Honey Vs Sugar – Which Is Better & Healthier Option?

W

hile sugar is interpreted as No.1 enemy in the food industry and health enthusiasts are trying to cut down on it, it’s very common for people to look for the nearest sugar alternatives like honey.

Both honey and sugar are kitchen staples in every house. Both are carbohydrates sources that add sweetness to meals, with honey being a liquid sweetener and sugar being a solid sweetener.

How to choose the right one among the two? Should we go by the sweeter option among the two, or should we toss and check heads/tails or there’s yet another option, go by the colour, golden Vs white? Well, this article aims to streamline the difference between honey and sugar and arrive at a conclusion as to which one is a better bet.

Let’s learn it all with a basic understanding of how sugar and honey are made…

How Is Honey Made?

Honey, a natural sweetener embraced by all ages is a beautiful golden, amber colour liquid made by honeybees. Honeybees collect nectar from flowers with their straw-like mouth, enzymes in the bee’s saliva cause a chemical reaction that turns the nectar into honey which is deposited into the walls of the hive as a super sweet viscous liquid.

Out of all the available honey, raw honey is the most original option as it is only strained (unprocessed, unheated, unpasteurized) before it’s bottled, hence retains most of the beneficial nutrients it naturally contains.

Honey is about 30% glucose and 40% fructose.

How Is Sugar Made?

Sugar is a white crystalline or powdered substance made by refining sucrose from sugarcane or sugar beets. It undergoes multistep processing before it becomes the refined, granulated table sugar that we use most often. 

There are 3 major varieties of sugar, brown sugar, white sugar and coconut sugar. Brown sugar (larger crystals) is a combination of white sugar and molasses, white sugar (small crystals) is a more refined form of sugar. Coconut sugar is made from the sap of the flower bud stem of the coconut palm.

Sugar is 50% glucose and 50% fructose.

TOP 10 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SUGAR & HONEY

Well, when we have listed out the differences and have arrived at a conclusion about the better choice, let me clear here two obvious questions that you might have..

Honey Vs Sugar For Exercisers

Those who perform physical exercise should prefer slow-burning sugars for the sustenance of energy during performance. Honey is beneficial in this regard as it’s mix of slow-burning sugars apart from fructose which it releases slowly into the bloodstream to produce a sustained energy boost and maintains homeostasis.

Sugar which is mainly glucose gets rapidly metabolized for absorption into the bloodstream for energy provision.

Honey Vs Sugar For Diabetics

For those trying to manage their blood sugar levels, or those with diabetes, there is no real advantage to substituting sugar for honey as both will ultimately affect blood sugar levels. You may prefer honey, a raw variety and use it in moderation, yet only upon seeking medical advice.

Note: The World Health Organization recommends we limit our intake of added sugars to less than 10% of daily calories.

In the debate between sugar and honey, honey may seem a better option or the better sugar substitute. This doesn’t mean, you can let your honey pour too freely, you need to consume it judiciously…

If you noticed our banner image, both sugar and honey are placed on the black background, meaning which you should keep a close eye on your portion sizes…

Reference:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3583289

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6115915

Also read: Fitness Resolution For New Year - These Tips Will Help It Sustain

Follow our Instagram page for the latest updates: badalkhudko