Is Honey Fattening Really?

Did you know that the taste, aroma and color of honey will depend on the flowers the nectar was collected from?Tasting testing honey from different regions can prove this (although you might not be able to say exactly what types of flower the bees visited.)

Tasting honey will also definitely help you to realize that it is intensely sweet. So sweet in fact that there is growing debate over whether honey is actually good for you or just plain fattening.

Honey Carb Counting

Is Honey Fattening Really?

There are 304 calories in 100 grams of honey and those all come from sugar. The sugars in honey are mostly fructose and glucose – simple carbohydrates that are generally warned against if you are trying to reduce your weight.

In fact, it is generally advised that you try to eliminate all added sugars from your diet if your goal is weight loss and maintenance of a healthy weight. Cutting out added sugar is also said to help you minimize your risk of developing certain diseases.

Join the inner circle

All of that, however, does not mean you should chuck all your honey out the window. Here’s why.

Natural Sweetness

Being on a weight loss diet tends to leave you craving sweets, then going on sweet-tooth-satisfying binges and derailing your progress towards your weight loss goals. When the cravings for sweet set in, natural honey is a great replacement for processed and refined table sugar. Since honey is so much sweeter and denser than sugar, people find that they tend to eat less of it to satisfy their sweet tooth.

Indulging in honey does not mean you are setting yourself up to add on pounds. On the contrary, the way in which the sugars in honey are arranged cause it to be more slowly digested by the body. It means, that unlike table sugar, the sugars in honey are slowly released into the blood stream.

This and other benefits of honey are backed by research. One study shows that persons who included 5-10 tablespoons of honey in their regular diet for one month had the following results.

  • no weight gain
  • lower cholesterol levels
  • higher levels of antioxidants in their blood

Why Honey Isn’t Fattening

The calories in table sugar are “empty calories”. They supply you with nothing but energy that you will need to use up or it will just be turned into fat and stored in places you do not want. Honey is different.

Honey is a whole food just like fruits. Along with its carbohydrates and antioxidants, it has vitamins (riboflavin,niacin), minerals (calcium, copper, zinc, manganese, iron, phosphorousandpotassium), fat and protein (amino acids). Honey is also proven to have antimicrobial properties which help it to relieve congestion and prevent digestive problems.

When we count the calories and carbs in foods like honey we really need to take all of their benefits into consideration.Honey is actually a great natural supplement to your diet whether or not you are trying to lose weight.

Enjoy the sweetness of honey in moderation, knowing that you are feeding your body some natural sweetness that is helping to keep it healthy in so many ways.

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