In just a few decades, sugar has become public enemy number one. The reasons are more than powerful and indisputable. At the same time, other substitutes have become popular, from low-calorie sweeteners to panela.
What is panela?
It is a product derived from sugar cane which is used as a sweetener for drinks and desserts. The collective imagination sees it as a better quality product and, above all, healthier because it has a less artificial origin than refined sugar.
Depending on the area in which we are, it is also called rapadura (Brazil), piloncillo (Mexico), chancaca or tapa de dulce (Central America and the Caribbean). In our country it is known as panela, although in the Canary Islands, where sugar cane is still grown on small farms, it is also known as rapadura and is sold in the shape of a cone.
How is panela obtained?
“Panela is produced through a process of cooking and evaporating unrefined sugar cane juice, which crystallizes into a type of dense molasses that is beaten and placed in molds of different shapes and sizes,” explains Manuel Moñino, dietitian. nutritionist and member of the Center for Analysis of Scientific Evidence of the Spanish Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Unlike the white tone of refined sugar, panela has a dark color that is usually interpreted as being a ‘healthier and more natural’ product than sugar. However, it is only because it does not go through a refining process, so the impurities naturally present in the cane juice and its cooking remain.
Commercial formats: granulated or powdered
Panela can be presented in granular or powder format. Moñino recognizes that there is hardly any difference between one and the other. They only differ in “the time they take to solubilize, as well as in their presentation.”
Both are easy to dose and “are nutritionally identical”. The powdered one is incorporated more uniformly into solid desserts, while the granulated one is used more to sweeten hot drinks or traditional desserts.
What uses does panela have?
Actually, very similar to sugar: sweeten. That is why it is used in combination in the preparation of desserts, hot drinks and sauces, where a sweet flavor is sought. It can also be grated or crumbled to add to yogurts, desserts and baked goods.
Panela properties
Panela “preserves small amounts of the nutrients present in sugar cane, including calcium, iron, potassium and magnesium,” says Moñino. Now, these valuable nutrients are found in such a small proportion that for their contribution to be truly significant, large quantities of said food would have to be consumed.
And that’s not a good idea because high sugar content: “Between 90-99% of its weight, so For nutritional purposes it is similar to refined sugar”. That is, consuming large quantities to provide nutrients would pose a health risk “and a lack of nutritional efficiency. Other foods, such as dairy products, nuts, legumes or fruits and vegetables, provide these nutrients in significantly greater quantities, and in portions that make dietary sense.”
What benefits does panela have?
The fact that there is no refining process does not make it healthy. In other words, the supposed benefits of panela as a healthy sweetener do not correspond to reality. “This food has gained popularity as a natural sweetener. However, a nutritional effects, it is the same as white or brown sugarThat is, it is a natural source of sugars, whose consumption should be limited due to its negative effects on health,” insists Moñino.
Attention: yes it has contraindications
The dietician-nutritionist is very clear: “It would be contraindicated in all physiological or pathophysiological situations in which the consumption of sugars must be limited. That is, in the current context of nutrition in Spain, all population groups must limit the consumption of added sugars.”
The reason is in its caloric content: panela is as high in calories as white or brown sugar. “Excessive consumption of panela, and therefore sugar, is associated with a greater risk of obesity, metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cavities, among other pathologies.”
This is the reason that the World Health Organization It is recommended to limit sugar consumption to no more than 10% of daily energy, “which in the diet of an adult with light activity will be approximately 50 grams per day. In children, that recommendation is reduced by half.” But it is not enough to count only what each consumer takes at home. We must add «sugars added to foods and drinks in the form of brown sugar, sugar, honey, syrups, etc., as well as those contained in juices and drinks.»
Is panela better than sugar, stevia and other sweeteners?
Marketing has managed to ensure that for some time now certain foods are pitted against each other almost with the same vehemence as if they were rival teams in a championship. This is the case of sugar and panela, or stevia and panela.
“Panela and sugar are practically identical from a nutritional point of view, but they differ in organoleptic characteristics, texture, sweetness and flavor. Stevia (or stevia) is a plant from which a natural calorie-free sweetener is obtained that groups together several compounds called steviosides,” he points out.
Given that panela, honey, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey or agave syrup, molasses, or sugar cane are foods that are very similar in calories and nutrients, It makes no sense to use them as sugar substitutes if what we are looking for is to reduce calories.. «Sugar substitutes are sweeteners, which can be high intensity without calories, such as saccharin, cyclamate, aspartame; or low intensity and low calorie content such as polyalcohols, among which sorbitol, xylitol or lactitol stand out.»
Is it a good idea to use panela in weight loss diets?
Given its high calorie content, excessive consumption in weight loss diets with the belief that it is healthier is not recommended. Now, not abusing it does not mean radically eliminating. Moñino clarifies that “in balanced low-calorie diets it is not necessary to eliminate sugars completely, but it is necessary to especially limit them. Including panela to sweeten people who already use it would provide sensory properties that would contribute to greater adherence to the diet.”
Panela and diabetes, what should be taken into account?
You don’t just have to take into account calories. Because they are essentially sugars, people with diabetic disease should take them with caution. “Panela is practically still sugar, so its consumption should be limited, especially in people who live with diabetes, since its effects on blood glucose are similar to those of sugar,” concludes the dietitian-nutritionist.
The ALDI Council
Do you want to reduce your sugar consumption without replacing it with sweeteners? Gradually reduce the size and number of teaspoons you add to breakfast, yogurt or other foods. You will effortlessly get used to a healthier diet, full of flavors and without missing that extra sweetness.
Manuel Moñino. Honorary member of the body of academics, the scientific committee and the Scientific Knowledge Management Area and coordinator of the Specialization groups of the Spanish Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. And Senior Consultant in Community Nutrition and Public Health. He is a Dietitian-Nutritionist from the University of the Basque Country. Specialist in Communication of Health Sciences and Human Nutrition from the University of the Balearic Islands. Project coordinator of the College of Dietitians-Nutritionists of the Balearic Islands and researcher assigned to CIBEROBN of the Carlos III Institute for the PREDIMED and PREDIMED PLUS studies. He coordinates the EFAD Public Health Group and the Scientific Committee of the «5 a day» Association. Author of 11 book chapters, 19 articles in indexed journals, 30 communications at international and 38 national conferences. Member of scientific and organizing committees in 18 conferences, 9 of them international. Twitter: @monyino
