Jalebis – How Unhealthy Are They?

Jalebi is the name of a deep fried India sweet delicacy. It is regularly served at all festivals and major celebrations. It is made up of refined wheat flour and saffron, which gives it the yellow or orange colour. Refined wheat flour is the primary ingredients for fermentation of batter for Jalebis. The batter is then piped in concentric circles into hot cooking oil for frying, resulting in a crisp and chewy delicacy. Quite often this is again drizzled with some sugar syrup after frying.Ingredients which are used to make jalebis are not healthy. They include: 

1) Refined wheat flour 

Refined white flour contains almost no natural minerals and vitamins. In fact, it contains simple sugars which spike blood sugar levels that lead to obesity and diabetes, heart-related problems, high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure levels. It even increases your food cravings and contains little to no fibre, leading to digestive problems like constipation.Get more information on home remedies for constipation.

2) Sugar 

Jalebi is filled with sugar syrup which makes jalebi high in calories. This can again spike your blood sugar levels, leading to obesity and even high cholesterol, which is bad for your heart. So, if you ever really feel a craving for jalebis, either moderate their consumption or simply avoid them since they are packed with unhealthy ingredients and cause fat promoting disease.

3) Oil 

Hydrogenated oil which is used for frying jalebis, contains trans fats (when hydrogen gas passes into the vegetable oil it gets converted into trans fat). Trans fat is primarily used to elongate the shelf life of a product. Learn to know more about trans fat and how to avoid it.Trans fats are the worst type of fat since it reduces the body’s good cholesterol levels and shoots up the bad cholesterol. It can even cause heart diseases and is linked to diabetes.

Jalebi is very unhealthy by eaten just by itself. But, it is often served with an accompaniment or in a combination of another sweet, which can make it much worse. For example, jalebi is often served with rabdi, which is very high in saturated fat and sugar.

After going through the ingredients of Jalebi, it is quite clear that even eating Jalebi in moderation can cause spikes in your blood sugar and other many health issues. In fact, it could be a dangerous food for those suffering from diabetes or pre-diabetes. So avoid it completely, and if you really can’t avoid craving it, then stick to eating a very small serving of Jalebi.