Japan Okinawa famous in longevity, and why do Okinawans live longer? The Department of Medicine at Ehime University in Japan, has discovered through long-term observation and research that many people in Okinawa have their special dietary life. One of the finding is related to sugar, people lived there rarely eat white sugar and prefer Okinawa’s traditional black sugar.
Black Sugar vs Brown Sugar vs White Sugar
Lets find out what is the different between black sugar, brown sugar and white sugar. Black Sugar is actually brown sugar. According to the amount of molasses, it can be divided into light brown sugar and dark brown sugar (black sugar).
The darker the sugar, the less calories it contains, and more calcium, iron and potassium it contains. Unrefined brown sugar commonly retains most health benefits since it is undergoes less processing than white sugar.
However, to make black sugar, except some handmade sugar, most of the sugar factories simply use white granulated sugar, dissolve it in the pot with some molasses added. Those with more molasses are called black sugar, and those with less molasses and lighter colour are called brown sugar.
Okinawa Black Sugar
Why Okinawa black sugar is better? It is because there is a big difference in the production of traditional Okinawa black sugar than the factories do. Unlike other refined sugars, it is boiled directly after sugarcane juice is squeezed with special charcoal, and is not refined and purified. So all the sugarcane nutrients are remained.
Lets us check out in depth the health benefits of Okinawa Black Sugar:
Rich in Minerals
Rich in Vitamins
It contains Vitamin B1, B2, B6 can eliminate fatigue, restore vitality, and also protect the skin and mucous membranes.
As a Supplement
As black sugar contains many nutrients, properly incorporating black sugar into your daily diet is possible to supply the nutrients that modern people tend to lack.
Good for Lady
Drinking black sugar water during the physiological period helps to calm the nerves. Also, hot drinks can relax the blood vessels and can be easily absorbed by the body, supplementing the energy consumed by the body to deal with menstrual pain. moreover, its iron can help to relieve iron deficiency during menstrual period.
Phenyl Glucoside
Amazingly, using black sugar is actually let you intake less sugar compare to white sugar! As it contains Phenyl Glucoside which is a substance that inhibits the absorption of extra sugar by accelerating the excretion of unnecessary sugars from the intestine, achieving the effect of lowering blood glucose level.
Octadecanol
It contains Octadecanol that help to dive away fatigue and prevents bad cholesterol and triglycerides from being absorbed. It is suitable for fat people or people with obesity.
Raffinose
Black sugar contains a component called raffinose, which increases the number of beneficial bacteria and hence improve the intestinal environment. This can help fixing the intestinal problems such as constipation and diarrhoea. People who suffer from constipation should try using brown sugar. Also, Raffinose is said to be effective in enhancing liver function and suppressing skin inflammation.
Improve Immunity
Intake of black sugar will enhances metabolism and increases body temperature to further enhance health effects. It is said that the immunity increases five times when the body temperature rises one degree, so eating black sugar could potentially be a pleasant effect for modern people who tend to have hypothermia.
With all these benefits, it is worth to have a try to this long life secret. And it is attractive that pure black sugar contains no additives and you can easily incorporate it by replacing refined white sugar or brown sugar with black sugar for cooking. Or you can simply serve it as snacks. So next time if you travel to Okinawa, remember to buy their famous Okinawa black sugar.