Why substituting honey for sugar is not healthier

This, they consider a healthier option, as it is natural and unprocessed. 

However, sugar wears many disguises. Sometimes, it is dressed in honey, golden, pure and untainted. 

Other times, it is concealed in fizzy drinks, cloaked in chemicals. Yet beneath the costume, it plays the same role: the sweet saboteur of health. 

Whether it comes from a banana or a chocolate bar, both can spike up sugar levels. For people with diabetes, this isn’t just a diet detail, it is a daily battle between what tastes sweet and what keeps them healthy. 

As sweet as it tastes, honey equally contains sugar. 

Sugar can be refined, natural, artificial or organic. The body can’t tell the difference. 

It identifies it all as glucose, hitting the bloodstream like a tidal wave. Most people, especially those living with sugar complications like diabetes, assume they are on the safe side by using natural sugars for their daily consumption. 

Sugar doesn’t discriminate. While a whole orange fruit has fibers that slows down metabolism, absorption and nourish the body, a large glass of orange juice contain as much sugar as a 500ml bottle of soda, both equivalent to about 12 teaspoons of sugar. 

“Scientifically, the body processes natural sugars from (authentic) honey, fruits, dairy the same way as refined (processed)  or table sugar, in that, they still raise blood glucose levels in the blood,” says Consultant Dietitian Awuor Joyce, CEO and founder of DietSelect254.

“What differs is the time either will take to rise the individuals blood sugar. For people withj metabolic syndromes, both types of sugar can be harmful if not moderated,” she adds. 

Medical experts suggest that refined sugars found in drinks and yogurts and high fructose syrup cause rapid insulin spikes while natural sugars found in fruits and honey are gentler when eaten whole, yet can still  portray a great danger once the fibre is stripped away.

This poses a threat to diabetic consumers, exposing them to further health risks such as weight gain, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver disease and inflammation. 

Whether it comes from a fruit basket or a candy wrapper, no matter the source, it must be approached with caution and should be consumed in moderation. 

“Natural sugar ( starch) found in food and vegetables that have fibre is beneficial and lower in any risks compared processed or table sugar,”Awuor adds. 

She further explains that sugars in general should be taken in moderation. She advises on eating your fruits and vegetables whole and avoid table/processed/ refined sugars.