For many of us, a drizzle of honey can feel more wholesome and natural than a spoonful of sugar. Most us know that honey comes from flowers and bees, while table sugar arrives to us as crystals in a jar or bag.
But "'natural' doesn’t mean blood sugar neutral," says Erin Palinski-Wade, a New Jersey-based registered dietitian and author of "2-Day Diabetes Diet." And it doesn’t necessarily mean nutritionally superior, either. Both are concentrated sweeteners, count as added sugars when stirred into tea or baked into cookies and can raise your glucose levels.
And while honey does have some nutritional differences and other distinguishing characteristics from sugar, portion size – and the rest of your diet – matters far more than the color or thickness
of the sweetener you choose.
What is honey? Is honey good for you?
Honey is flower nectar "that bees transform into a concentrated sweetener," says Palinski-Wade. This occurs as bees collect the nectar, pass it between themselves to change its composition and deposit the developing honey into honeycomb cells. In short, "they add enzymes to break down the sugars and then fan their wings to evaporate the water before storing the honey in the comb," Palinski-Wade explains. From there, beekeepers remove the surrounding combs, extract and strain the honey, and often also heat it to slow crystallization and destroy yeast.
The end product contains trace amounts of vitamins and minerals such as niacin, potassium and vitamin C, which support energy metabolism, nerve and muscle function and immune function, respectively, plus a small amount of protein, which the body uses to build and repair tissues. But honey is still a sweetener, "not a multivitamin," says Palinski-Wade, as all such nutrients "occur in amounts too small to make a meaningful nutritional contribution."
At the same time, "honey does offer a variety of antioxidants, though the specific types depend on its floral source," says Yasi Ansari, a registered dietitian nutritionist and Los Angeles-based certified specialist in sports dietetics. Such antioxidants include flavonoids and phenolic acids, compounds studied for their potential to limit oxidative damage and influence inflammation. But findings from laboratory studies don’t establish that the small amounts in a typical serving of honey produce meaningful health benefits in people.
While Palinski-Wade says that while darker honey commonly contains more antioxidants, and raw honey often retains more heat-sensitive compounds, neither has been proven to be broadly healthier.
What is table sugar? Is table sugar good for you?
Table sugar, also called sucrose, "comes from sugar cane or sugar beets, so it starts with plants, too," says Palinski-Wade. Manufacturers produce it by crushing the cane or extracting the sugar from sliced beets in water, which clarifies the extracted juice, concentrating it into syrup and then crystallizing the sucrose, Ansari explains. She adds that this refining process also removes molasses and nearly all original plant compounds, "though the carbohydrates remain."
This matters, she explains, because during digestion, the body splits the sucrose into glucose and fructose, with the glucose supplying readily available energy and the fructose being processed largely by the liver. In these ways, both sugars can provide quick fuel, which is useful during prolonged, intense exercise and can also be helpful in treating low blood sugar.
Table sugar also contains traces of minerals such as calcium and potassium, though no meaningful amount of either, Ansari says. It can also be useful for making certain nutritious foods more appealing, such as sprinkling a small amount on a grapefruit half or adding brown sugar to oatmeal.
Is it healthier to eat honey instead of sugar?
Neither sweetener is necessarily better for your overall health than the other, and both have other distinct advantages and drawbacks to be mindful of.
Honey adds a distinct flavor and aroma and can taste sweeter than table sugar. "And I like that you don’t need as much honey as table sugar to sweeten what you’re eating or drinking," adds Ansari. Honey also helps retain moisture when baking, which can be useful in foods like muffins and soft cakes, though substituting it may require adjusting a recipe’s other ingredients.
Honey can also have a lower glycemic index than table sugar, meaning some varieties may raise blood sugar more slowly when compared at equivalent carbohydrate amounts. Palinski-Wade stresses that responses vary considerably with the type of honey, the amount consumed and individual factors such as insulin sensitivity.
"What we eat in combination with sugar-containing foods can also make a big difference in how quickly blood sugar rises and drops," Ansari adds. For example, adding honey to plain Greek yogurt with nuts may produce a more gradual rise than eating the same amount on white bread, because the yogurt and nuts supply protein and fat, while the bread adds more readily digested carbohydrates.
Tablespoon for tablespoon, "honey actually has more calories," Palinski-Wade says: about 64 compared with sugar’s 49. And "because an infant’s intestinal microbiome is still developing," says Ansari, you should never give honey to a baby under 1. "This includes pasteurized honey," echoes Palinski-Wade, as either type "can carry bacterial spores that produce a dangerous, paralysis-causing toxin in an infant’s intestines."
Ansari notes that sugar is more affordable, easier to measure and more convenient to store. It also has a more neutral taste and distinct cooking advantages, such as giving baked goods structure, browning and crispness.
But table sugar supplies calories without any of the the protein, antioxidants or appreciable micronutrients of honey. Its glucose component can also raise blood sugar levels quickly, which can make managing diabetes more challenging, particularly when portions are large.
Either sweetener can displace more nutrient-rich foods, make excess calories easier to consume and contribute to dental cavities.
All such factors are among the reasons the American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugars to about 25 grams daily for most women and 36 grams for men, equivalent to roughly six and nine teaspoons of table sugar, respectively.
Ansari says that "personal preference" should probably dictate your choice, rather than any minor nutritional differences between the two. "You might choose honey due to its aroma or floral taste," she says, or opt instead for sugar because you prefer its neutral flavor or the texture it creates in your favorite recipe.
"While honey might bring some antioxidants to the table," says Palinski-Wade, "research hasn’t established any clear health advantage over sugar."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Think honey is healthier than sugar? What to know
