Is There Any Difference Between Mishri & Table Sugar? Know It Right

Does the thought of replacing regular table sugar with rock sugar or mishri comes to your mind? While you often enjoy mishri or rock sugar with fennel seeds as mouth fresheners after a large feast but do we know which is a healthier form?

It is still unclear that rock sugar is a healthier option than table sugar. And given the health effects of eating too much of sugar, we can consider replacing sugar with better alternatives like jiggery or coconut sugar. The processing is similar; the crystals of both rock sugar and table sugar are formed from saturated sugar solutions. Rock sugar is more concentrated than table sugar and has more calories than normal sugar. Also, there are not scientific studies available to know if both the types of sugar have the same exact nutrient profile or not or if one is better than the other. So we can say that replacing table sugar with rock sugar won’t make much difference but ensure that you limit the intake of both rock and table sugar as excess can be bad for health. 

In Ayurveda, this crystallized form of sugar is meant to be good for digestion. But we don’t have much evidence around it. If we talk about benefits of rock sugar, it is a great energy booster and it is an excellent home remedy for cough. As per Ayurveda, khadi shakar is an extremely powerful medicine to fight the Kapha Dosha. One of the popular remedies is to mix it with equal parts black pepper and grind into a smooth powder. One teaspoon of this powder should be taken before going to bed for a relaxing sleep and getting rid of the cough.

Is rock sugar safe for diabetics?

As they say, sugar can be your biggest enemy, especially in diabetes, eating table sugar (in any form) and in excess can cause harm to the body. As rock sugar is a concentrated form of sugar, you have to be very cautious about the intake. Although it has many therapeutic uses in Ayurveda and was widely used in medicines in the past but the portion size is what which holds much importance and creates a question for safety in diabetes. Table sugar, chemically called as sucrose contains glucose and fructose and has a glycemic index (GI) of 65. Rock sugar, on the other hand, has the same GI value as table sugar (comparatively little higher).

Although diabetics are advised to keep sugar intake as negligible as it can be. 

Over to you

It is also a form of sugar and so we advise to keep the intake limited. Keep happily consuming mishri with saunf at the end of a hearty meal but keeping it in moderation will help you reap its benefits.