Honey or Sugar: Do You Know Which is Better?
There are many options to sweeten an infusion or a dessert and, surely, you may wonder which is the healthiest (or the least harmful): honey or sugar?
Perhaps you consume natural herbal teas, you want to lose weight, or you’re are of the number of chemicals that white sugar often has. Therefore, in this article, we’ll tell you about the contest between honey and sugar: which sweetener will win?
Natural honey vs. man-made honey
Before talking about the differences between honey and sugar, it’s first important to clarify that there are two different types of honey: natural honey and made-made honey. Natural honey is a product that has not undergone any kind of processing, so it’s in its natural state. It’s also known as raw honey.
Man-made honey, on the other hand, has to undergo various thermal processes to increase its durability. The idea is to ensure that it can be on a shelf for a certain time without affecting its quality.
Generally speaking, and following the advice of experts, all types of honey have a high sugar content and a low water and acidity content. The main difference between both types of honey is that thermal processes can alter its composition, eliminating some minerals, enzymes, and antioxidants. In this sense, it’s always be advisable to opt for the most natural product.
Is honey healthier than sugar?
Although nutritionists indicate that it’s always better to drink tea without any sweetener, it’s more than usual to want to add something that provides a sweet taste. This is when we want to know which option is the most suitable: honey or sugar.
If we refer to honey (as long as it is organic) we must say that it sweetens more than refined sugars. It also provides antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. All this set of nutrients can help prevent colds, sore throats, and flu, according to a study conducted on rats in 2016.
A small amount of honey sweetens much more than a spoonful of sugar. Therefore, we will need less to get the same (or greater) results in desserts or infusions.
We should also not leave aside either that refined sugar provides empty calories. This means that it has no nutrients, no vitamins, or minerals.
Honey, being produced from the nectar of flowers, gives us a good amount of water and some nutritional properties.
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Honey or sugar: The differences and similarities
A major difference between both sweeteners is the type of sugar that each of them provides us with.
To begin with, refined or white sugar contains almost pure sucrose. Honey, on the other hand, contains fructose and glucose, although the former predominates over the latter. Despite this, you should know that fructose has a lower glycemic index than glucose and sucrose.
As for the taste, those who have tried the two will be able to corroborate their differences. Sugar is sweeter because of the sucrose it contains, but honey allows us to enjoy different tastes depending on the flowers with which it has been produced.
In favor of sugar in gastronomy, we can point out that it has the ability to caramelize and be used as decoration in cakes. In addition, its consistency makes it ideal for certain preparations and dishes. However, be aware that honey is not far behind: it can be used to compact cereal bars and add aromas to recipes.
To learn more about the differences and similarities between honey and sugar, we’ll leave you with a brief compilation of its properties according to experts: per 100 grams:
- Glycemic index: honey (58), sugar (60)
- Water: honey (17 grams), sugar (0.03 grams)
- Sugars: honey (80 grams), sugar (99.99 grams)
- Calories: honey (300), sugar (387)
- Calcium: honey (6 milligrams), sugar (1 milligram)
- Magnesium: honey (2 milligrams), sugar (0 milligrams)
- Phosphorus: honey (4 milligrams), sugar (0 milligrams)
- Potassium: honey (52 milligrams), sugar (2 milligrams)
Myths about honey
So far, we have said, objectively, what each sweetener offers so that you can draw your own conclusions. Doctor Gabe Mirkin, an expert in nutrition, explains why there are no huge differences between the use of honey and sugar.
Well, when sugar reaches the body (whether from an apple, a cake, or a tea with honey) it’s always treated in the same way. The difference lies in what “other things” that food leaves us once the sweetness has been absorbed.
Many believe that honey is less fattening than sugar, and this is a common myth that revolves around honey. At the same time, it’s often said that it is a faster source of energy, and this is also false.
If we analyze a spoonful of sugar and a spoonful of honey, the first will have 64 calories and the second 46 (plus water). However, this difference is not that significant.
Why? Well, because to obtain the same “sweet” result, you will need one spoonful of sugar or one and a half spoonfuls of honey. Therefore, you will be adding the same proportion of calories to the body.
For many years, honey has been used in the treatment of allergic conditions without any study supporting its effectiveness. However, research published in 2021 showed that this product is able to decrease the recruitment of inflammatory cells in this type of condition.
On the other hand, the mentioned study showed that honey relieves allergic symptoms in some patients. However, more research is still needed to determine the mechanisms of action involved.
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So, honey or sugar?
Actually, it all depends on our individual preferences. While we can opt for honey for a matter of naturalness, we also have the possibility of choosing the second one, since we will need less quantity to sweeten a tea, a coffee, or a flan.
There are many options to give a sweet taste to food and drinks. It’s not necessary to be so categorical and lean towards a single alternative.
The truth is that many foods we buy contain “empty” sugars or sweeteners. Therefore, a good idea could be to use honey in what we choose to sweeten (for example, an infusion or a homemade cake). The good news is that there are many options other than honey or sugar to sweeten recipes:
- Stevia
- Dates
- Coconut sugar
- Agave syrup
Likewise, let’s not forget mascabo or mascabado sugar (which contains honey) and molasses from grains such as rice, corn, or barley.
As you can see, the benefits of honey or sugar to sweeten meals aren’t as different as you may think. Both products provide a very similar amount of calories and have the same effects on glycemic control. In this sense, you will have to consider the particular benefits of each one and select the one that you believe is best for you.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
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- Sadeghi F, Salehi S, Kohanmoo A, Akhlaghi M. Effect of Natural Honey on Glycemic Control and Anthropometric Measures of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Controlled Crossover Trial. Int J Prev Med. 2019 Jan 15;10:3.
