Diet
The Sweet Truth About Honey and Diabetes
Honey has been used as an effective sweetener in cooking and baking throughout history, but there’s no denying that it’s far sweeter than any refined sugar we can buy at the grocery store. Many people ask if honey is good for diabetics or if honey will affect blood sugar levels, so I’m going to share what we know about honey and diabetes here today. If you suffer from type 1 or type 2 diabetes, this is definitely something you should be aware of.
Is Honey Safe for People With Diabetes?
Diabetes is a chronic condition where the individual’s blood sugar is uncontrolled, so the person must track and regulate their diet to maintain a healthy sugar level.
When a person with diabetes is told that sugar is off-limits, they might wonder if some types of sugar are better for them than others. One example is honey, which is often praised for its nutritive value.
Bees convert nectar into honey by a process that results in the majority of it being primarily made up of water and two sugars: fructose and glucose.
That leaves any sugars and an unusual quantity of supplements, with each tablespoon of honey containing about 17 grams of carbohydrates and 60 calories.
In contrast, the 50-50 glucose-fructose combo in white sugar is the same proportion of carbohydrate-calorie content and vitamins and minerals as sucrose.
Some people include honey in their coffee and tea or as a sweetener in their cooking. But is honey safe for people with diabetes? The short answer is YES, but only if certain conditions are met.
Folks living with diabetes still enjoy chocolate, doughnuts, and the like. All they have to do is limit how much and what kind they consume.
Provided you are drinking it in moderation, honey might not only be safe, but it can help to lower the risk of diabetes-related complications.
How does honey affect blood sugar?
And so, honey’s being a natural sugar and a carbohydrate makes it so that it will naturally affect your blood sugar in some way. However, when we compare honey to table sugar, honey has a lesser effect.
A study of honey and table sugar on blood sugar levels involving individuals with and without type 1 diabetes.
Although honey increased participants’ blood sugar after consumption, their levels later dropped and were stable for a period of two hours.
I’ve been told honey is quite different from table sugar and could cause an increase in insulin. It’s not really clear yet.
How to Safely Enjoy Honey With Diabetes
Nonetheless, it’s still an added sugar in the diet, so those with diabetes need to use it in moderation as part of a healthy diet. If you include enough vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes in your diet, you can stabilize your blood sugar levels.
Beware of the carb content in a meal that includes honey and other healthy carbs so that you don’t put your body in a hyperglycemic state.
Some people enjoy honey in its raw form, meaning that no sugars have been added. This might be fine for some but it may also contain tiny amounts of pollen and other solids. On the other hand, filtered honey has solids removed, but most agree that it is sweeter and lacks that flavor and feel that is attributed to raw honey.
There’s A Difference Between Natural And Organic Honey
To avoid diabetes and improve their sugar intake, the best honey is organic, pure, raw honey that comes from the bees without sugar or other additives and is either not pasteurized or has been heated to kill any naturally occurring bacteria (it might contain botulism causing spores).
Another possible instance is a bottle labeled ‘natural honey’. Bees, working at a bee farm, make the honey as they would, but this can then be treated further by the company or farmer after it is collected.
How to Choose The Right Honey?
If you are considering spending your hard-earned money on a bottle of expensive Manuka honey, then it is crucial to know how to identify the right kind of honey. If you use these simple tips, you will make a well-informed purchase.
To purchase honey that is of medicinal potency, check the UMF, or Unique Manuka Factor, which is a way to determine how much natural propolis (found in honey) is present. UMF 10+ is required for proper potency. A superior grade of honey has a 16+ UMF rating. Raw, organic honey is thick and doesn’t dissolve instantly. When pure honey is mixed with water, it falls to the bottom of the glass.
Pure, organic honey is viscous and does not separate into layers.
A spoonful of pure honey, when added to a glass of water, will typically sink to the bottom and not immediately dissolve.
How to Safely Enjoy Honey With Diabetes
Nonetheless, it’s still an added sugar in the diet, so those with diabetes need to use it in moderation as part of a healthy diet. If you include enough vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes in your diet, you can stabilize your blood sugar levels.
Beware of the carb content in a meal that includes honey and other healthy carbs so that you don’t put your body in a hyperglycemic state.
Some people enjoy honey in its raw form, meaning that no sugars have been added. This might be fine for some but it may also contain tiny amounts of pollen and other solids. On the other hand, filtered honey has solids removed, but most agree that it is sweeter and lacks that flavor and feel that is attributed to raw honey.
