Pro-Honey Study Is Full of HOLES
By
Dr. Scott Olson, ND
Posted January 15, 2023
When I first spotted this new study on the supposed benefits of eating honey, I was ready to punch holes in it (for reasons I’ll reveal in a moment).
In fact, I’d typically toss a study like this one in the trash and move on. But as I thumbed through the research published in the journal Nutrition Reviews, some things caught my eye.
The study’s researchers claim that eating honey can lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels and make it easier to control blood sugar.
The truth is there ARE some advantages to eating honey. BUT those benefits come with some HUGE qualifiers.
Read on for the WHOLE truth about this sweet treat…
Almost all studies on honey say it improves blood sugar. And technically, that’s true (at least how we measure it).
But those scientists are overlooking a KEY reason for this finding.
If you were to look up what kind of sugars are in honey, you’d find that it typically consists of…
- 40 percent fructose
- 30 percent glucose
- 17 percent water
Notice anything strange about those numbers? If you do the math, you’ll find they only add up to 87 percent.
The remaining 13 percent of the sugar in honey is made up of rare sugars such as isomaltulose, kojibiose, trehalose, and melezitose.
Would you like to guess how many of these sugars are measured when your blood sugar is tested?
ONLY ONE: glucose which makes up just 30 percent of the sugars.
It might sound like a good thing to only have 30 percent glucose in a sugary food like honey. But the truth is, fructose is worse for your health than glucose.
See, your body converts fructose into fat far more easily than glucose. Plus, fructose is linked to more insulin insensitivity.
But the trouble with declaring that honey improves blood sugar is that no one knows what happens to all those rare sugars when they hit your bloodstream. After all, we aren’t even measuring for them.
All of these reasons are why studies like this end usually end up in my trash can. But this new one is a little different.
Part of the reason has to do with those rare sugars. For once, the researchers didn’t entirely ignore them. Instead, the study found they can support your microbiome. And, as you know, a thriving microbiome is critical for good health.
The researchers also pointed out the bioactive molecules found in honey, including organic acids, polyphenols, and flavonoids. All have been shown in other studies to improve health in a variety of ways, including improving cholesterol and lowering triglycerides.
But in reality, you will rarely ever eat enough honey for those compounds to make much difference. Plus, the quality of the honey also has to be considered.
For the study, the researchers used raw, unpasteurized honey. But most commercial honey is pasteurized to keep them from crystallizing. And that process destroys the healthy organic acids, polyphenols, and flavonoids. Plus, it may even affect some of those rare sugars as well.
So, is honey going to bring people back from the dead? No.
Does it have any health benefits? Maybe a few minor ones.
Is honey better for you than white table sugar? Yes, but not enough to make a major difference to your health.
Treat honey as you would any other sugar. Use it sparingly.
P.S. Honey might not be the perfect sweet treat you once imagined. But researchers say ANOTHER honeybee product could STOP breast cancer in its tracks… and save lives. Click here for all the details.
Source:
“Effect of honey on cardiometabolic risk factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis,” Nutrition Reviews, 2022;, nuac086, https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuac086
Written By Dr. Scott Olson, ND
Nearly 25 years ago, failed mainstream medical treatments left Dr. Olson in constant pain – and his health in ruins. And that’s when he did something REVOLUTIONARY. He began his career in medicine – and dedicated his life to uncovering the true, underlying causes of disease.
Through his innovative medical practices in Tennessee and Colorado, Dr. Olson has helped cure countless seniors from across America of arthritis… heart disease… diabetes… and even cancer. All without risky prescription drugs or painful surgeries.
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