Honey vs. Sugar??

HiccupingBoots
HiccupingBoots Posts: 4
in Food and Nutrition
Anyone have any opinions on this?

I love sugar! Prior to trying to lose weight everyone always joked with my because I drank a cup of sugar and milk with a touch of coffee. Since starting my being healthy journey I have started looking at all the sugar I use and seriously cutting back!

Now I am trying to decide which is healthier and better to use most of the time, sugar or honey? I usually have a cup of coffee or tea a day. If I am using table sugar in coffee I use 4 tsp, honey I use 2. Tea I use 3 tsp of sugar or 2 tsp of honey.

That is what I am primarily using sugar in all the other sugar I get is coming from what I eat i.e: yogurt, fruit, vegetables, etc.

Replies

  • HiccupingBoots
    HiccupingBoots Posts: 4
    Oh I should add that I do not use grocery store honey! I use local honey with the comb still in it.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,265 Member
    Same same but different.
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
    They are carbs.

    Do which ever you like that fits best in your daily caloric / macro goal.

    If I have tea, then I will add honey to it.
    If I do coffee, then I will use sugar.
  • paleojoe
    paleojoe Posts: 442 Member
    Looks like when you use honey you seem to be using less... so I will go with honey.
  • aakaakaak
    aakaakaak Posts: 1,240 Member
    Honey is sugar.

    Treat them as carb calories and eat what tastes good.
  • PSULions2008
    PSULions2008 Posts: 97
    Pure honey has too many benefits to list. But the generic honey you buy at a grocery store is just basically sugar. You need to get the real stuff.
  • akarney
    akarney Posts: 124 Member
    Weight loss wise, I think they are about the same calories, etc. However, local honey does have other health benefits. Local honey contains pollen from the plants in your area and therefore has been proven to help with seasonal allergies. I'm not completely sold on all the other benefits (stabilizing blood sugar, digestion aid, immune builder, etc.), but it's got to be better for you than highly processed sugar.

    We "host" a bee hive at our house to help pollinate our crops and sell the honey for the beekeepers that own/maintain the hive. I know a lot of our customers swear by the local honey for helping with allergies.
  • justal313
    justal313 Posts: 1,375 Member
    Oh I should add that I do not use grocery store honey! I use local honey with the comb still in it.

    I love munching on honeycomb I don't buy it often just to eat it but it happens...

    That being said I'll put honey in my tea. If I'm reaching for sugar, that sugar is actually splenda.
  • fruttibiscotti
    fruttibiscotti Posts: 986 Member
    Sugar is sugar. Honey, agave, molasses, coconut sugar, concentrated fruit juice, maple syrup, cane sugar, ...etc.

    There's lots of marketing hype about "natural" or "sugar in the raw" or "organic"....it's a ploy to make people spend more money or believe they are reducing sugar quantity or improving sugar quality. Sugar is sugar, period.
  • MikeOLMT
    MikeOLMT Posts: 4
    From what I understand, it's still sugar to the body. However, as others have stated, there are a million other beneficial reasons to use the natural "raw" honey you are using. As long as that is the only "added" sugar you are using, and only in your morning coffee, you're far ahead of where you were!! Bravo!

    As long as you are using RAW honey, with or without the comb, it's going to be beneficial to you. And as long as you are only using 1-2 tsp per day you are fine. It's when you start overdosing on it that you might as well go back to all the sugar you were eating.

    The sugar addicion is a hard one to break! Believe me, I know!

    Congrats on how far you've come!!
  • laurenpjokl
    laurenpjokl Posts: 118 Member
    As long as you're being realistic about the calorie content, it's up to you. I use honey, the supermarket kind, in porridge etc. I prefer it to sugar because honey adds flavour and not just sweetness. I'm careful about how much I use, though.
  • Rocky_ZG
    Rocky_ZG Posts: 70 Member
    Caloric value is probably similar.
    However honey has many health benefits which should not be ignored.
    Be careful though - honey loses good properties in hot beverages over 40 degree celsius. Similar is valid for lemon juice.
    So honey+lemon in hot tea is not much better than regular sugar.

    Few times per week I make liter of green tea, cool it down and mix with one large spoon of honey. Tastes good and a bit of extra sugar will not kill me. And honey is beneficial for indigestion and overall health.
  • SamanthaD1218
    SamanthaD1218 Posts: 303 Member
    I recently switched to agave nectar after hearing about all the health benefits. It's similar to honey, but it doesn't make your blood sugar spike ridiculously (has a lower glycemic index), so it's thought to help in weight loss and maintenance. You can use it in beverages and on food and even cook with it. I don't drink coffee, so not sure how that would taste. Honey and sugar both have a glycemic index near 60ish, and agave nectar is down near 20ish. You can buy it at most super markets or health food stores. I put mine in oatmeal, tea, on pancakes, etc...
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    Sugar is sugar. Honey, agave, molasses, coconut sugar, concentrated fruit juice, maple syrup, cane sugar, ...etc.

    There's lots of marketing hype about "natural" or "sugar in the raw" or "organic"....it's a ploy to make people spend more money or believe they are reducing sugar quantity or improving sugar quality. Sugar is sugar, period.

    Sugar is sugar, but when you have some of the other forms of sugar, you get other nutrients that plain, white refined sugar doesn't give you. Molasses gives you added calcium and iron. maple syrup is a good source of zinc and manganese and also contains calcium and iron.

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