Did you know that jaggery comes with loads of health benefits? You may have seen older people eating a piece of jaggery with tea after a meal. It is not only because of its sweet taste, but it also has numerous therapeutic properties that do wonders for the body. Jaggery is made from the juice of sugarcane, which is heated to produce thick crystals. It contains sugar in sucrose form and is used in many food products as a sweetening agent. It is considered healthier than refined sugar as certain plant phytochemicals and minerals are preserved in it.
Many people avoid jaggery as its raw appearance is not very appealing. However, it may be time to start making this food a regular part of your diet as it provides many essential nutrients and is an effective remedy for many ailments. By adding jaggery to your diet, you gain a wide range of health benefits that you may not have thought that this food could provide.
Let’s take a look at all the amazing benefits that come with jaggery:

Skin Benefits Of Jaggery:

Jaggery is beneficial as a beauty treatment. It has natural properties that ensure that the skin stays healthy at all times.

1. Nourishes The Skin: Jaggery is rich in many vital vitamins and minerals, allowing it to provide nourishment to every part of the body, including the skin. When your skin gets proper nourishment, it can stay glowing and healthy.
2. Treats Acne And Pimples: Jaggery helps in treating and preventing many skin problems such as acne and pimples. Hence, it helps in keeping the skin blemish-free. It also delays the signs of aging such as wrinkles, dark spots, etc.

Health Benefits Of Jaggery:

For Digestion:

One of the main reasons that people take jaggery after meals is due to its positive effects on the digestive system.

3. Prevents Digestive Disorders: Jaggery helps in the maintenance of proper functioning of the digestive system. This, in turn, prevents many digestive problems and improves digestion as well.
4. Boosts Secretion Of Digestive Enzymes: Jaggery stimulates digestive enzyme secretion, and it also gets converted into acetic acid. Therefore, it speeds up the process of digestion, as the load on the digestive tract is significantly reduced.
5. Regulates Bowel Movement: As it helps in maintaining proper digestion, jaggery also helps in regulating the bowel movement and preventing problems such as indigestion, constipation, flatulence, intestinal worms, etc.

For Blood:

Jaggery is known to have beneficial effects on the blood as well. This is why making it a part of your diet is recommended.

6. Purifies Blood: One of the most well-known benefits of jaggery is its ability to purify the blood. When consumed on a regular basis, it cleanses the blood, leaving your body healthy.
7. Prevents Blood Diseases And Disorders: Jaggery helps in boosting the total count of haemoglobin in the blood. It also boosts the immunity that, in turn, helps in preventing a wide variety of blood disorders and diseases.
8. Prevents Anaemia: Jaggery is rich in iron and folate that help in preventing anaemia by ensuring that a normal level of red blood cells is maintained. This is especially beneficial for pregnant women. It also provides instant energy that prevents fatigue and weakness of the body.
9. Treats Menstrual Problems: Jaggery, due to its richness in many essential nutrients, is an effective natural treatment for many menstrual problems. It also helps in providing relief from cramps and stomach ache that are associated with menstruation.

For Weight Loss:

Jaggery is surprisingly effective as an aid for weight loss. If you are looking to lose some unwanted pounds, include this food in your diet.

10. Boosts Body Metabolism: Jaggery is a rich source of potassium, which is a mineral that helps in the balance of electrolytes as well as the building up of muscles and improving the metabolism in the body. These factors play an important role in effective weight loss, making jaggery effective in aiding in weight loss.
11. Reduces Retention Of Water: Water retention is a major problem when you are trying to lose weight. As mentioned earlier, jaggery contains many essential minerals, especially potassium. This mineral helps in the reduction of water retention, thus managing your weight.

Other Benefits:

Jaggery has many other benefits that include the following:

