Skip to Content

Will Sugarcane Juice Increase Blood Sugar? [When To Drink]

Will Sugarcane Juice Increase Blood Sugar

Sugarcane as the name suggests is very sweet and contains sugar.

Various foods that contain sugar also increase blood sugar.

So, I wanted to know if sugarcane juice increases blood sugar and did some research to answer this question.

Sugarcane juice does increase blood sugar.

It contains a high amount of natural sugar and a high amount of carbohydrates.

Both of which increase blood sugar.

The amount of sugarcane juice you consume should be monitored especially if blood sugar levels are an issue.

Today, I will explain the effects of consuming sugarcane juice daily, how much you should drink to keep your blood sugar levels in a healthy range, whether it’s ok to drink at night and the benefits of drinking sugarcane juice.

What Are the Side Effects of Sugarcane Juice?

What Are the Side Effects of Sugarcane Juice

Sugarcane juice is very delicious and is all-natural.

But, since it does raise your blood sugar levels I’ll explain the side effects of sugarcane juice.

Sugarcane juice does not have any side effects in small amounts.

However, it is very high in sugar and carbohydrates.

This raises blood sugar levels.

When blood sugar levels are consistently high it can lead to health complications such as type 2 diabetes, and kidney issues.

Therefore, it’s important to know how much sugar is in sugar cane juice, as well as, how many carbohydrates it contains.

Half a cup of sugar cane juice contains:

  • 24% of your recommended daily intake of carbohydrates
  • 200% of your recommended daily intake of sugar

The recommended daily intake of sugar is around 25g per day for an adult (source: Harvard), 25 g for females, and 35g for males.

The reason is that males on average have more muscle mass than females, and are also bigger in general.

If you compare the total concentration of sugar in the body for two people that are different weights, it will be higher in a lighter person compared to the heavier person.

Therefore, you should also adjust how much sugar you consume based on how skinny, or large you are.

Half a cup of sugar cane juice contains 75g of sugar.

It can be ok to consume a cup or half a cup of sugar cane juice every now and then.

As the body can recover. But, you should not consume it everyday.

Medical professionals are in agreement that a diet that is high in sugar leads to many health complications and can lead to premature death.

As well as, serious health issues such as stroke.

Sugarcane juice is commonly sold by vendors in stalls that have a machine to crush the sugarcane to turn it into juice.

Or, it can be eaten by harvesting or purchasing sugarcane stems.

When eating sugarcane from the stems it’s a bit harder to gauge how much sugarcane juice you’re consuming.

Whereas, with the sugarcane juice sold by vendors or in bottles from a store it’s easier.

The main thing is to limit how much you consume so that you’re not consuming more than about ¼ of a cup 2 to 3 times a week.

A good way to gauge it is to look at the total sugar you consume in a week.

For example, because the recommended amount of sugar you should consume is 30g a day.

This means in one week you should consume on average a maximum of 210g of sugar.

This is equivalent to about 1.5 cups of sugar cane juice.

However, it’s important to note that various foods that most people consume also contain sugar, and can be high in sugar.

Especially candy, chocolate, sodas containing sugar, and desserts.

Therefore, if you normally consume these quite often it’s a good idea to switch to naturally sweetened options.

Such as those sweetened with honey, or stevia.

That is if you plan on drinking sugar cane juice semi-regularly.

What Happens if We Drink Sugarcane Juice Daily?

What Happens if We Drink Sugarcane Juice Daily

Sugarcane juice is very delicious, and once you take a sip it’s easy to keep drinking it.

And you may feel like drinking it every day.

But, is it bad to do that, and what happens if you do?

If you consume sugarcane juice everyday it’s likely you’ll develop a serious health condition, such as type 2 diabetes, according to medical professionals.

The reason is that sugarcane juice is very high in sugar. 1 cup of sugarcane juice contains 4 times the recommended daily intake of sugar.

Drinking a typical serving of sugarcane juice of around one cup every once and a while is ok.

But, you should avoid drinking it every day due to a large amount of sugar it contains.

