Can You Bee-lieve the Buzz Around Honey?
A Bite-Size Read for Your Health and Your Waistline
Are you team honey or team sugar substitute? Some argue it’s better to have the one that’s less likely to impact your blood sugar, while others argue for the more natural option saying those sweeteners might be low-glycemic but they’re often made from chemicals. I think each of us needs to make the choice that works for us, our lives, and where we are on our path to optimal health. Before you pick which team you’re on, let’s take a deeper dive into what both offer so everyone can make informed decisions for themselves!
A tablespoon of honey has 64 calories which really comes from the 17 grams of sugar because it has zero fiber, fat, or protein. The sugar is made of fructose, glucose, maltose, and sucrose — it’s this sugar that creates controversy.
With honey, we do see studies showing that consuming honey can increase blood sugar levels (although not as much as refined sugar), but the health benefits mostly stem from its antioxidant content. There were studies that showed that buckwheat honey increases the antioxidant level in your blood. (A quick note on honey: the darker the color, the higher the antioxidant count tends to be.) Honey may also lower LDL (bad cholesterol), increase good cholesterol, lower blood pressure, lower triglycerides and lower inflammation.
These studies are great, but I think it’s more a question of what is honey an alternative for? This is part of the challenge of looking at these studies because we don’t really know. Are all these benefits because the honey replaced table sugar or candy bars, for example? Were there any other changes made by the participants during the study? In practice, we often see an increase in triglycerides for people who regularly eat sugar and refined carbs; the logic tracks to see an improvement in triglycerides if the honey replaced such sugar.
As a caveat to all of these studies, none of the studies on humans were long-term. So, take it all with a grain of salt. Nothing is 100% certain. We want to pay attention to our bodies, how we feel, what we notice and make the best decisions for ourselves.
Because of the antioxidant qualities of honey, it’s anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial. In fact, it’s been used for ages for healing and cleaning. There have been a ton of studies showing that honey might be more effective at healing burns and wounds compared to other kinds of topical agents. There was actually a 43% success rate as a wound treatment following surgeries; Manuka honey, in particular, is used for treating burns and diabetic foot ulcers. There was another study where Manuka honey offered a 67% ulcer inhibition rate for gastric ulcers. There are also some studies about honey helping with psoriasis and herpes lesions.
Honey has also been used as alternative medicine. People take honey when they have a cough. Some studies about kids with coughs show that using honey can be potentially more effective than some common cough medications. When we get into allergy season, honey might be something that you want to introduce to your system because it can actually expose you to the fauna and flora from the flowers that it was made from! So, if you have seasonal allergies, make sure you get local honey — it could potentially help your body’s response to your seasonal allergies.
Like many foods, we must do a little research and a little digging to find quality honey. Remember: color can indicate the level of antioxidant content, the taste, and the smell — it all depends on what kind of flowers the bee visited to make the honey. And as always: read those nutrition labels because some honey can be part honey and part syrup.
Back to the question of the day: team honey or team sugar substitute? Honey may be a great alternative if you’re looking to focus on natural food sources as an alternative to table sugar. Nevertheless, this is not a reason to start having honey every day, all the time. Perhaps next time you have a cough, or burn yourself on the oven, you’ll reach for some honey. I know someone who uses honey as their facial cleanser because it’s anti-bacterial. Give it a try and see if you get the buzz about honey.
