# Jaggery and artificial sweeteners are not health shortcuts, experts say 2026-09-23T10:12:36+00:00 | Health & Science | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet With the festive season underway, Indian kitchens are swapping refined sugar for jaggery, stevia or monk fruit sweetener in traditional sweets. The intention is to cut sugar intake while enjoying festive food, but nutrition science warns that these alternatives are not equivalent to eating less sugar. Jaggery, though less refined and carrying trace minerals, remains a concentrated source of sugar. The World Health Organization recommends free sugars stay below 10% of daily energy intake, roughly 4 to 5 teaspoons for a 2,000-calorie diet. A jaggery laddu is still a sugar-heavy treat, and a 'sugar-free' dessert can be calorie-dense from ghee, nuts or cream. The WHO also advises against relying on non-sugar sweeteners such as sucralose, aspartame or monk fruit extract for long-term weight control, citing insufficient evidence of lasting benefit for reducing body fat. The key lesson, say public health specialists, is portion control: enjoy sweets less often and in smaller servings, regardless of the sweetener used. ## Indian Opinion Analysis India's diabetes burden, estimated at over 10 crore adults by the ICMR in 2023, makes this festival-season advice clinically relevant. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) sets acceptable daily intake limits for approved artificial sweeteners but does not mandate front-of-pack labelling, leaving consumers to read ingredient lists themselves. The real dietary shift is cultural: Indian festive eating typically clusters sweets with fried snacks and heavy meals, amplifying total sugar and calorie load far beyond what a single substitute fixes. Watch for whether the FSSAI tightens labelling rules or issues a specific consumer advisory on non-sugar sweeteners in the coming months. ## Coverage - thehindu.com Tags: FSSAI, ICMR, jaggery, monk fruit, stevia, World Health Organization Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/jaggery-and-artificial-sweeteners-are-not-health-shortcuts-experts-say/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/jaggery-and-artificial-sweeteners-are-not-health-shortcuts-experts-say/#story-in-brief