12. Cleanses The Body: One of the best natural cleansing agents for the body is jaggery. It helps in detoxifying the body by effectively and efficiently cleansing the respiratory tract, lungs, intestines, stomach and food pipe. It removes the toxins and impurities from the body, thereby providing relief from constipation and other health problems.
13. Boosts Intestinal Health: As mentioned earlier, jaggery has wonderful effects on the digestive system. It also boosts the intestinal strength due to its high magnesium content. With every 10 grams of jaggery, you get 16mg of magnesium, which is 4 percent of the daily requirement of this mineral.
14. Controls Blood Pressure: Jaggery contains potassium and sodium, which play an important role in the maintenance of acid levels in the body. It also makes sure that a normal level of blood pressure is properly maintained.
15. Prevents Nervous System Problems: This food has many natural properties that help in keeping the nervous system functioning normally and staying healthy. This, in turn, keeps a wide range of nervous system disorders at bay.
16. Provides Antioxidants: Jaggery is a rich source of antioxidants, selenium in particular, that helps in preventing the various effects of free radicals on your body. This means that it keeps many different diseases and ailments away and, as already mentioned, delays the signs of aging.
17. Prevents Respiratory Problems: By consuming jaggery regularly, you can prevent many respiratory problems such as asthma, bronchitis, etc. Experts recommend taking this natural sweetener with sesame seeds for wonderful benefits for the respiratory system.
18. Treats Cough And Cold: Jaggery is known for its ability to naturally treat a cough and cold effectively. Eating it in its raw form is recommended. However, if you are averse to its sweet taste, you can mix it with tea or warm water and gain relief from these problems. It also works well for migraines and headaches.
19. Relieves Joint Pain: If you often suffer from aches and pains in your joints, eating jaggery can provide you with the much-needed relief. Experts recommend eating it with a piece of ginger to alleviate joint pain. Drinking a glass of milk with jaggery every day is also recommended to help strengthen the bones, thus preventing joint and bone problems such as arthritis.
20. Controls Body Temperature: Jaggery helps in controlling the temperature of the body. This is especially beneficial for patients who suffer from asthma as they require a normal body temperature to be maintained at all times.
21. Provides Instant Energy: If you are feeling weak or lethargic, eating a piece of jaggery can provide instant energy. The best thing about it is that it is gradually digested and absorbed by your body, unlike white sugar. This means that the levels of blood sugar do not get raised immediately.
22. Regulates Liver Function: One of the main functions of the liver is to rid the body of harmful toxins and other impurities. As jaggery can naturally cleanse the body, it reduces the workload of the liver and detoxifies it as well, thus regulating its function.
23. Reduces PMS: Eating a small piece of jaggery every day can help in alleviating PMS. This problem is caused by fluctuating hormone levels, and this food helps in reducing it as it stimulates the release of endorphins, which are known as happy hormones. It helps in relaxing your body and making you feel good.
24. Boosts Immunity: Due to its richness in various minerals, antioxidants and other nutrients, jaggery is of immense help in boosting the immunity. By ensuring that the immune system is healthy, it helps in preventing many types of infections, ailments and diseases. Jaggery is rich in zinc and selenium that, as you know, prevent free-radical damage caused by oxidative stress.
25. Treats Chronic Cough: As mentioned earlier, jaggery has many benefits for the respiratory system. It helps in treating a chronic cough. It has a smoothening and soothing effect on the soft tissues of the throat, thus reducing throat irritation. According to Ayurveda, it makes the lungs warm and dilates the respiratory tract.
26. Helps With Urinary Problems: Sugarcane acts as a natural diuretic and jaggery also possesses this property. It helps in stimulating urination that is good news for people who have difficulty in passing urine. Jaggery can also help in reducing inflammation of the bladder. Experts recommend drinking a glass of hot milk with jaggery to treat urinary problems and improving the urine flow.
27. Treats Hiccups: If you have a case of the hiccups, eating jaggery can help. All you need to do is mix it with dried ginger powder. Experts recommend eating this mixture with a glass of warm water to gain relief. Mix 3 grams of jaggery with 500mg of ginger powder to get rid of this problem.
28. Cools The Stomach: As mentioned already, jaggery helps in maintaining a normal body temperature. This helps in keeping your stomach cool. Experts recommend eating a medium-sized piece of this food every day, especially during the summer.
29. Improves Sperm Quality And Production: According to Ayurveda, eating jaggery that is mixed with amla powder can help in the improvement of the quality of sperm. It also helps in boosting the sperm production. It also helps in lowering the weakness of the body and treats and prevents urinary problems among men.
30. Boosts Iron Absorption: Being rich in iron, eating jaggery with foods that are rich in Vitamin C helps in boosting the absorption of this mineral in the body. Experts recommend pairing it with foods such as citrus fruits, amla, guavas, etc. When iron is properly absorbed, it boosts hair health, making it strong and lustrous.

As you can see, jaggery has many health benefits and this is why adding it to your diet is a good idea. It is a great way to ensure that different parts of your body function as they should and also treat and prevent different disorders, illnesses as well as infections.

Points To Remember:

1. People who suffer from diabetes and ulcerative colitis should avoid the consumption of jaggery as it is a form of sugar.
2. Eating it in excess can cause a fluctuation of the blood sugar levels which affects the pancreatic function and release of insulin. Blood sugar fluctuation may affect the functioning of various organs such as the eyes, heart, kidneys, etc.
3. Before taking jaggery, you should consult your health care provider as the amount you consume depends on any health conditions you may suffer from, your age and requirement.
4. Always purchase jaggery that is produced from organic sugarcane.
5. While jaggery is a great weight loss aid, consuming it in excess can lead to weight gain as it has a high calorie content – 4 kcal per gram. This is why people on a weight loss diet and diabetics should consult a dietician before taking it. This is the best way to know how much to take based on your body’s requirements.
6. It is important to make sure that you always store jaggery in an airtight container in a cool, dry and dark place.

With so many health benefits, it is highly recommended that you add jaggery to your diet if you have not done so already. Its benefits range from keeping your heart healthy to strengthening your immune system and regulating menstrual periods. As you can see, you get a wide range of benefits from this food because of its richness in many essential nutrients, especially minerals and antioxidants. However, it is also important to remember not to use it to treat any health problem without the consent of your health care provider. Jaggery, as already mentioned, should be avoided by people who suffer from certain conditions. By consulting your doctor first, you make sure that you take in the right amount and do not cause any health problems.