How Good For Health Is Calories In Honey?

This is the basic question that goes disregarded as honey is considered to be utterly healthy and a naturally occurring sweetener. It is magical to know how honey is actually made. The best thing about honey is that it is not made by man and in fact, it is an amazing process where bees collect nectar from the flowers and they regurgitate it. Then they store it in the wax cells of their hive and they dehydrate it to convert the nectar into thick and sweet syrup called honey.

Honey is composed of 80 percent of natural sweeteners, 18 percent of water and 2 percent of minerals and vitamins. It has been considered one of the most nutritious gifts of nature to mankind since humans are using honey for the last thousands of years for food preparation as well as for medicinal purposes. But since the last decade, many debates have surfaced arguing whether honey is good for health or not. After this issue being raised by health organisations worldwide, medical researchers have brought into light, amazing facts about how many calories in honey can be beneficial or harmful and what are its nutritive values in comparison to sugar. To know how good for health is calories in honey and how you must actually consume honey, you must keep reading the associated facts below:

CALORIES IN ONE TEASPOON OF HONEY

One teaspoon of honey is loaded with 21 calories, where content of carbohydrates is around 80 percent in the form of sugar. One teaspoon of honey weighs around 7 grams, of which 5.7 grams is carbohydrates and 0.02 grams is protein while rest is water, fats and fibre.

ARE CALORIES FROM HONEY BETTER THAN CALORIES FROM SUGAR?

As more and more people are becoming health conscious, they are bound to count calories of food items before they gulp it down. Over the time, honey consumption has risen as it was argued to be an active ingredient causing weight loss and is the best replacement of sugar. But this myth was busted by medical studies that proved honey as a form of sugar with some nutritional benefits.

It is said that while sugar is composed of 100 percent sucrose, honey is made up of 75 percent of sugar with combined proportions of glucose and fructose and rest 25 percent is made of water, proteins and traces of fat and fibre.

In terms of calories, 100 grams of white sugar comprises of 400 calories, while 100 grams of honey equals 330 calories. But when it comes to usage, we hardly go by measurements in grams. We generally use teaspoons or tablespoons. It has been noted that one tablespoon of honey equals 28 grams while one tablespoon of white sugar measures around 16 grams. So when you replace sugar with honey, you tend to unintentionally consume more calories than the calories derived from sugar due to measurement in terms of teaspoon.

It has been considered one of the most nutritious gifts of nature to mankind since humans are using honey for the last thousands of years for food preparation as well as for medicinal purposes. Not to mention cooking!

PROS OF CONSUMING CALORIES IN HONEY

1. Source Of Antioxidants

There are various types of honey made from different kinds of flowers. It is said that honey has naturally occurring antioxidants that can be known with the colour of the honey. Darker the colour of the honey, higher is the content of antioxidants. These antioxidants have the capacity to fight the cell damage which can otherwise lead to disorders such as heart disease, cancer and other lifestyle diseases. Consuming around 6 small teaspoons of honey (100 calories) will provide your body with necessary antioxidants.

2. Fights Cancer

Currently, it is known that certain kinds of honey have higher quotient of antioxidants that are necessary to stop the growth of cancer cells. But initially medical science has tested them on mice only. Until now, it has not been successfully tested on humans.

3. Takes Care Of Hangovers

After too much consumption of alcohol, you tend to feel dizzy in the morning due to the hangover. So while you gulp a glass of lemon juice, add some honey to it. Honey is proven to speed up the oxidation process as it contains equal parts of fructose and glucose that reacts to cause oxidation of alcohol in the liver. Thus, honey helps in enhancing alcohol metabolism and thereby kicks off your hangover.

4. Speeds Up Healing

Since ancient times, honey has been vastly used for medicinal purposes. While consuming honey has many benefits but in case of scars, cuts and normal wounds, you can apply some honey on the affected part after washing it with water. You will instantly feel relief from the irritation and you will find that the wound starts healing sooner.

5. Provides Relief From Cough & Sore Throat

Another medicinal usage of honey is in treating seasonal cough and sore throat among kids and adults. It has tremendous effect when one teaspoon honey is mixed with a pinch of powered black pepper.

6. Helps In Controlling Weight Up To Some Extent

If you really want to lose weight, then you must stop having sugar. But since you have been eating sugar since your childhood, then quitting it will be rather difficult. So instead of consuming sugar, replace it with honey. But ensure that you have no sugar while you are consuming honey and you must know that not more than 6 teaspoons of honey should be consumed in a day or else your weight will increase beyond control.

CONS OF CONSUMING CALORIES IN HONEY

1. Increase Risks Of Diabetes & Heart Diseases

When you consume honey more than the prescribed limit or if you eat honey directly, then it can cause chronic illness such as heart disease. It is medically proven that consumption of honey in excess increases the risk of pancreatic cancer by 70 percent. Similar to white sugar, even honey affects the insulin production in the body that can even lead to diabetes.

2. Can Cause Obesity

Honey consists of high fructose content and calories similar to sugar and if you consume more quantities of honey without ensuring proper exercise to burn those calories, then this can result in weight gain. When you keep on accumulating calories without burning them, then in long term, this  can lead to obesity.

3. May Give Rise To Acne

High sugar or glucose contained food stuffs can create an imbalance in your blood sugar levels leading to appearance of pimples and acne on skin. Different types of honey have different levels of glycemic index, owing to which the glucose content in the body changes constantly. You must ensure moderate consumption of honey to keep acne at bay.

4. Can Be Allergic Too

Many people have suffered from allergies due to honey consumption. The cause for these allergies are said to be in the quality of nectar extracted by the bees from different kinds of flowers, from whom people may be actually allergic. This allergies may be in the form of diarrhoea, vomiting, itchy mucosa and even abdominal pain along with some other severe cases.

5. May Cause Gastric Problems

Honey is also slightly acidic in nature and if more honey is consumed than the acceptable standards, then you may even suffer from erosion of the linings of stomach, oesophagus and intestines and can lead to acid reflux disease.

6. Not Suitable For Infants

You must ensure that infants or kids below 3 years are not given honey as some honey consists of botulism spores, which the immature digestive system of an infant cannot process. This may cause an adverse effect on the child’s health and the common symptoms are constipation, weakness and reduced appetite. If the botulism gets out of control, then it may cause muscle paralysis and can even prove fatal.

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