Can I have honey

Honey contains sugar but it depends how much you have and how it affects you.
The usual advice is to try it once, test before, test 2 hours afterwards and decide based on your findings.

There is no list.

Honey is around 82% carbohydrates, nearly all of that is sugar.
So it is generally inadvisable for T2s to eat honey, in the same was as it is inadvisable to eat sugar.

For non-diabetics honey can be a better option than refined sugar because it isn't processed with loads of chemicals. Because of this it is generally classified as "healthy".

However as with most other things "healthy" for non-diabetics doesn't necessarily mean "healthy" for diabetics.

pauline60 said:

I am type 2 diabetic can I have honey or is it off the list.

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we are all different in our reactions to foods. I will page @daisy1 to give you the basics for people new to diabetes and self testing. Welcome to the forum.

pauline60 said:

I am type 2 diabetic can I have honey or is it off the list.

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PS Answers to what foods and drinks will be affected by what medication you are on. I notice, from your profile, that you are a man, but havent mentioned any meds yet. May i ask if you are taking medication please?

pauline60 said:

I am type 2 diabetic can I have honey or is it off the list.

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My husband, upon going for a pre op, had a blood glucose of 19. They asked if he was diabetic, which he isn't. When he came home and told me, I tested his blood and it had gone down to 17. Two hours later it was back down to 5.6. We realised upon testing the next morning that it was the spoonful of honey he put on his porridge because it was normal beforehand, but spiked to 20 within an hour of eating. He no longer has honey as if it can make a non-diabetic's blood spike, imagine what it will do to a diabetic.

Dodo said:

My husband, upon going for a pre op, had a blood glucose of 19. They asked if he was diabetic, which he isn't. When he came home and told me, I tested his blood and it had gone down to 17. Two hours later it was back down to 5.6. We realised upon testing the next morning that it was the spoonful of honey he put on his porridge because it was normal beforehand, but spiked to 20 within an hour of eating. He no longer has honey as if it can make a non-diabetic's blood spike, imagine what it will do to a diabetic.

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Wow! I didn't know that was even possible for a non diabetic to spike that high no matter what they ate.

thats a big spike. mustbe very sensitive to it. experiment with normal sugar see if it does the same.

KK123 said:

Wow! I didn't know that was even possible for a non diabetic to spike that high no matter what they ate.

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After a couple of hours his blood was back as it should be. He made an appointment at the doctors and was told he could be pre-diabetic. He immediately stopped using honey and has since started low carbing. Not only has his HbA1c gone down to 35 but he has lost over 2 stone in weight and his knees and feet problems have gone. He has also come off his blood pressure medication, all thanks to realising how bad honey was for blood glucose. He still likes his beer, wine and gin though!

@pauline60

Hello Pauline and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask more questions when you need to and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 259,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding.

• Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
• Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.

LittleGreyCat said:

Honey is around 82% carbohydrates, nearly all of that is sugar.
So it is generally inadvisable for T2s to eat honey, in the same was as it is inadvisable to eat sugar.

For non-diabetics honey can be a better option than refined sugar because it isn't processed with loads of chemicals. Because of this it is generally classified as "healthy".

However as with most other things "healthy" for non-diabetics doesn't necessarily mean "healthy" for diabetics.

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Hm. I might not agree with that one. Honey is mainly fructose which is bad news for the body compared with sugar as it can't metabolise it easily and stores it as fat. Sucrose is only 50% fructose and I'm not aware it contains any 'chemicals'?