Is it true that honey is better than sugar for weight loss?

It is widely believed that honey is the best alternative to sugar when trying to lose weight. We decided to check if this is true.

Articles You can compare the benefits for humans from honey and sugar meet on resources O medicine and healthy image life, in glossy magazines, V social networks, even on official portals medical institutions. Network users ask, is it possible to replace sugar with honey while on a diet for women? forums, V services questions and answers, in blogs.

One of the most common reasons weight gain is added sugar and products containing it: sweet soda, candy, cakes, etc. In 100 g of table sugar contained as much as 99.98 g of carbohydrates, its nutritional value is 387 kcal. There is nothing bad in carbohydrates in themselves; we need them for normal life: they give energy, help you be active during the day. In addition, sugar can increase mood due to the production of the hormones serotonin and dopamine, reduce the level of cortisol is a stress hormone, so you shouldn’t completely give up sweets. We already wrotethat due to these properties, sugar can even cause addiction. Since white sugar does not contain any other beneficial substances besides carbohydrates, it is often called empty calories. In brown sugar contained a certain amount of vitamins and biologically significant substances, but in too small concentrations to bring any benefit to the body.

Honey is a mixture of water and sugars (a class of substances that includes sucrose, glucose, fructose, maltose, galactose). Also included in it There is a number of useful substances: B vitamins, calcium, zinc, iron, etc. It should be noted that their content in this product, like in brown sugar, is very small, so you should not seriously count on the fact that honey will be able to compensate for the lack of these substances in your body. In 100 g of honey contained 82.4 g carbohydrates, 0.3 g protein, no fat. The nutritional value of this product is 304 kcal. As you can see, both the number of calories and the carbohydrate content in honey are lower than in sugar, which really makes it a more dietary product.  

In addition, honey is potentially Maybe activate appetite-suppressing hormones and have a “protective effect against obesity.” Due to the fructose content, honey tastes 25% better sweeter sugar, which means that by adding it to tea, you will get the same effect with a smaller volume and, accordingly, fewer calories consumed. Glycemic index honey is lower than sugar (although not much, 58 versus 60). Experts thinkthat the higher this indicator for products, the more they provoke a feeling of hunger, which, in turn, can lead to overeating and weight gain.

To finally put an end to this issue, in 2011, scientists from the University of San Diego conducted experiment. 36 male rats were divided into two groups and fed sugar or honey for about a month. When weighed, it was found that the group that ate honey gained almost 15% less weight than those rats that ate pure sucrose.

In 2014, a sports nutritionist and, in his own words, a retired pharmacist Mike McInnes published a book entitled "Honey diet" In it, he argued that if we replace all the sugar in our diet with honey, and also drink a hot drink with a spoonful of honey half an hour before bed, this will help us lose weight. But if you study his diet in more detail, it turns out that in addition to this replacement, the nutritionist also advises giving up fast food, ready-made food, generally limiting the amount of carbohydrates, and one day a week avoiding them altogether, and maintaining calorie standards. So, even if this diet is effective, it is not clear whether it is honey or simply eating healthy foods that are deficient in carbohydrates that is causing the weight loss. Some other nutritionists include to the McInness system with doubt.

Regardless of weight loss, honey useful for health: he contains antioxidants, reduces risk of cardiovascular diseases, has antibacterial properties. Sugar doesn't have these benefits.

WHO recommends maintain a sugar consumption rate (yes, honey also applies here!) of 10% of the daily amount of calories consumed. That is, if you eat 2000 kcal per day, only 200 of them can come from sugar. This is about 50 g of table sugar or 60 g of honey. So, despite all its beneficial properties, you should not abuse it either.

So, if you want to lose weight without giving up sweets, replacing table sugar with honey is a good idea. It's actually lower in calories and sweeter than sugar, so you get the same sweetness with less sweetener (and therefore fewer calories). Unlike white sugar, honey contains useful substances, but when calculated per serving, their quantity is so small that they do not bring significant benefits to the body. Compared to sugar, honey is indeed a more beneficial alternative for weight loss, however, it cannot be considered a dietary product.

Is it true

What do our verdicts mean?

Read on the topic:

1. Is it true that sugar-free soda is a healthier alternative to regular soda?
2. Is it true that brown sugar is healthier than white sugar?
3. Is it true that sugar is addictive?
4. Is it true that honey in hot tea becomes poison?