Coconut sugar vs cane sugar: the glycemic index claim, tested

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Coconut sugar is sold as the sugar that's good for you.

It's brown, a little caramel-flavored, made from the sap of coconut palm flowers,, and usually priced above regular sugar. The bag often says "low glycemic." You've probably wondered whether swapping it into your coffee or baking is a real upgrade, or an expensive way to eat the same thing.

This guide traces the claim back to its sources. Three moves: what's being claimed, what the evidence actually shows, and when coconut sugar is worth buying anyway.

Part 1: The claim

Coconut sugar's marketing stands on three legs:

1. Low glycemic index (GI). It supposedly raises blood sugar more slowly than table sugar.
2. More nutrients. It contains minerals and antioxidants that white sugar lacks.
3. Low fructose. Fructose has a bad reputation, so less is presented as better.

A 2023 review of coconut sugar research in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health noted that traders advertise exactly these points: small-farmer production, organic growing, a lower GI and low fructose content compared with refined cane or beet sugar (Saraiva 2023). It also observed that people are willing to pay more for coconut sugar because of its perceived nutritional value and low GI.

So the question is whether the evidence supports what the market is paying for.

Part 2: What the research shows

What coconut sugar is made of

Start with the chemistry, because it answers more than the GI debate does.

The 2023 review compiled lab analyses of coconut sugar. In one analysis it summarized, coconut sugar was about 83% to 91% sucrose, with smaller amounts of glucose (about 9% to 11%) and fructose (about 3% to 4%) (Saraiva 2023). Values varied with how the sap was handled, including whether a preservative was added.

Read that again. Sucrose.

Sucrose is the same molecule as white table sugar. Coconut sugar is mostly table sugar with a different origin story and a little extra baggage of minerals and plant compounds. Think of it as white sugar in a brown jacket. The jacket is real, and it has a few interesting pockets. But the body underneath is the same.

And the "low fructose" claim is a bit of a trick. Sucrose itself is made of glucose and fructose joined together, and your body splits it apart during digestion. So coconut sugar's low free-fructose number doesn't mean your body sees much less fructose than it does from table sugar.

The glycemic index claim

GI measures how fast a carbohydrate food raises blood sugar compared with pure glucose. A lower GI means a slower rise.

The review reports that GI values previously obtained for coconut sugar were below those for pure sucrose, and cites a GI of 35 to 54 per serving, attributed to work by Trinidad and colleagues (Saraiva 2023).

That's the source of the number on the bag. Here's what to know about it:

• It comes from a small evidence base. We searched PubMed for independent, peer-reviewed human trials measuring coconut sugar's GI and could not find one to verify directly. The number is cited secondhand in reviews.
• The Philippine Food and Nutrition Research Institute has published peer-reviewed GI work on coconut products, but the study we could verify tested bakery products made with coconut flour, in ten healthy and ten diabetic people, not coconut sugar (Trinidad 2003). Flour is high in fiber. Sugar isn't. Mixing the two up is common online.
• A range of 35 to 54 is wide. It suggests results vary a lot depending on the product and test.

Even if the lower GI holds up, it's a property of the sugar eaten alone in a lab. GI also says nothing about calories. Because coconut sugar is mostly sucrose, you should expect its calories per teaspoon to be close to table sugar's.

So the GI claim isn't false. It's thin.

Why the evidence is so thin

It's worth asking why a food bought by millions has so little human research behind its headline claim.

Part of the answer is that sugar trials are unglamorous and expensive, and no one has a strong reason to fund one. The other part is that the claim travels by repetition. A number appears in a producer's report or an early study, a review cites it, a website cites the review, and a bag prints the website's version. By the time it reaches your pantry, the original measurement is three steps away. The 2023 review is unusually candid here: it describes the low-GI claim as something traders advertise, and it calls for a deeper understanding of coconut sugar's health effects (Saraiva 2023).

That's not a reason to assume the claim is false. It's a reason to treat it like a rumor until someone runs an independent test.

