More Calories Than Sugar; Is Honey Really the Better Sweetener?
More Calories Than Sugar; Is Honey Really the Better Sweetener?
‘For a healthier option, replace your sugar with honey’
‘If you’re trying to lose weight, use honey as a substitute for sugar’
We’ve all heard advice like this thrown around sometime or the other . But is honey really better than sugar?
It might come as a surprise but the two are more similar than you’d think.
For one, they both have identical chemical compositions.
Sugar and honey are both carbohydrates mainly made up of fructose and glucose. which means that honey is basically made of sugar.
The difference is that while in sugar, the two combine together to form sucrose, in honey, they are independent of each other. Chemically this doesn't make them very different, but this makes honey far easier to digest than sugar.
Moving on to the big C word...
comparing the calorie count of the two, honey actually has more calories than sugar!
While a tbsp of sugar has 48 calories, the same amount of honey has 64 calories.
But is that reason enough to ditch it?
Absolutely not!
While it may be higher on calories, honey also has a lower GI (Glycemic Index) which means that it releases glucose in the blood slowly and does not spike your blood glucose like sugar does.
This property of honey makes it a significantly better choice for diabetics and those at risk of developing diabetes.
Moreover, its not what’s NOT in it but what’s in it that makes it the healthier choice.
More than Just A Sweetener
While both sugar and honey are carbohydrate sweeteners, honey is packed with other enzymes and natural acids.
Nutritionist and health writer Kavita Devgan has this to say, “It is easily absorbed into the body and is an excellent source of minerals such as iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium, potassium as well as vitamins like B complex and K.”
It has 18 types of amino acids and contains Vitamin B6 and flavonoids that act as antioxidants.
Not to mention honey has been used for centuries in ancient medicine for its anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties.
Honey may have more calories, but its not JUST calories, so if you can ignore the calorie-count, honey turns out to be the healthier option when compared to sugar because you’ll end up gaining a lot more than just a bit of sweetness.
All things considered, If you're not on a strict no-cal diet, it's a good idea to ditch the sugar and switch to honey!
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