White sugar is harmful for health

Stomach cancer, pancreas cancer

White sugar, processed sugar causes 胃酸过多, excessive stomach acid. Raw sugar is healthy sugar.

Benefits of raw sugar according to tcm ni haixia

raw/unrefined cane sugar (天然蔗糖、纯甘蔗汁熬制的红糖) in the way Ni Haixia (倪海厦) discussed it, his view was quite different from the usual advice about refined sugar.

倪海厦对天然蔗糖的主要看法

• 天然蔗糖是较好的糖：倪海厦 repeatedly distinguished natural cane sugar from what he called 精炼糖/人工糖. His teaching material says that in earlier times people consumed cane sugar and that he considered it preferable to highly refined/processed sweeteners.
• 提供快速能量：sucrose is broken down into glucose and fructose, providing readily available energy.
• 中医角度偏甘、温/和中：传统中医对红糖通常认为有温中、缓急、散寒、和胃等作用；现代中医资料也把红糖归为甘温、归脾胃等。
• 倪海厦还讲过蔗糖的两个特殊用途，包括牙痛时以蔗糖水含漱的说法。这个属于他的临床/个人观点，不能当作现代医学已经证实的牙科治疗方法。

Raw sugar ≠ all "brown sugar"

This is important. If you want the type associated with Ni Haixia's teaching, look for 纯甘蔗汁熬制、未高度精炼的红糖/黑糖 rather than simply a product labelled "brown sugar." Some commercial brown sugars are essentially refined white sugar with molasses added.

Also, white table sugar is still sucrose chemically. A source discussing Ni Haixia's terminology points out that his criticism of "artificial/refined sugar" should not be confused with the scientific definition of sucrose.

Important if you have diabetes

I would not interpret Ni Haixia's view as meaning raw sugar is safe for diabetes. Raw/unrefined cane sugar still contains substantial sucrose and can raise blood glucose. In fact, Ni Haixia's own diabetes material discusses the importance of reducing problematic dietary habits and refined sweet foods.

In short:
Ni Haixia's perspective → natural cane sugar/蔗糖 > highly refined/artificial sweeteners.
But raw sugar is still sugar, so it shouldn't be treated as a health food or unlimited tonic.

 Looking specifically at 倪海厦's own teaching, there is an important distinction between 天然蔗糖 and highly refined/artificial sweeteners.

What Ni Haixia said about natural cane sugar

1. He preferred natural cane sugar to artificial/refined sweeteners.
   In his dietary instructions, he explicitly said people who like sweet foods could use 天然蔗糖或蜂蜜 instead of artificial sugars.
2. He considered natural cane sugar a natural source of energy.
   In one lecture, he specifically praised products made from cane-derived sucrose, describing them as natural sugar.
3. He claimed it was less problematic for the mouth and digestion than refined white sugar.
   His writings attributed various benefits to natural cane sugar, including helping bowel movements and being less harmful to teeth. These particular claims are not consistent with modern nutritional evidence, so they should be regarded as Ni Haixia's theory rather than established medical fact.

What about the kidneys and pancreas?

This is where I would be careful.

Ni Haixia's diabetes theory emphasized a relationship among 脾、胰、心、肾 and argued that treatment should strengthen the kidneys and heart so that pancreatic/spleen metabolism could return to balance.

But I did not find a reliable source in which Ni Haixia specifically says that eating 1–2 pieces of raw sugar every day will strengthen the kidneys or pancreas. That claim is often repeated online, but it shouldn't automatically be attributed to him.

Very important for diabetes

Even if following Ni Haixia's philosophy, 天然蔗糖 is still sucrose. Scientifically, sucrose is digested into glucose and fructose, so it can raise blood glucose. Therefore:

Natural/raw sugar ≠ diabetes-safe sugar.

If you have diabetes or elevated blood sugar, I would not recommend deliberately taking raw sugar as a daily "kidney tonic." Ni Haixia's preference for natural cane sugar should not be interpreted as evidence that it treats diabetes or protects diabetic kidneys.