Honey contains higher calories than sugar. Is it astonishing?

Every now and then something comes up to replace another thing. There is a trend going on social media and other platforms that if you want to be in shape then ” cut down the sugar “. Then, there comes honey in the picture to replace sugar. Now the question is that what are those qualities in honey that makes it a better replacement even though both are sweeteners.

Honey and sugar both add sweetness to the food but they have completely different texture and taste. But before diving into the debate, let’s first understand why sugary foods are avoided in order to get into shape and honey is adopted for a matter of fact. What are those reasons people have started adapting themselves to low sugar containing food. It is because sugar contains carbohydrate which in turn, is made up of glucose and fructose. Most processed foods contain fructose that gives that extra sweetness. What is wrong with fructose is that it is associated with obesity, diabetes and other liver problems. Body can easily metabolize it and it further causes a sudden spike in blood sugar level.

Now, let’s discuss the facts that leads to replacement of sugar with honey.

Honey is not just sweetener, but a medicine

Yes, We all know that honey has been used as medicine in homeopathy and in modern science also doctors recommend honey for several reasons. For example, it is used to suppress cough and to treat bronchitis. Different honey consists of different nutritional composition depending upon the nectar collected by bees. But, in general, one tablespoon of honey contains 64 kilocalories and 16g of sugar and various essential minerals and vitamins, for example,

Potassium

Calcium

Magnesium

Manganese

Flavonoids

Raw honey has more health benefits than the regular honey. Because it consists of pollens, which have antioxidants. So, they help preventing a number of chronic disease.

You can buy different flavors of honey at Tungnath.

Less processed than sugar

Honey is better than sugar because it has less fructose content. Honey has other minerals and vitamins like amino acids, potassium, calcium, enzymes that sugar does not have. Honey only goes under pasteurization for increasing shelf-life while sugar undergoes whole lot of process which makes it devoid of important nutritional components. Raw honey has more antioxidants than the pasteurized one.

Honey prevents allergy

In an experiment people with pollen allergy were given raw honey, it was found that those people with severe symptoms got relief by 70%. They reduced their antihistamine intake by 50% with regular use. This is because honey has anti-inflammatory properties which sugar does not have at all despite having less caloric content. Honey already contains pollen in a limited amount and when allergic body is exposed to honey containing pollen itself, body starts developing defense mechanism by itself because the pollen present in honey are in mild state. It helps body to fight those attackers and help giving immunity. So what we make out of it is that how much we eat is not so important but what we eat is important.

Easier to digest

Honey is easier to digest because of its composition while sugar is difficult to digest. Body starts processing sugar immediately after ingestion and this cause sudden spike in blood sugar level. Honey produced by honeybees has enzymes present in it which helps breaking it down even before ingesting.

Sugar cause health problems

Sugar has higher glycemic index than honey. It means it causes spike in blood sugar level and quick increase of energy, followed by sudden tiredness, headaches. Weight gain and obesity are also caused by high sugar consumption. Liver metabolize refined fructose that can cause fatty liver disease and high low density cholesterol that start building up on the walls of blood vessel. This build up is called plaque. As blood vessels build up plaque over time, they become narrow. This narrow passage blocks blood flow to the heart and other organs. Dental cavities develop faster with high sugar diet especially in milk teeth.

The Bottom Line

SO, THE ASTONISHING FACT THAT WE TALKED ABOUT IN STARTING MAKES SOME SENSE NOW THAT EVEN THOUGH HONEY CONTAINS MORE CALORIES THAN SUGAR YET IT HAS HIGHER NUTRITION VALUE. HONEY IS SWEETER THAN SUGAR AND THEREFORE IT IS MORE LIKELY THAT LESS QUANTITY WILL PROBABLY HELP MORE.