Medical professionals report that the following serious health issues are caused by excessive consumption of sugar:

  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Stroke
  • Kidney issues
  • Heart attack
  • Poor circulation

It also weakens the immune system, which makes you more susceptible to getting the flu.

And causes wounds to heal much slower.

It is possible to drink sugarcane juice every day, but you can only consume a very small amount.

For example, using it to sweeten other foods such as smoothies or cereal.

An adult should consume 25g to 35g of sugar per day.

This is the same as ¼ of a cup of sugarcane juice.

But, since other foods contain sugar, it’s best not to use that amount and you should aim for less.

In my opinion around ⅛ of a cup is a good amount to aim for.

Or, only consume a whole cup of sugar cane juice once a week.

Sugarcane Juice Benefits

Sugarcane Juice Benefits

Sugarcane juice is natural, and most natural foods are high in nutrients that are good for your health.

But, I was wondering if this is true of sugar cane juice, and if there are other benefits to consuming sugar cane juice.

Sugarcane juice when consumed by chewing raw sugar cane naturally cleans the teeth.

Sugarcane has a reasonably high amount of iron, which is used by the body to regenerate itself, as well as make a protein in the cells called hemoglobin that is responsible for carrying oxygen around the body.

Other than that, it is fairly low in nutrients.

Because it has a very high sugar content it’s also not recommended to consume a lot of it.

The recommended serving of sugarcane juice contains about 5% of your recommended daily iron intake.

Therefore, all things considered, it doesn’t have much of an impact on your health from a nutrient perspective.

The main benefits are its ability to clean your teeth, and it’s also a natural diuretic.

It also has a very pleasing taste.

Which is a psychological benefit, that improves your wellbeing.

As you may know, a diuretic causes you to need to go to the bathroom.

Which can be good for doing a cleanse.

And if you experience constipation.

Constipation is where you feel like going to the bathroom to do a poop.

But, when you go to take a poop it doesn’t come out, and you feel pain in your stomach and still have the sensation of needing to take a poop.

This is caused by not drinking enough water, and not consuming enough fruits and vegetables in the last day or so.

When you experience it, don’t try to continue to squeeze it out.

Instead, drink a few glasses of water, eat a few pieces of fruit, and/or some raw vegetables like celery, cucumber, or tomatoes.

As well as, a small amount of sugarcane juice (optional).

On top of being a natural diuretic, sugarcane is also a vegetable

And wait about 30 minutes to an hour.

Then when you feel like taking a poo again try to go again, and with a bit of squeezing it should pass.

The water and fruits and vegetables will build up behind it and lubricate it making it easy to push out the extremely hard poop which is causing constipation.

Then your bowel movements should return to normal.

Can You Drink Sugar Cane Juice at Night?

Can You Drink Sugar Cane Juice at Night

Certain foods aren’t good to eat at night because they can keep you awake.

Or, take a long time to digest which stops your body from being well-rested.

But, is it ok to drink sugar cane juice at night?

It’s perfectly fine to drink sugar cane juice at night.

The main concern is that it will cause a blood sugar spike, which can make it difficult to sleep immediately after.

According to medical professionals, blood sugar levels return to normal 2 hours after sugar cane juice is consumed.

Therefore, you should aim not to consume sugar cane juice in the last 2 hours when you plan to go to sleep.

A blood sugar spike can make you feel irritable, and jittery which can make it difficult to get into a calm state to sleep.

The onset of a blood sugar spike occurs quite quickly with sugarcane juice because it is high in sugar.

It’s also in liquid form which makes it easy for your body to absorb.

Is it bad to consume cane sugar or regular sugar at night?

Cane sugar is sugar that is made from sugarcane, whereas, sugar can be made from cane sugar or sugar beets.

Therefore sugar you buy in stores can be made from sugarcane or it can be made from sugar beets.

Both cane sugar and sugar have a virtually identical chemical structure.

Therefore, both have the same impact on the body.

It’s not necessarily bad to consume cane sugar or sugar at night.

The main concern is that it will cause a blood sugar spike in a similar way to sugar cane juice.

Therefore, you should aim not to consume 2 hours before you plan to sleep.

As this is the time it takes for your blood sugar level to return to normal according to medical professionals (source: Livestrong)