Honey ok to eat?

ABK · 01-10-2009, 12:12 AM

My dr told me to stay away from starch and sugar as much as i could. Does anyone know if honey is ok to eat? I know it's a sugar, but it's as natural sweetener as they come.

Jashobeam · 01-10-2009, 02:16 AM

It depends on how much you eat and what your health problems are. If you are not diabetic, there is no problem with a bit of honey. If you are diabetic it's going to raise your blood sugar. I buy fake honey and real honey, but we rarely eat them. According to what type of honey it can be moderate to high on the GI scale.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/diabetes/AN00425

Quote:

Generally, there's no advantage to substituting honey for sugar in a diabetes eating plan. Both honey and sugar will affect your blood sugar level.

Honey is sweeter than granulated sugar, so you might use a smaller amount of honey for sugar in some recipes. But honey actually has slightly more carbohydrates and more calories per teaspoon than does granulated sugar — so any calories and carbohydrates you save will be nominal.

If you prefer the taste of honey, go ahead and use it — but only in moderation. Be sure to count the carbohydrates in honey as part of your diabetes eating plan.

Here is some other info, that suggests it is better than white sugar on insulin/blood sugar levels:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18800887?ordinalpos=3&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsP anel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17887941?ordinalpos=11&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsP anel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

siamlovex2 · 01-13-2009, 08:36 PM

ABK, you may want to try "agave nectar" in place of honey...it's similar to taste and consistency to honey, but has a much lower glycemic index (it's NOT lower calorie, however!). You can buy agave nectar in most health food stores these days.