Last reviewed on 12 September 2026.
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Some of that reputation is earned. Much of it is not. This page covers how much sugar a glass really holds, what its minerals amount to, whether it suits diabetes, what it does and does not do for the liver, and the hygiene problem that makes the roadside version riskier than the cane itself.
How much sugar is in a glass of sugarcane juice?
Roughly 40 to 50 g in a 250 ml glass. Fresh cane juice is typically 15 to 20 per cent sugar by weight, mostly sucrose, with the exact figure depending on the variety, how mature the cane was and the season. Stall glasses are not standard, and the larger ones hold 350 to 400 ml, which can mean 60 g of sugar or more. For comparison, a 330 ml can of regular cola carries about 35 g. A generous glass of sugarcane juice can therefore contain more sugar than a can of cola, which surprises most people who drink it as the healthier option.
| In the glass | |
|---|---|
| A 250 ml glass, sugar | 40 to 50 g, mostly sucrose |
| A 250 ml glass, energy | 160 to 200 kcal, nearly all of it from sugar |
| A stall glass of 350 to 400 ml | 60 g of sugar or more |
| A 330 ml can of cola, for comparison | about 35 g of sugar |
Fresh cane juice runs 15 to 20 per cent sugar by weight, so the size of the glass decides the rest.
How many calories are in sugarcane juice?
About 160 to 200 kcal per 250 ml, almost all of it from sugar. That is roughly the energy of two plain chapatis, delivered without the fibre or protein that would make it filling. Liquid calories slip past appetite because the body does not register a drink as a meal, so a mid-afternoon glass rarely leads anyone to eat less at dinner. For a person trying to lose weight, a daily glass through the summer adds more than 1,000 kcal a week that nobody wrote down.
Is sugarcane juice healthier than a soft drink?
Somewhat, but less than its image suggests. Fresh cane juice has no added colour, acid or preservative, and it brings some potassium and plant polyphenols that a cola lacks. Its sugar, though, counts in the same way. WHO's definition of free sugars includes sugars naturally present in fruit juices, and cane juice belongs in that category by any sensible reading, so one large glass can use up a whole day's recommended limit. The sibling page on daily sugar limits for Indians sets out that limit. Bottled cane juice is usually pasteurised, which helps with safety, but check its label for added sugar.
Does sugarcane juice have useful nutrients?
It has some, in modest amounts. Cane juice carries potassium, a little calcium, magnesium and iron, and phenolic compounds that show antioxidant activity in laboratory studies. None of that turns a glass into a supplement. The antioxidant work is largely test-tube and animal research, and the minerals in a glass are small next to what a bowl of dal or a plate of vegetables supplies. It does rehydrate, as any drink does, and the sugar gives quick energy, which is why labourers and cyclists have long relied on it through hot afternoons.
Is sugarcane juice good for jaundice or the liver?
There is no good evidence that it treats jaundice or any liver disease. The belief is old and widespread, but jaundice is a sign rather than an illness: the yellowing comes from bilirubin building up, and the cause might be viral hepatitis, a gallstone blocking the bile duct, alcohol, a medicine or the breakdown of red blood cells. Each needs a different response, and some are emergencies. Yellow eyes, dark urine or pale stools are a reason to see a doctor and have blood tests promptly, not to wait at home on cane juice, which often arrives from exactly the kind of stall that spreads hepatitis.
Can sugarcane juice make fatty liver worse?
In large, regular amounts, it can contribute. Sucrose is half fructose, and the liver turns fructose it cannot use into fat. Heavy intake of sugary drinks is consistently linked with fatty liver disease, the condition now increasingly called MASLD. An occasional glass on a hot day is not the problem; a glass every afternoon through a four-month summer is a steady load of sugar the liver has to process. People already told they have fatty liver will find the practical food changes in the fatty liver diet guide.
Can diabetics drink sugarcane juice?
Not as a regular drink. A glass delivers 40 to 50 g of sugar as liquid, which is absorbed fast and pushes blood glucose up sharply. Sellers and social media sometimes quote a low glycaemic index for cane juice, but those figures are not reliable, and the glycaemic load of a full glass is high whatever the index. For most people with diabetes, the sensible choice is to skip it. Anyone who wants an occasional taste can share a small glass, drink it after a meal rather than on an empty stomach, and check how their glucose meter responds.
