What is coconut sugar or coconut palm sugar?
The reasons why I can’t trust nor recommend coconut sugar
I knew that those natural sweeteners that have a low glycemic index (polyalcohols), do not form caramel: both these properties are due to their chemical structures that are different from that of sugar’s.
Of course I live with a good amount of healthy scepticism: I can accept any surprising fact if it is supported by sound scientific evidence. I would have been very happy about a low GI natural sweetener, that smells like caramel when heated.
1. It consists mainly of simple table sugar
So I did some reading on coconut sugar. Based on Wikipedia and this page, it consists primarily of 70-90% sucrose, or simple table sugar/cane sugar/beet sugar. So I understood where the caramel comes from. It is also rich in minerals, compared even to brown cane sugar. This is sweet, but, in my opinion, if someone consumes sweets in moderate amounts, one teaspoon of coconut palm sugar in their morning coffee contains only negligible quantities of magnesium, potassium, etc. There is no use of the high mineral content if you increase your sugar intake to make use of it.
2. Low glycemic index – according to whom?
About the low glycemic index: I just simply don’t buy it. If the glycemic index of beet sugar is 65, then coconut sugar really needs to be something special so that the GI of sucrose could be 35 in this composition and 65 in the other. I know about two things that can lower a food’s glycemic index: fibers and fats. Both work basically the same way: they “wrap up” the carbohydrates in the digestive tract, so our digestive enzymes have a hard time getting to them. This way, it takes more time to digest and absorb these nutrients so foods with a low glycemic index elevate our bloodsugar levels more slowly. Coconut sugar does not contain fibers or fats in considerable amounts that could be responsible for a glycemic index lowering effect.
So where is this GI=35 values coming from? Who did the study? Clicking through some articles I stumbled across the original certificate, based on the up-to-date only study on this subject. I cannot accept the results, as the test has been performed with 10 participants, only. Our metabolism shows a great personal variety: it even depends on our daily rhythm, previous physical activity, etc. If this test has been performed with e.g. 10 athletes, it is hardly representative of the whole population. Moreover, coconut sugar has been consumed in solid form, while the glucose used for the comparison has been given in a solution. As nutrients can only be absorbed from solutions, coconut sugar had to form a solution to be available for digestion – a comparison like this is not fair.
Moreover, this study has been performed in the Philippines, in an institution of public interest, while this country is the biggest exporter of coconut sugar in the world nowadays. This fact definitely does not enhance the authenticity of the presented data. Only if more indepenent studies carried out with more participants gave similar results could I trust the low glycemic index of coconut palm sugar. Of course, I would still be interested why sucrose is supposed to be absorbed more slowly from coconut sugar, but like I said before: I can be convinced of practically anything with sound scientific evidence.
3. Coconut palm sugar production is not sustainable
More voices raised against coconut palm sugar
I am not the only one who does not trust coconut sugar, as a healthy sugar alternative: other health bloggers are also raising questions about the hows and whys, e.g. here.
Closing remarks
Do you have a personal experience with coconut palm sugar? If there are any facts that you would like to share, especially if you monitor your blood sugar levels, please do!
In case you’re hungry for more on this subject, read on about agave syrup and read this interesting article on how sugar is the master of disguise.
I purchased a bag of coconut sugar back in the winter and have only used it in some homemade hot chocolate. I had to use more of it to get it sweet enough. I accidentally happened upon your article. This bag says it is organic coconut sugar, pure and unrefined. The ingredient list simply states: organic coconut sugar. Also, on the bag it says it is sustainably grown and harvested. I'm new to healthy eating. I've not been educated on the GI. However, I did Google how many carbs are in a teaspoon of regular table sugar. And according to that site, it says 2.3g carbs, compared to that of 4g in this bag of coconut sugar I have. Have they improved or changed things since you wrote this? I'm really confused. Thanks for your help.
Hi,
The article I linked about the unsustainability of coconut sugar production speaks in general, it could be that your bag of coconut sugar was grown and harvested in a sustainable way. It could also be that growing full-term coconuts would be even more sustainable.
In short, the GI shows how fast a food increases your blood sugar levels: the lower the GI, the slower the absorption of carbohydrates, the better for your health. This is especially important for people living with insulin resistency or diabetes.
I think the carb content should be similar to that of table sugar. However, I can't give you more help on that, as I do measurements in grams and am not familiar with carb content/teaspoon, sorry.
I did a little googling on this subject since I wrote this article 8 months ago and found only more posts filled with scepticism… I googled "coconut sugar glycemic index". See for yourself.
My advice to you is, that if you consume this in small amounts (e.g. a teaspoonful in your morning coffee), it's fine, but if you have a sweet tooth and bake much, or have any condition going on your with your blood sugar levels, or would like to loose weight, finish that bag and find some other sugar alternative that fits you.
Thanks for reading my post and your comment!
Great article Nóri! I linked back to it in my post about agave. I personally love coconut sugar because of it's specific taste and I find it it's a little bit better than sugar. However, I agree it's again mostly sugar. I loved the mention of sustainability of production! I haven't thought about that at all – great point
Thank you so much, Lucie! I also loved the other article you linked so I linked back to both of you in this post! 😉 I think there wouldn't be a problem with sugar, either, if we could keep our consumption _really_ low. Maybe it really is a drug…
I have never thought about the above three things that you have explained. I have been using coconut sugar for the past one year. Organic coconut sugar is 100% organic and non GMO, which means there is no chemicals and no genetic modification. Organic coconut sugar looks and tastes great! It has a slight hint of caramel which enhances and accentuates the smooth flavor curve.
Hi,
I'm glad that you've read about these things on my blog – that's exactly why I felt sharing this post is important.
My point is that it really isn't better for your health than simple table sugar, while it's labeled as something suitable for diabetics…
About organic and non GMO: sure, these are important things, however, a short story comes to mind. One of my university professors had a great sense of humor and once he said, that death cap poison is 100% natural, organic and non-GMO and still not good for you!
There are so many things to consider while shopping in a health food store nowadays…
Thanks for your comment and this little conversation! 🙂