Will it make any difference to my health if I sweeten my tea/coffee with honey, instead of sugar, and why?
You can check the answer of the people under the question at Quora “can you sweeten coffee with honey“
Will it make any difference to my health if I sweeten my tea/coffee with honey, instead of sugar, and why?
You can check the answer of the people under the question at Quora “can you sweeten coffee with honey“
Not really, no. Sugar is still sugar. The bigger difference for your health would be to dial down your tastebuds to stop needing everything to be sweet.
From the diabetes standpoint, no.
Honey and cane sugar (both white and raw) are both sugar and you still have to watch how much of it you ingest. This goes for every type: maple syrup, dried fruits, fruit juices.
The only upside to honey would be that, since it’s fructose, it might taste sweeter to you than sugar (glucose) and so you will use less.
Generally yes.
Much of packaged sugar sold at stores or offered at restaurants are processed and might contain chemicals that are harmful if consumed in large amounts. That processed sugar is also harder for the natural digestive system to break down and results in health problems and weight gain.
Honey is generally a much safer and healthier alternative. The sugars are more natural, not processed (that’s if you’re having natural honey straight from the hive, opposed from the also chemically processed honey sold at stores).
Read the ingredients on the bottles of honey you buy, read for dangerous chemicals on the sugar packets.
Although, a little doesn’t hurt. Think of the emotional health you receive from eating cake. Mental/emotional health is important too 😉
Aloha,
Welcome to my world. The last time I used sugar was before I started beekeeping , over 25 years ago. also about the last time I got sick or had a cold!! I haven’t used sugar since and haven’t missed being sick, I’m like a bee, up at dawn and down with the sun.
Probably not. Assuming you’re adding enough honey to achieve an equal level of sweetness your total sugar consumption will be similar. If, however, the use of honey means you’re drinking a less-sweet beverage then the reduction of empty calories might be worth it.
Honey is a relatively high fructose sugar, it’s health effects are roughly the same as table sugar, high fructose corn syrup, or any other source of simple sugars.
Yes but it’s not practical in a lot of recipes. Like cakes, cookies, etc. You can get the sugar substitute that comes in a bag. I just use the Great Value brand from Walmart. Tastes the same.
Eight O’Clock
When it comes down to what it consists of then you have sugar vs. sugar with impurities (honey). So, no. It’s basically sugar.
Honey is 82% sugar
The 18% that isn’t consists mostly of water (17%), and a few trace elements (1%) that account for the flavour and such.
So yea, if you’re trying to limit your calories, honey is indeed just as bad as sugar.
Victor Allen’s
Slightly. Most of honey’s benefits are destroyed with heat.
The body takes more time to break down honey than it does processed refined sugar. That means honey is associated with a slower rise of blood sugar, a longer digestion process and more satiety.
sugar is 50 percent fructose and 50 percent glucose
honey contains 40 percent fructose and 30 percent glucose
The remainder of honey consists of:
water
pollen
minerals, including magnesium and potassium These additional components may be responsible for some of the health benefits of honey.
Sugar is higher on the glycemic index (GI) than honey, meaning it raises blood sugar levels more quickly. This is due to its higher fructose content, and the absence of trace minerals.
But honey has slightly more calories than sugar, although it is sweeter, so less may be required. Both sweeteners can lead to weight gain if overused.
Personally I try to use honey in baking as well as in my tea. I have almost cut all refined sugars, including high fructose, from any food I consume
Unless you drink several cups of tea per day, I can’t see that this one thing would make a great difference in your life. Besides, I don’t like the flavor of honey in my tea. I want it sweet, not flavored. However, the amount of calories is probably not much different.
Will it make any difference to my health if I sweeten my tea/coffee with honey, instead of sugar, and why?
Yes. Why?
Honey and refined sugar are composed of different chemicals. They are not the same. Sucrose (table sugar) is chemically different from glucose and fructose mixed together (the main ingredients of honey by volume).
Let’s say it again: the two are different compounds. Sure, they’re similar , and sure, sucrose is normally broken down into simple sugars prevalent in honey during digestion – yet they are not the same.
“Honey is mostly sugar”? Yes, and? Seawater is mostly water, and? Goes down well after a good workout?
Yet honey is farther away from sucrose (table sugar) than pure water is from seawater. Perhaps not purely on taste – but certainly in chemical composition. I invite those who say it’s basically the same, to use seawater for their hydration efforts for a day or two. How did that go?
Healthier?
From “ Honey and Diabetes: The Importance of Natural Simple Sugars in Diet for Preventing and Treating Different Type of Diabetes ” (NCBI – NIH):
… experimental studies … support honey as a novel antidiabetic agent that might be of potential significance for the management of diabetes and its complications and also highlights the potential impacts and future perspectives on the use of honey as an antidiabetic agent.
In other words, substituting sugar with honey may be beneficial for managing and preventing diabetes.
No diabetes? OK. Does the fact that it makes a difference for diabetics prove anything to you? No? Nothing further, your honor, I rest my case. Honey: pass me that pill, and let’s all pray it won’t soon become a needle.
Or not?
Proponents of the “just take a pill” medicine and lifestyle are unlikely to see any health effects from using honey vs. sugar. After all, Walmart – or Rite-Aid – or even Costco or Trader Joe’s “organic” honey may not be a honey at all. In same cases, that “organic” honey was a diluted HFCS with additives imported from China via Brazil (or Ukraine) with a “USDA Organic” label slapped on it. (Wish I was kidding – and it is us consumers who are to blame.)
Proponents of healthy lifestyles based on concepts of taking a lifetime to learn one’s body and mind – i.e. that being healthy is constant work and practice with no guarantees but very good chances – can bet their sweet taste buds honey will make a difference.
But… the television says to just take a pill, get a chilled Coke and pour some Sue Bee over my pancakes?
Honey, pass the remote (and the pill) and let me again immerse myself in the glory of the awesome havoc the orange hue and FSB wreak on the world.
Honey?