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Honey

E

Ellen

Active Member
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25
Location
United Kingdom
Hi, while on holiday a few years ago I read an article in a magazine which said that honey is ok for diabetics. Is this true? It also said that in Ireland they use honey as a sweetener instead of sugar and they have a far lower rate of diabetes than we do. I rather like honey so I am hoping this is true! Sorry I can't quote my source as it was a couple of years ago. Until I came here I had no-one to ask (who would know the answer).
 
Hi Ellen, I asked that question of my D Nurse and the answer I got was that the jury was still out on that one, I still haven't found out, but I have a little on toast now and again, as yet haven't tested after it..(must do) :)

Linda
 
Thanks for replies. I thought it might be too good to be true! I only like it moderately anyway. I use artificial sweeteners in coffee but nothing in tea. Linda, it probably won't harm you now and again. We have to have something nice to eat!
 
Honey has a much lower glycaemic index (about 50 from memory). Therefore it doesn't provide the same peak of blood sugar. In that regard it is a better sweetner for diabetics but not as good for a calorie controlled diet.

The same goes for fructose- its glycaemic index is 49 (from memory).

100 is given to glucose as a standard.

Marty B
 
We use stevia (from leaves) to sweeten drinks and Organic Blue Agave (a cactus nectar) as a syrup/honey.

The Agave we treat as a carb and the stevia we use freely.

Happy Trails,
Proverbs 17:22
 
Hi Lynda,

As mentioned in response to a different post from you, Stevia is banned throughout Europe. I've not heard of a honey extracted from Blue Agave, but the plant is supposed to be beneficial in the treatment of Crohn's disease and colitis, although more widely known as what tequila is made from.
 
When I had a sore throat and asked my nurse if I could have honey and lemon and what would that do to my sugars.. she just said try it and see. Thankfully I'm not ill that often so I do indulge in a drop of honey to sweeten my hot lemon.
 
Honey is healthier as a sweetner than sugar for diabetics. As is is more dense, you can use less of it. Still, try to avoid any.

Aspartame seems to be an apetite stimulant on recent rumours.

Marty B
 
I'm still not sure if its better for you than sugar, but I love honey sometimes lol its one hundred percent better tasting!

"An apple a day keeps you heal-thy"
 
As a few people have suggested, the best thing to do is to try some then test one hour and again two hours after you have eaten. You will soon be able to tell how it affects you.

There are no "right or wrong" foods for people with diabetes. The important thing is to see how you react to it and take it from there. And, of course, if you are a type one on basal/bolus you can simply adjust your short acting insulin if you do fancy some honey now and again!

LJ
 
Sarah, we are destined never to agree on anything, LOL!

I don't think it's possible to say that honey isn't suitable for everyone with diabetes.

A type I on a basal/bolus regime can have honey with some toast (in the same way as marmalade/jam) provided they have adjusted their rapid acting insulin appropriately!

I also know of a very well-informed Tpye II (with an hba1c of 5.1 or something great like that) who occasionally enjoys some too. Great healing powers in honey - natural anticeptic. My original advice stands: everyone's different, and you have to experiment.

LJ
 
The way your body absorbs sugars in honey is much easier. I will not talk about lowerGI in honey orthe amount of fructose or sucrose but you can test your blood sugar after eating honey and you will be pleasantly surprised
 
My last cold, about 14 months ago, drove me to a Lemsip sweetened with a small teaspoon of honey.

To my surprise the drink had no effect at all on my BG levels.

I can also eat a slice of wholemeal multigrain bread with butter and a scrape of honey with no effect at all. But that is very very occasionally.

Viv 8)
 
hi there

just took a look at a jar of honey in the cupboard and the values say that in 100g of honey 76.4g is carbohydrate and of which sugars is 76.4g this suggests that this honey is very fast acting sugar and 75% of the product is simply sugar based this is no surprise to be fair. however knowing that it is a fast acting sugar lets us know that the peak in the blood sugars will occur fairly rapidly. if the two values between carbs and of which sugars is significantly different then its a slow release sugar meaning the rise and fall in blood sugar will occur over a longer period. If you count your carbs then 5g of honey on toast is likely to shift your bloods up by 1.2 mmols if you are on a 1unit to 10g of carbs ratio. Of course you need to count the toast value as well which will be significantly more but im highlifhting the effect of honey. small amounts shouldnt have a huge effect and its calculable. large amounts in cakes and similar are harder to calculate because although you may have the total value of honey used in the cake- you need to know what portion of it youve consumed to make an accurate judgement on how many units to take to conteract its affect on you.
there is no specific answer because as stated above we are all different - some dont count carbs some who do are on different ratios.
Be aware this particular brand of clear honey i looked at has shown its a very fast acting sugar and will have a rapid effect on your blood sugars. perhaps you should consider it a possible option for hypo treatment?
certainly for newly diagnosed patients its not the best choice

hope this helps and sorry if ive confused anyone

:?
 
If you decide to use honey, make sure it isnt mainstream mass produced honey. Those honey bee are fed sugar water only, and some of the sugar comes from High Fructose Corn Syrup which is passed into the honey.

It is best to stick to naturally produced honey, from small producers. They harvest the honey in Autumn, and so the bees are kept alive over winter with sugar syrup made from sugar cane or beet, but the harvested honey is pure pollen honey produced in Spring and Summer, and collected in Autumn. The bees dont make honey from the Winter sugar feed, they use it to keep alive, so the Spring and Summer honey isnt tainted by artificial sugar feed.

My FIL kept his own hives for 50 years, so he told us many things about bee keeping and why local honey is more expensive than Gales or Rouse honey. Most of the huge commercial honey bees in the production areas never even see a plant.
 
I have some bad side effects from certain chemical sweeteners so tend to avoid them. But when I'm absolutely desperate for something sweet I use The Groovy Food Co's Agave Nectar. It has 3.57g per teaspoon and it says its super low GI. You can spread it on bread, toast, crackers, cook with it. It's plant based and doesn't have the heavy aftertaste of honey. It has a more liquid consistency than honey. But it's lovely. You can buy it in ASDA, TESCO and all the usual supermarkets. :D

http://www.groovyfood.co.uk/pages/about.html
 
lucylocket61 said:
So the Agave Nectar is 71.4% carbs per 100g. No better than honey : (
Click to expand...

I personally don't like the taste of or the aftertaste of honey. I find it way too powerful and cloying. So for me, yes, Agave Nectar is better than honey. If we're comparing carb values only, it may be the same carb value - but I wouldn't be eating 100g of it at a time, I'd be using it to sweeten tea or perhaps as a spread and at 1 tsp x 3.57g it's a very clean and delicate kind of sweetness.
 
but I wouldn't be eating 100g of it at a time, I'd be using it to sweeten tea or perhaps as a spread and at 1 tsp x 3.57g it's a very clean and delicate kind of sweetness.
Click to expand...

But thats how people use honey. Honey is 17 carbs per teaspoon, so half that of agave . Poeple dont eat 100g of honey at a time.

I appreciate that, for reasons of personal taste, you have chosen agave which has twice the carbs of honey.
 
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