sweet taste of coconut juice. It is called Javanese sugar because it is made by many craftsmen, mostly from Java, and formed into a semicircle, shell, or tube, as you are used to seeing.
Java sugar is one type of brown sugar. This sugar is made from a type of palm tree (in English it is called palm sugar) which sap is tapped from the flower buds of the coconut tree. After the sap is obtained, the liquid is cooked until thickened and then molded into coconut shells or small round shapes.
Javanese sugar is known as natural sugar because its processing is still traditionally made (especially in Indonesia) without a mixture of chemicals in it.
Nutrients contained in brown sugar
Java sugar cannot be the main source of nutrition for the body. However, compared to other sweeteners, brown sugar is no less healthy and beneficial than other sweeteners, for example compared to granulated sugar. The benefits of Javanese sugar come from the content of vitamin C, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium and iron in it. Other benefits of Javanese sugar are the content of a number of phytonutrients, such as polyphenols, flavonoids and anthocyanins, and antioxidants. These phytonutrients can increase immunity, make the body more energized, and can ward off cancer cells.
Which one is better with regular granulated sugar?
Every sweetener that the body absorbs has a glycemic index. The glycemic index is a scale for measuring how quickly consumed carbohydrates increase the glucose in your blood. Foods that are high on the glycemic index will have a greater impact on increasing your blood sugar.
The range of the scale used to measure the glycemic index is 1-100. An index below 55 is thought to have less of an effect on the body's blood sugar, but if it's higher it is likely to be less healthy.
Regarding the glycemic index of Javanese sugar, as reported by the Philippine Food and Nutrition Research Institute, found that brown sugar or Javanese sugar has a low glycemic index of 35. This study was conducted on 10 respondents. Almost two times different from the glycemic index value of sugar, which is 64, which means it is close to the high glycemic index (> 70).
In addition to the low glycemic index value, coconut brown sugar also contains a number of nutrients that are not present or very little in granulated sugar. Coconut brown sugar also contains a number of amino acids and vitamins. So, it is safer and more useful than sugar.
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