This question is very frequent, when we start a regimen to lose weight. And although the answer is not easy to give, honey is fattening , well, yes, because it provides us with calories; but really if we think about it like that, everything would get fat; because everything gives us calories.
But in reality the answer clears your doubts if we compare it with other sweeteners. There are natural sweeteners, natural and artificial sweeteners, there are many types, but how do we choose it?
Sweeteners, are they all the same?
Choosing a sweetener well makes sense if we want to lose weight or take care of our health . Without beating around the bush, honey provides fewer calories than white sugar .
Sugar provides us with about 400 calories per 100 grams, while honey provides us with 320 calories per 100 grams approximately. The difference is not much, but its daily consumption makes us reduce enough calories, in addition, honey is a much healthier food than white sugar.
Below we explain the different options to sweeten your infusions, teas or desserts:
First start talking about honey , this viscous liquid is produced by bees based on nectar from flores.Las bees as collected, stored and mature in the honeycombs.
Its composition is mixed between glucose, fructose, maltose and sucrose (80%), water between 15 and 18%, proteins less than 1%, it also provides triglycerides and fatty acids, minerals, vitamins mainly of group B, organic components and natural antibiotic enzymes (inhibins).
Sugar or Honey?
The white sugar is 98% sucrose, white sugar obtained from sugar cane and sugar beet in a refining process in which remove most of the nutrients in the sugar, is therefore, that sugar is one of those known as empty foods , since they provide empty calories of nutrients . White sugar gives us 400 kcal per 100 grams.
And brown sugar , which is extracted from sugar cane, is not refined, it is only crystallized and centrifuged, that is why it is known as whole sugar. Its characteristic color is due to the first layer of molasses that surrounds each crystal.
It is 95% sucrose, it provides vitamins of group B minerals such as potassium, calcium, sodium and magnesium. Its caloric intake is about 350 kcal per 100 grams .
For this reason, we conclude that honey is less fattening than sugar , even brown, and is healthier because it provides us with nutrients, while sugar provides us with empty calories.
It has a natural antibiotic power that benefits us and helps keep the immune system in line.
Also, if we take into account the volume we consume of each sweetener, honey sweetens more than sugar in less volume . That is why we use less honey than sugar .
To give us an idea, a tablespoon holds 20 grams of sugar, while honey only holds 10, putting two tablespoons of sugar in a coffee, if we put honey we would be enough with one. In addition, we would contribute much less calories , because honey is less caloric and because it weighs less.
Properties and benefits of honey
The honey is used as a sweetener naturally by many athletes and people seeking the healthiest diet possible, honey no longer a simple sugar that would fall within the category of carbohydrates little recommended, even though honey yes seems to be the healthiest sweetener .
The honey is more than a simple sugar , to analyzing its composition, we find that comprises about 38% fructose, 31% glucose, 18% water, 8% maltose, 5% other sugars, and other 5% approximately of vitamins, minerals and other substances.
Among the therapeutic functions of honey, its antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties stand out . It is commonly used for the symptomatic relief of colds , coughs, and sore throats and has antioxidant and antiviral effects.
Calories in Honey
It should be noted that honey with respect to white sugar is capable of sweetening much more with the same amount so its caloric contribution is lower, in addition, sugar only gives us empty calories , while honey, as we have seen, also gives us other interesting properties and virtues.
- In the following table you can see the caloric intake of some sweeteners:
Try different types of honey, until you find the touch that you like the most, as there are countless varieties, depending on which flowers the nectar is collected from.
Make sure it’s honey you buy
Honey is a healthy product but we must know that on countless occasions it is adulterated to lower its cost. You may wonder how they do it, the latest trend is to bring honey from countries like China where they adulterate it with rice syrup or other cheaper and less healthy sweetening substances.
The pure honey has a cost of about 10 € a kilo while honey prowling about 4 € per kilo, is honey that is adulterated. We must read the labeling to ensure the origin and purity of the honey.
Remember that if honey is adulterated it stops having all its properties , and above all its conditions are altered, such as its glycemia . Be careful with what we buy, honey is an expensive product for the cost of its production!
If you are interested in other types of more luxurious honeys with more properties, you can find out about Manuka honey, rated one of the best honeys in the world.
Go to honey, abandon the sugar that does not give you anything healthy!