If you want to know how coconut sugar affects your own blood sugar, a continuous glucose monitor or finger-prick test under your doctor's guidance would tell you more than any bag.

The nutrient claim

Coconut sap does contain more than sugar. A 2020 study compared coconut sap with juices from sugar palm and sugarcane and found the coconut sap had higher antioxidant activity, more vitamin C, and notable potassium (about 961 mg/L) and sodium (about 183 mg/L) (Asghar 2020).

Two caveats. That study measured raw sap, not the finished, dried sugar you buy, and heat during processing may change some of those compounds. And you eat sugar by the teaspoon. Even a sweetener with some minerals delivers small amounts at that serving size.

The review itself acknowledged that a better understanding of coconut sugar's health effects is needed (Saraiva 2023).

So is it healthier?

Not in any way that matters much. Coconut sugar is still added sugar. If you're managing diabetes, it should be counted the same way as other sugars, and it's worth asking your doctor or dietitian before relying on the "low GI" label.

Part 3: When coconut sugar is worth buying

There are still good reasons to buy it. They're just not medical.

• Flavor. It has a mild caramel taste that works in coffee, oatmeal, granola and brown-sugar recipes.
• Less refining. It's made from palm sap rather than refined cane or beet, which some people prefer.
• Sourcing. Organic and fair-trade options support particular farming practices, if that matters to you.

Swap it in a 1:1 ratio for brown sugar in most recipes.

Best organic coconut sugar

Big Tree Farms Organic Coconut Sugar is our benchmark organic coconut sugar for baking. Check the bag for its organic and sourcing certifications.

Madhava Organic Coconut Sugar is another organic option to compare on price per ounce.

Wholesome Organic Coconut Sugar is a good choice if you already buy the brand's other organic sweeteners.

Nutiva Organic Coconut Sugar is the option to pick if you already buy Nutiva products and want to compare price per ounce.

Which to choose

Compare four things on the bag: "organic," the ingredient list (it should say only coconut sugar or coconut palm sugar), the price per ounce, and whether the brand names where its sap comes from. Any of Big Tree Farms Organic Coconut Sugar, Madhava Organic Coconut Sugar or Wholesome Organic Coconut Sugar meets that bar if the label checks out.

How to use it without fooling yourself

1. Count it as sugar. It's mostly sucrose (Saraiva 2023).
2. Use less, not just different. The biggest health win is reducing added sugar, whichever kind it is.
3. Use it where you can taste it, like coffee, oatmeal or cookies, so you get the flavor you're paying for.
4. Ignore "diabetic-friendly" claims unless backed by your own care team.

The bottom line

Coconut sugar's low-GI claim rests on a thin, hard-to-trace evidence base, and the sugar itself is mostly sucrose, the same molecule as table sugar (Saraiva 2023). It has a few more plant compounds and minerals in its raw sap form (Asghar 2020), but at teaspoon doses that's a rounding error. Buy it for flavor, not health.

This week, take the coffee or oatmeal you sweeten every morning and cut the sugar by half, using Big Tree Farms Organic Coconut Sugar for the half that's left, and notice whether you miss the rest.

This article is for general education and is not medical advice. If you have a health condition, take medication, or are pregnant, talk to a doctor or registered dietitian before changing your diet or skincare.

Sources

1. Saraiva A et al. (2023). Coconut Sugar: Chemical Analysis and Nutritional Profile; Health Impacts; Safety and Quality Control; Food Industry Applications. Int J Environ Res Public Health. PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36834366/ | DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043671
2. Trinidad TP et al. (2003). Glycaemic index of different coconut (Cocos nucifera)-flour products in normal and diabetic subjects. Br J Nutr. PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/13129460/ | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1079/bjn2003944
3. Asghar MT et al. (2020). Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) sap as a potential source of sugar: Antioxidant and nutritional properties. Food Sci Nutr. PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32328243/ | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/fsn3.1191

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