Honey and Dieting - Should You Eat Honey While Dieting?
"The only reason for being a bee that I know of is to make honey..
..
And the only reason for making honey, is so as I can eat it.
" - Winnie the Pooh As far as sweeteners go, honey is where it's at.
Table sugar and most other sweeteners have nothing to offer nutritionally.
Raw honey, however, contains a variety of B-vitamins, including B1, B2, B3, B5 and B6, as well as vitamin C.
The amounts of these awesome vitamins changes based on the quality and quantity of the nectar and pollen used by the bees to make the honey, and over-processing does its predictable job of further reducing vitamins.
So go for raw honey or minimally processed honey every chance you get.
It's not likely that you're going to get a terribly high amount of any of these vitamins, however, unless you put away honey with the voracity and endless appetite of Winnie the Pooh.
But if you're going to use a sweetener, use one that's got something to offer besides just over-processed empty calories and/or fattening carbohydrates (such as artificial sweeteners, table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup).
The fact that honey has such good attributes doesn't mean go crazy on it.
It actually has 33% more calories than sugar.
Just one tablespoon of honey crams in 64 calories, while sugar has about 48.
Interestingly enough, a study published in the Journal of Food Science in 2008 found that rats fed a diet with honey as a sweetener gained 23% less weight than those that ate food sweetened with refined sugar over the course of a year.
But if your interest is fat loss, you still need to pay attention to how much you're eating and keep it minimal.
Honey is a pretty versatile sweetener, especially as a sugar substitute for drinks, recipes, snacks or even as a caramelizing agent.
It's also versatile in other areas of natural health remedies.
Romans, Egyptians, Greeks, Chinese and other ancient civilizations used honey for ointments for rashes and burns, to prevent infections, soothe sore throats (still common these days) and even embalming their dead! As an alternative to cough medicine, it's easy to choose honey over chemical-laden cough suppressants, especially when Penn State researchers found that honey is more effective than the active ingredient in most cough medicines (dextromethorphan).
Don't get all crazy on honey, though.
Honey should NEVER be given to an infant under a year old.
Once they're older, a child's immune system can easily handle the odd bacteria that can be found in raw honey.
Overall, honey is not a miracle fat loss dietary food.
But it's real food with real flavor and offers a much, much better alternative to all of the nasty sweeteners on the market today.
..
And the only reason for making honey, is so as I can eat it.
" - Winnie the Pooh As far as sweeteners go, honey is where it's at.
Table sugar and most other sweeteners have nothing to offer nutritionally.
Raw honey, however, contains a variety of B-vitamins, including B1, B2, B3, B5 and B6, as well as vitamin C.
The amounts of these awesome vitamins changes based on the quality and quantity of the nectar and pollen used by the bees to make the honey, and over-processing does its predictable job of further reducing vitamins.
So go for raw honey or minimally processed honey every chance you get.
It's not likely that you're going to get a terribly high amount of any of these vitamins, however, unless you put away honey with the voracity and endless appetite of Winnie the Pooh.
But if you're going to use a sweetener, use one that's got something to offer besides just over-processed empty calories and/or fattening carbohydrates (such as artificial sweeteners, table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup).
The fact that honey has such good attributes doesn't mean go crazy on it.
It actually has 33% more calories than sugar.
Just one tablespoon of honey crams in 64 calories, while sugar has about 48.
Interestingly enough, a study published in the Journal of Food Science in 2008 found that rats fed a diet with honey as a sweetener gained 23% less weight than those that ate food sweetened with refined sugar over the course of a year.
But if your interest is fat loss, you still need to pay attention to how much you're eating and keep it minimal.
Honey is a pretty versatile sweetener, especially as a sugar substitute for drinks, recipes, snacks or even as a caramelizing agent.
It's also versatile in other areas of natural health remedies.
Romans, Egyptians, Greeks, Chinese and other ancient civilizations used honey for ointments for rashes and burns, to prevent infections, soothe sore throats (still common these days) and even embalming their dead! As an alternative to cough medicine, it's easy to choose honey over chemical-laden cough suppressants, especially when Penn State researchers found that honey is more effective than the active ingredient in most cough medicines (dextromethorphan).
Don't get all crazy on honey, though.
Honey should NEVER be given to an infant under a year old.
Once they're older, a child's immune system can easily handle the odd bacteria that can be found in raw honey.
Overall, honey is not a miracle fat loss dietary food.
But it's real food with real flavor and offers a much, much better alternative to all of the nasty sweeteners on the market today.
