Honey: Is it the same as eating sugar?

22nd Mar 2024

Honey has a mixed reputation. Some praise its health benefits while the word among nutrition experts has long been that “sugar is sugar”. So is honey health-promoting?

Key points

• How is honey made?
• Is collecting honey bad for bees?
• Traditional uses
• Is it a source of polyphenols?
• Health benefits
• Honey vs table sugar
• Potential health benefits
• 3 key issues
• 1. The evidence isn’t strong
• 2. Products vary widely
• 3. Honey is still mostly sugar
• How to choose quality honey
• Is quality honey worth the extra cost? 
• Our favourite ways to enjoy honey

How is honey made?

It’s easy to forget when you taste a spoonful of golden honey that it’s produced by bees from the nectar of flowering plants. As they flit from flower to flower, honeybees collect tiny drops of nectar into their special honey stomach, where their enzymes break down complex sugars into simpler ones – producing honey. They store it in the beehive as a food source for the colony.

Is collecting honey bad for bees?

Beekeeping practices tend to vary: intensive large-scale production can harm bees, but smaller producers tend to use bee-friendly methods that encourage their natural behaviour. What’s clear is we can’t ignore the welfare of bees when buying honey. With bee populations on the decline, it affects both our environment and the crops that make our diets healthy. Find out how you can help protect bees and check out this shopping guide from Ethical Consumer.

Traditional uses

Humans have been using honey for thousands of years in food, medicine and rituals. The earliest evidence is an 8,000-year-old rock painting in Spain, showing someone collecting it from a hive on a cliff. The Greeks, Egyptians, and others used it to treat infections and digestive issues, and it’s one of the oldest known remedies.

Is it a source of polyphenols?

Honey is a mix of sugars (80%), water (18%) and tiny amounts of minerals, vitamins and polyphenols – particularly phenolic acids and flavonoids. These are why researchers are investigating its potential health-promoting effects.

Health benefits

Honey vs table sugar

Some researchers point out the ‘rare sugars’ in honey that could help with glycemic control. But a study comparing honey, sucrose and high fructose corn syrup found no difference in glycemic response, suggesting honey isn’t any better than other sweeteners.

Potential health benefits

Small studies found that honey could help:

Some small studies suggest honey could help:

• Soothe a cough: In trials, honey worked better than cough medicine or no treatment for children with acute cough.
• Heal wounds: Honey was found to be more effective than silver for wound healing in a review of 6 trials from South Asia.

• Improve cholesterol levels: Raw honey improved cholesterol levels in trials where participants followed healthy diets with added sugars making up 10% or less of their daily calories.

• Improve cholesterol levels: Raw honey helped improve cholesterol levels in trials where people followed a healthy diet with added sugars making up 10% or less of their daily calories.

3 key issues

1. The evidence isn’t strong

Most studies are small and have issues like lacking proper controls, being short-term or unblinded. Plus, there are no clear standards for honey, so we don’t know which type or how much could actually help. More high-quality studies are needed.

2. Products vary widely

The composition of honey can vary a lot depending on factors like the type of flowers, where it’s from, and how it’s processed.

3. Honey is still mostly sugar

To get any real benefit from honey’s compounds, you would need to eat a lot of sugar, which could cancel out the health benefits. Honey is best thought of as an occasional treat. For sweetening foods like porridge, try fruits like bananas or berries or spices like cinnamon instead.

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How to choose quality honey

Look for:

• Local: Most honey in the UK is imported, but there’s a growing community of small-scale beekeepers. If you can, buy from local producers to avoid issues like dilution with sugar syrups. Avoid blends from more than one country.
• Unpasteurised: Pasteurisation uses high heat, which can reduce polyphenol content and antioxidant benefits, so look for unpasteurised honey.
• Transparency and traceability: Choose brands that provide details about their production practices. Check where the honey is produced and packaged and find out about the beekeepers either online or in-store.

Is quality honey worth the extra cost? 

For health, probably not – it’s better to focus on other whole foods. For flavour, it’s all down to personal taste. Just like coffee or chocolate, quality honey offers a range of unique flavours, crafted by both bees and beekeepers. We tried different brands in the studio for an upcoming YouTube video and were blown away by the variety of flavours!

Our favourite ways to enjoy honey

• In salad dressings with olive oil, vinegar and herbs.
• Over Greek yoghurt with nuts, seeds, nut butter, fruits, etc.
• With cheese
• On its own as a sweet dessert