Thread by @drmoghes

Sugar- Friend or foe?
Present day nutrition "facts" are manipulated time & again based on what narratives the food industry wishes to set to introduce to the masses, new "fads".
#Ayurveda is time-tested, has already undergone timely updation wrt new foods, their properties etc.

So what are the properties of different derivatives of sugarcane?

Half-cooked molasses are hard to digest, make the tissues exude more, cause mild increase of doshas, cleanses the urine.

Purified "jaggery" causes mild increase of Kapha, stickiness & eliminate urine & feces.

Old (stored for long periods) jaggery is beneficial for heart health while fresh jaggery causes increase of kapha & weakness of digestion.
Summary is jaggery, in any form is heavy when it comes to digestion. Unpurified jaggery should be discarded at all times!

Talking about sugar- Crude sugar is good, Sugar candy is better and fine sugar is the best among all the above. They are great aphrodisiacs, benefit the ones suffering from injury to lungs, bleeding diseases and also control Vata.

What could be harmful precisely, is the sugar processed with sulphur & chemicals, super-whitened & refined!
Highly processed sugars like white sugar & synthetic replacement sweeteners are Rajasic and Tamasic. Naturally processed sugars, on the other hand, are pleasant & Sattvik.

Generally speaking, all sugars relieve burning sensation, thirst, vomiting, fainting & bleeding diseases. And believe it or not- out of all products of sugarcane juice, the best is sugar & worst is the half cooked molasses, improperly prepared jaggery.

In the past, Yāsa, Kāsha & Darbhachada were the plants from which Sharkara/sugar was prepared. This used to be one of the best. This also could be one of the probable reasons as to why people then had no difficulty digesting sugar despite consuming it excessively.

Why sugar got villanised to such a great extent was probably coz we saw a variety of enticing sugar-free options in supermarkets and you were convinced that sugar was indeed your enemy and needed to be eliminated from the diet completely.

Ayurveda teaches that sweet taste nourishes & invigorates the mind, relieves hunger & thirst, nourishes tissues & improves the immune function. Importantly, it is associated with the +ve emotions of happiness, contentment, cheerfulness & satisfaction when eaten in right amounts.

So as far as sugar-free diets go, really, unless there is a medical necessity, from an Ayurvedic perspective, we need long-term moderation combined with well-timed & precise restraint rather than restrictive elimination approaches.

Ayurveda's final verdict - Both sugar & jaggery have their own place in our diet. Khshemakutuhala mentions number of desserts & other recipes using both sugar & jaggery. Use whatever's compatible for those food combinations.
Restrictive elimination will fetch no benefit!