Why is roadside sugarcane juice a hygiene risk?
Because almost every step can carry contamination. Cane is often stacked on the pavement, the rollers are rarely cleaned between batches, glasses are rinsed in a bucket of reused water, and flies gather on the sticky residue. Microbiological surveys of street-vended cane juice in several Indian cities have repeatedly found faecal bacteria. The infections that follow are the waterborne ones: hepatitis A and E, typhoid and diarrhoeal illness. Anyone recovering from typhoid should keep away from street juice altogether, and the typhoid diet page covers what to eat instead.
Is the ice in sugarcane juice safe?
Often it is the riskiest ingredient. Many stalls chip ice from large slabs made for cooling fish or for industrial use, frequently from untreated water, then carry it in sacks and store it on the ground. FSSAI has moved to have non-edible ice coloured so it cannot be passed off as the edible kind, but enforcement at a roadside cart is thin. Freezing does not kill the viruses behind hepatitis A and E. Asking for your glass without ice removes one of the likeliest sources of infection, and freshly pressed juice is pleasantly cool even without it.
How can you drink sugarcane juice more safely?
Choose a busy stall where the cane is stored off the ground and scraped clean before crushing, and where the rollers are rinsed and covered. Watch the juice pressed in front of you rather than poured from a jug, skip the ice, and prefer a clean steel glass or a disposable cup. Drink it at once: cane juice darkens within minutes as it oxidises and starts to ferment within hours, which is why juice kept standing tastes sour. Order the small glass. Pregnant women, for whom hepatitis E can be especially severe, and young children have the most to lose from a contaminated one.
If you are going to have a glass
Choose the stall before the drink
Look for cane stored off the ground and scraped clean, rollers that are rinsed and covered, and enough custom that nothing stands about for long.
Watch it pressed in front of you
Juice poured from a jug has been waiting, and cane juice darkens within minutes and starts to ferment within hours.
Refuse the ice
Slab ice is often made from untreated water, carried in sacks and stored on the ground, and freezing does not kill the viruses behind hepatitis A and E.
Order the small glass
Glass size, not the lemon or the ginger, decides how much sugar you are drinking.
Drink it on the spot
A clean steel glass or a disposable cup, finished at once. Pregnant women and young children have the most to lose from a contaminated one.
Do lemon, ginger and mint make sugarcane juice healthier?
They make it taste better, and that is about all. Lemon adds sharpness and a little vitamin C, ginger and mint bring aroma, and a pinch of black salt gives a savoury edge that many people prefer. None of them cancels the sugar, slows its absorption meaningfully or detoxifies anything. The salt adds a small amount of sodium. If the additions help you enjoy a smaller glass, they have done a useful job. Adding extra ginger in the belief that it makes a bigger glass healthier gets the logic backwards.
What should you drink instead on a hot day?
Water first, and then drinks that bring flavour without the sugar load. Nimbu pani with a pinch of salt and very little sugar, chaas, jaljeera and plain coconut water all rehydrate well. Coconut water has far less sugar per glass than cane juice, and the sibling page on coconut water weighs its claimed benefits honestly. Keep cane juice as an occasional treat from a clean stall. After heavy sweating combined with diarrhoea, oral rehydration solution is the right drink rather than any of these.
Reading the sugar in what people drink
Most people underestimate what they drink, and a clear eye for beverages is a surprisingly practical skill for anyone who advises others about food. NNWA's Beverage Nutrition: Facts and Calories course covers calories in drinks, hidden sugar, reading beverage labels, hydration and water, sports and energy drinks, and smarter Indian beverages. It is a beginner course of three to four weeks, costs 6,999 rupees (originally 10,999) with EMI of 583 rupees a month, and awards an NNWA certificate.
The short answer
Sugarcane juice is a pleasant, sugary drink with a small side of minerals. A 250 ml glass holds roughly 40 to 50 g of sugar, more than many sodas, so it does not suit people with diabetes or anyone watching their weight as a daily habit. It cures neither jaundice nor liver disease. The real hazard is the stall, where dirty rollers and unsafe ice spread hepatitis and typhoid. Drink it rarely, freshly pressed, without ice, from a clean cart, and in the smallest glass on offer.