Honey vs Sugar low GI

While brewing a hot cup of tea, do you choose honey over sugar? Well, although both of them add sweetness to your drink, their nutritional benefits are not the same.

Both honey and sugar are primarily composed of glucose and fructose. Being carbohydrates, they are also used as the major ingredients in most canned foods and recipes. Due to their carbohydrate content, both of them can lead to weight gain, if you do not control the portions.

Honey has a reputation for being healthier (primarily for the low GI), but it is still not considered as a health food. So which one among the two should you choose for staying fit and cutting down a couple of pounds? Well, that’s exactly what we’ll tell you in the following section. Read on to know which one you should choose when it comes to honey vs sugar.

Basics of honey

Honey is mainly composed of water, and two other ingredients- fructose and glucose. At the same time, it contains trace amounts of amino acids, enzymes, Vitamin B, Vitamin C and several antioxidants. The antioxidants found in honey are known as flavonoids. These flavonoids come with anti-inflammatory properties and are also highly beneficial for health.

The primary benefits of honey, is that you can use small amounts of it, without cutting down on the sweetness. Additionally, the vitamins and minerals in raw honey can also alleviate your allergy and boost your immunity. Honey also has a reputation for killing of germs because of its antimicrobial properties. At the same time, when used in a gel form, it can heal minor burns and wounds. Honey has low GI and it also plays a vital role in easing coughing and sore throats. So while deciding between honey vs sugar, the former will get an upper-hand because of this factor.

But just like the pros, there are also some cons. One of the major issues with honey is that it is high in calories and has the same ingredients as sugar. Likewise, it might also not be safe for kids who are younger than one year.

Basics of sugar

Being a carbohydrate, sugar is one of the biggest sources of fast fuel. Our brain requires 130 grams of carbohydrate for functioning on a daily basis. This is provided by sugar. This substance also occurs naturally and is relatively low in calories. One teaspoon of sugar is likely to contain 16 calories. White sugar is said to have a long shelf life, and it is widely used in cooking and baking. Sugar is also widely accessible and available at a low cost. This gives sugar an edge over honey, when it comes to deciding honey vs sugar.

But like honey, sugar too has its fair share of disadvantages. It has been observed that sugar increases the risk of certain ailments. It is also harder for digestion compared to honey and can lead to weight gain.

Honey vs Sugar- which one should you choose?

When it really comes to deciding honey vs sugar, the choice becomes relatively difficult. However, considering the way honey is processed in our system and also because it contains low GI, it is highly recommended by health experts to choose honey over sugar.

Our body breaks down our food into glucose for using it as fuel. So the more complex the food turns out to be (for instance, carbohydrate), the more difficult it is to break down. Sugar contains fifty percent glucose and fifty percent fructose (found in fruits). It can be therefore broken down pretty easily leading to a huge surge of blood glucose. The elements which are not used by your system right away, are eventually stored as fat.

Honey too contains the same ingredients as sugar. However, unlike sugar, it contains only thirty percent of glucose and forty percent of fructose. It has low GI and might contain 20 sugar substances in the mix, some of which are relatively more complex. Additionally, it also contains dextrin, which is a starchy fiber. This, however, implies that our body expands more energy in breaking down honey to glucose. Therefore the calorific value of honey is relatively lower.

So now that you know how honey has low GI and is better in terms of health perspective, choose honey over sugar to stay fit, active, and slim.