People often consider honey to be healthier than sugar, but it depends on the use. Like sugar, honey is high in carbs and can raise blood sugar levels. It is also high in calories. However, the antioxidants in honey may help with healing and allergy relief, among other uses.
Honey Health Benefits
"Honey's advantages over sugar include a slightly lower glycemic index (i.e. it doesn't affect your blood-sugar levels as much),"10 Dr. Dixon says. "It also contains more vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, such as calcium, potassium, vitamin C, zinc, phenolic acids, and flavonoids."
Honey contains vital nutrients
Honey is a brown, sticky, sugar-saturated solution made by bees. Health benefits of eating a spoonful of honey everyday include diabetes management, cancer management, better heart health, and other benefits.
The glycemic index measures how quickly a carbohydrate raises blood sugar levels. Honey has a GI score of 58, and sugar has a GI value of 60. That means honey (like all carbohydrates) raises blood sugar quickly, but not quite as fast as sugar. Still, it's not a big difference.
Consuming two tablespoons of honey can help balance blood sugar and improve cholesterol levels, according to a new study.
One of the main advantages of using honey for bodybuilding is that it is a natural source of carbohydrates. In fact, just one tablespoon of honey contains about 64 calories. Carbohydrates are essential for bodybuilders because they are the body's primary fuel source.
A sweetener in extract form, such as stevia or monk fruit, is a good choice if you're looking for a zero-calorie option. Sugar alcohols may be a better choice than certain other artificial sweeteners if you can tolerate them well. Sugar alcohols are sweeteners that have about half the calories of regular sugar.
Truvia Granulated Sugar Substitute – Best Texture Variety
With a measuring ratio of 1:1, this sweetener is produced with erythritol, stevia extract, and chicory root. And, since it has no calories or carbohydrates, it is suitable for diabetic and weight-conscious people.
In addition to its use as a natural sweetener, honey is used as an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antibacterial agent. People commonly use honey orally to treat coughs and topically to treat burns and promote wound healing.
Because honey is less processed than white sugar, it has other trace nutrients that have additional health benefits. For instance, honey often contains: Antibacterial properties. Antioxidants.
Honey vs Sugar In Tea: Why Honey Is A Better Choice
Both have fructose and glucose. While sugar is an equal 50/50 when it comes to fructose and glucose, honey has 40% fructose and 30% glucose. What makes up the remaining 30% in honey? Along with water and pollen, there are minerals such as magnesium and potassium.
Honey contains powerful antioxidants.
It's true — honey does contain enzymes, antioxidants, non-heme iron, zinc, potassium, calcium, phosphorous, vitamin B6, riboflavin and niacin.
Honey is still a form of sugar and intake should be moderate. The American Heart Association recommends that women get no more than 100 calories a day from added sugars; men no more than 150 calories a day. This is a little over two tablespoons for women and three tablespoons for men.
Doctors usually suggest drinking at least 50gms honey with lukewarm water early in the morning. It cleanses the digestive system and helps provide energy. Also for breakfast, you can eat a tablespoon of honey with fruits and milk or even apply on bread.
Morning is the best time to eat honey for boosting energy levels and staying all charged up. Having honey in the morning is not just good for your skin but has ample health benefits including: Helps you shed those extra kilos. Improves your digestive system.
It has recently been used as a dietary supplement and treatment for a number of hepatic diseases, such as hepatitis, cirrhosis, acute liver failure, non-alcoholic liver fatty disease, alcoholic liver disease, fibrosis, steatosis, hepatoma, and inflammation of the hepatic portal.
Babies younger than 1 year old should not be given honey. That's because a type of bacteria (called Clostridium) that causes infant botulism can be found in honey.
When you mix honey in hot milk or water, it turns hot and turns toxic. In addition to this, researchers have also stated that honey contains natural sugars. Now, the thing is that heating anything that contains sugar can release 5-hydroxymethylfurfural or HMF which is believed to be carcinogenic in nature.
Do not use honey in infants under 12 months old. Botulism poisoning is a risk at this age. But this is not a danger for older children or adults. Diabetes: Using large amounts of honey might increase blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes.