I don’t know about you guys, but I use to think of honey as being a healthy alternative to sugar. It’s natural, so it’s got to be healthier, right?! Not so much.
To clear away all the confusion surrounding food, it’s important to look at basic food chemistry – more specifically, what these foods break down into once they’re in the body. Check this out:
Sugar breaks down into….
- 50% glucose (simple carbohydrate)
- 50% fructose (simple carbohydrate)
Honey breaks down into…
- 47% fructose (simple carbohydrate)
- 38% glucose (simple carbohydrate)
- 15% polysacchardies/other sugars (also includes micronutrients)
[These are the percentages we were given at uni, but sometimes they can change depending on where you get your source]
Pretty similar hey? Now I know what you’re probably thinking – at least honey has micronutrients? However, the processing commercial honey goes through can often destroy the micronutrients anyways, meaning, they would only be present in RAW honey. In saying this, the amount of micronutrients even in raw honey can sometimes be only minuscule and not always worth all the sugar it comes with.
So there you have it! I’m sorry to be the party pooper of breakfast condiments, but this is for your own good.
By all means, still have your honey, but perhaps don’t go crazy with it thinking ‘it’s healthy so I can have as much as I want!’
If you have honey on cereals, try adding fresh fruit instead. It will give you that sweet taste, along with fibre, vitamins and minerals! x