For many thousands of years, mankind has been consuming a natural sugar substitute – honey. Many people fell in love with it not only for its sweet aroma, but also for its healing properties. However, if you look at it, honey is basically sugar. It’s no secret that a high sugar content in the diet is not good. Is the same true for honey?
Let’s compare these two products
The nutritional value of honey varies depending on the composition of the nectar around the hive, but in general, the comparative characteristics of honey and sugar look like this:
Honey contains a small amount of vitamins and minerals and a considerable amount of water. Thanks to the water in its composition, it has less sugar and calories in a gram comparison. In other words, one teaspoon of honey is healthier than one teaspoon of sugar.
Comparative health impact study
Too much sugar in the diet can cause blood sugar levels to rise. If this level is kept above the norm for a long time, this negatively affects the metabolism.
Is the reaction of the body to honey and sugar the same?
Comparing two groups of participants who regularly took the same amount of sugar (group 1) and honey (group 2), the researchers found that honey caused a greater release of insulin into the bloodstream than sugar. However, the blood sugar level of the honey group then decreased, became lower than that of the sugar group, and remained the same for the next two hours.
The benefit of honey within a few hours of consumption was found in a similar study in type 1 diabetics. Thus, it can be concluded that consuming honey is somewhat better than regular sugar, which is true for both diabetics and non-diabetics.
Verdict
Compared to regular sugar, honey is much more nutritious. However, the content of vitamins and minerals in it is very small. The difference between sugar and honey is noticeable when comparing their effect on blood sugar levels. In conclusion, we can say that the consumption of honey is slightly more preferable. However, if possible, it is best to try to avoid both.