Posted by
Akinola Olusegun
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Posted by
Akinola Olusegun
on
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- Other Apps
Regardless of the argument as to whether honey has many health benefits over table sugar, many consumers are being misled by
claims about honey. Unfortunately, its consumers are also adding it in excessive quantities to food and drink in the mistaken belief that it is healthy.
claims about honey. Unfortunately, its consumers are also adding it in excessive quantities to food and drink in the mistaken belief that it is healthy.
But swapping sugar for honey is not a healthy diet choice. Analysis on 223 kinds of honey, sugars and syrups, all widely available in United Kingdom supermarkets, by Action on Sugar found that honey can be up to 86 per cent free sugars, while maple syrup can be made of 88 per cent free sugars.
It found that adding a 7gm teaspoon of honey to a cup of tea added about 6gm of free sugar, while adding a teaspoon of table sugar would add 4gm. Also, a portion (15mls) of maple syrup added to porridge contained 13.1gm of total sugars, only a little less than 15gm of table sugar.
Honey, the sweet liquid produced by honeybees (Apis mellifera), is composed of about 40 per cent fructose, in contrast to the 50 per cent fructose in table sugar and between 40 and 90 per cent fructose in high-fructose corn syrup.
Although honey is often promoted as a healthier option to table sugar because it is natural, Mrs Taibat Oduneye, a dietitian at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State, stated that its use in excess could have an adverse effect in the long run.
Mrs Oduneye said honey, like table sugar, is a form of carbohydrate, adding that its intake can also make blood sugar level to increase.
According to her, “Honey is safe to use, but an excess of it can have a bad effect on the body or blood glucose level, as is applicable to a diabetes patient. So, it is not something to be used freely. For diabetic patients, we do not encourage its use as an alternative to sugar, no matter how natural it may be.”
She declared that in Nigeria, a lot of adulterated or diluted honey is on sale, despite marketing gimmicks like people testing it with flame, checking if ants would hover around it or it will dissolve in water.
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