Study: Honey May Not Be Advisable for Diabetics

31 Oct 2013 --- Honey may be detrimental for patients with type 2 diabetes because of the great quantities of sugars it contains. Honey has complex B vitamins that favor the nervous system, energy production and nails, hair and skin vitally; but just as many types of fruit, honey is rich in simple sugars, therefore is not advisable to those who live with diabetes, since it could be detrimental for their health.

Explained by Griselda Xóchitl Brito Córdova, nutriologist at the National Nutrition Institute (INCMNSZ), who denied the popular belief that honey could replace sugar and benefit those who live with diabetes. However, she didn’t prohibit the consumption of this sweet product, since a spoonful of honey can be ingested “once in a while” if other types of sugars, like the ones found in fruit, are eliminated from the daily diet.

We know that this product is mainly constituted by glucose, laevulose and monosaccharide sugars, being a natural superior sweetener compared to the ones currently available because it contains enzymes that facilitate digestion.

Brito Córdova also explained that honey could be detrimental by rising fat and triglycerides levels, by which people with type 2 diabetes could be particularly affected. This people are usually obese or overweight, besides being insulin resistant.

The researcher pointed out that currently several artificial or not caloric sweeteners are available, like saccharin, aspartame, sucralose, neotame or acesulfame potassium, with different commercial names.

While a natural sweetener provides 70 calories per spoonful, and artificial one contains a maximum of four calories per packet.

Honey, in general, has between 60 and 100 different components among enzymes, organic acids, proteins, vitamins (A, B y C), stimulant substances that rise the activity, growth and digestion process in the human body, as well as calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, iron, chlorine, phosphorus, sulfur and iodine salts; and, in smaller quantities, manganese, silicon, aluminum, chromium, boron, copper, lithium, nickel, lead, tin, titanium, zinc and osmium.

Is advisable for the treatment of anemia, because it rises the levels of hemoglobin in the blood, and is also helpful in the treatment of gastric ulcers, kidney ailments and mild eye infections, thanks to its antibiotic and healing properties; besides, it acts as a light laxative, natural sedative, calcium fixative and antiseptic, by being slightly acidic and possessing great quantities of glucose, which also prevents the growth of bacteria.

However, honey cannot be ingested arbitrarily. “Speak about how to ingest it and in which quantities with your doctor,” the authors note.