Honey and Sugar are common sweeteners used to prepare dishes, snacks, and other palatable edibles. According to a Healthline article I looked up, honey is a dark brown or pale yellow viscous liquid that bees produce. Contrarily, sugar is a refined, white or brown sweetener made from sugar beet or sugarcane crops. According to MedicalNewsToday, nutritionists, dietitians, and health practitioners have had relentless debates focused on which of these two sweeteners is healthier for consumption. Is honey healthier than sugar? Or is sugar safer for consumption than honey? In this article, I will discuss extensively which of these food sweeteners is healthier and why.
According to Healthline, Honey is a natural sweetener that is used for both culinary and medicinal purposes.
This is because it is rich in enzymes (catalase, glucose oxidase, carotenoid derivatives), vitamins (ascorbic acid, niacin, riboflavin, and pantothenic acid), minerals (potassium, iron, manganese, zinc), essential amino acids, flavonoid and water and fortifies the human body system. Significantly, honey is composed of 70% sugar and 30% of water. More so, nutritionists found out that the sugar in honey -fructose gives more energy and is easily digestible. When you consume honey, diastase, catalase, and phosphate, stomach-friendly enzymes in honey act readily on fructose and improve the rate at which it is digested in the alimentary canal.
One study in 2007 discovered that honey contains potassium and pyridoxine- two key water-soluble minerals that are used by pharmaceutical industries to produce cough syrups and sore throat drugs. Further analysis revealed that these minerals inhibit the growth of microbes in the respiratory tract. Therefore, raw honey is a potent treatment for flu, cold, catarrh, and other respiratory tract illness in both children and adults.
In addition, from ancient times to date, honey is used to treat sores and wounds. Why? Its relative thickness provides a protective coating above the wound, preventing any form of infection resulting from tetanus or antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Thus, honey is an excellent analgesic and inflammatory agent.
After several laboratory experiments, scientists revealed that consuming honey frequently prevents any form of cardiac-related diseases in patients and healthy individuals who are exposed to the risk of heart disease. Unlike its vicious texture, honey is an embodiment of flavonoids such as quercetin, chrysin, and phenolic acids that protect and strengthen blood vessels that carry blood to and away from the heart.
Sugar, on the other hand, has a complex chemical structure because it is refined and contains no digestive enzyme. Hence, it takes a longer time for it to get digested and absorbed into the body system. You should also be mindful that excessive sugar consumption causes tooth cavities and gum problems in 6 out of 10 cases.
Asides from this, ingestion of sugar increases the risk of obesity and cholesterol. Also, sugar must not be administered to diabetics because it raises the blood glucose level faster than honey, causes difficulty in concentration, tiredness, and liver complications, plus exposes one to the risk of heart attack, stroke, and other terminal cardiac diseases.
It is in this light that an article culminated by ResearchGate concluded that honey is very healthy to consume compared to sugar. Note that nutritionists and dietitians advise individuals to cut down consumption of sugar and take honey sparingly to attain maximum health effects.
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