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Honey is a natural substance produced by bees from nectar or honeydew – plant juice. It is an extremely durable product – its shelf life is estimated up to 3 years. A characteristic feature of honey is that it quickly replenishes energy deficiencies and maintains an adequate level of energy in the body, even for several hours. The glycemic index of honey is estimated at 60 to 80 depending on its variety, and the simple sugars it contains are very easily absorbed by the human body.
What substances can we find in honey?
The chemical composition of honey is extremely diverse. The ingredients content of the product is influenced by factors such as geographical origin, environmental conditions, season and botanical roots. The energy value of honey is about 300 kcal per 100 g of product, which is about 100 kcal less than refined sugar – sucrose. Each type of bee product has a different proportion of ingredients, among which the following can be distinguished:
- sugars (mainly simple: glucose and fructose, which make up about 80% of all carbohydrates, but also di-, tri- and oligosaccharides)
- protein
- organic acids (malic, gluconic, citric)
- enzymes (glucose oxidase, lysozyme, invertase, amylase)
- volatile compounds (glucans, essential oils)
- vitamins and mineral salts (including vitamin C, iron, copper, zinc)
- compounds with antioxidant properties (flavonoids – apigenin, kaempferol, quercetin, phenolic acids, dyes)
Honey varieties
Due to the raw material from which bees produce honey, we can distinguish the nectar (or floral), honeydew and nectar-honeydew types. It is worth noting that honeydew products have a higher content of minerals than flowers. The following nectar honeys are used: multiflorous and single-flowered – buckwheat, linden, rapeseed or dandelion. Honey can also be classified in terms of color – there are light and dark honeys. Each of the varieties has specific health properties.
Health-promoting properties of honey
Currently, scientific research suggests a positive effect of honey on individual functions of the organism, but they are not sufficiently attractive quantitatively to prove the full authenticity of the listed functions of honey. So far, the following properties of the bee product have been distinguished:
- Prebiotic effect (due to the presence of oligosaccharides in its composition)
- Positive influence on diseases of the cardiovascular system, incl. ischemic heart disease, atherosclerosis (potassium contained in honey improves the functioning of the heart muscle)
- Lowering blood pressure (the effect of acetycholine on vasodilation)
- Influence on lipid metabolism – lowering blood cholesterol levels
- High antibiotic and bactericidal activity – supports the immune system (role of lysozyme)
- It has antiseptic, antispasmodic, diaphoretic, antipyretic and expectorant properties
- Positive effect on the respiratory and urinary systems – it soothes cough and ailments related to inflammation of the urinary tract
- Antioxidant properties – fighting free radicals
- Helpful in the treatment of gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer, and mucositis
- Importance in healing wounds and burns
- It reduces blood clotting
The healing properties of honey are particularly related to its quality, which consists of the work of bees and the level of knowledge of the beekeeper. You should be aware that the honeys available on supermarket shelves are often a mix of imported products that are characterized by low nutritional value. The aforementioned low quality results from feeding bees with glucose syrup and specific thermal treatment in order to extend its consumption date. The best choice is real honey that cannot be modified by the human hand. It is rich in all valuable bioactive ingredients, and its composition is incomparable to store products.
Honey in a diabetic’s diet
The relationship between honey and diabetes is an extremely controversial topic. Currently, you can find many contradictory articles and opinions – some strongly oppose the use of honey in the diet of diabetics, the other showing a positive effect of the product on the carbohydrate metabolism of people with diabetes. Undeniably, the composition of honey consists mainly of simple sugars that increase blood glucose levels. The main recommendation for people suffering from diabetes is to eat a diet based on the consumption of products with a low glycemic index. On the other hand, honey has a lower glycemic index and calorific value than sucrose, and due to its intensely sweet taste, it is added in smaller amounts. Moreover, apart from simple carbohydrates, honey contains numerous bioactive compounds, which gives it a great advantage over sucrose.
Studies by Katsilambros et al. Have shown that the consumption of honey by people with type II diabetes results in a similar hyperglycemic effect to the consumption of bread. In turn, Agrawal et al. Proved that after consuming honey, patients with glucose intolerance showed a decrease in its concentration in the blood compared to the consumption of pure glucose. Shambaugh illustrated, however, that after introducing higher doses of sugar (75 g) into the body, honey still has more favorable properties than glucose and fructose.
Summing up, some reports suggest a positive relationship between honey consumption and diabetes, however, there should be some correction. The fact that honey puts sucrose on the shoulder blades does not mean that people with diabetes can consume it voluntarily. It is estimated that the safe daily consumption of honey in people with both insulin-dependent and non-insulin-dependent diabetes is about 30 g. You should remember to take special care and consult such diet modifications with a diabetologist.
Nutrition nonsense – what celebrities write about honey
Biological Crap of the year is a competition whose main the initiative is to criticize the psychoscientific content of public figures, including: with academic degrees, politicians, journalists, celebrities, etc. The ranking is also intended to draw attention on aspects of biology. The results are collected and analyzed on the basis of an online survey. In This year’s competition was one of the candidates to win Anna Lewandowska with the entry:
“Honey is used to treat diabetes because it contains reducing sugars such as fructose, glucose and sucrose.”
The above entry shows that honey is conducive to the treatment of diabetes, and thus – suggests that it must be consumed in larger amounts. This is not true, because in the mechanism of diabetes it belongs to this type of carbohydrate disorders limit simple sugars, the consumption of which increases the level of glycemia. Of course, anyone can make a mistake, but popular people are burdened with its greater reach and must pay more attention to words. I am glad that Ania Lewandowska realized this substantive mistake and deleted the entry, but it is not important. The most important thing is that people suffering from diabetes should not see honey as a cure for their disease and remember about its limitations. Nutritional education plays a very important role in every disease entity.
Results the contest can be found on website: http://www.totylkoteoria.pl/2017/12/biologiczna-bzdura-roku-2017.html
The Golden mean
The use of honey is associated with common sense. Like any other food product, it should be used rationally and in moderation. It is worth bearing in mind how important the method of honey consumption is. Adding it to hot drinks results in the loss of some bioactive compounds, including vitamin C and enzymes, which reduces its nutritional value and antibacterial activity. Nevertheless, other substances contained in honey are thermostable, thanks to which the product is used as a healthier sugar substitute. People suffering from diabetes should be especially careful in the dosage of honey, who are advised to give up simple sugars in their daily diet and avoid products that raise the level of glycemia.
Bibliography: Agrawal OP., Pachauri A., Yadav H., Urmila J., Goswamy HM., Chapperwal A., Bisen PS., Prasad GB.: Subjects with impaired glucose tolerance exhibit a high degree of tolerance to honey, J Med Food. 2007 Sep;10(3):473-8. Alvarez-Suarez J.M, Tulipani S., Romandini S., Bertoli E., Battino M.: Contribution of honey in nutrition and human health: a review. Mediterr. J. Nutr. Metab., 2010, 3, 15-23. Katsilambros N, Philippides P, Davoulos G, et al: Sesame-derived candies and glycaemic response in type II diabetic subjects. Diabetes Nutr Metab 1991;4:325–327. Kedzia B., Hołderna-Kedzia E .: Honey. Composition and biological properties. Company Ed. Rzeczpospolita SA, Warsaw 2008. Samarghandian S, Farkhondeh T, Samini F. Honey and Health: A Review of Recent Clinical Research. Pharmacognosy Research. 2017;9(2):121-127. Shambaugh P., Worthington V., Herbert JH.: Differential effects of honey, sucrose, and fructose on blood sugar levels, J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 1990 Jul-Aug;13(6):322-5.
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