It’s no secret that sugar is bad for you—the sweet stuff has been linked to a slew of health issues, including obesity and heart disease. So it makes sense that you’d want to opt for a more “natural” sweetener.
Unfortunately, though, you may not be doing yourself any favors by choosing honey over other forms of the sweet stuff.
A recent small study published in The Journal of Nutrition found that honey is no better for your body than table sugar and corn syrup. Worth noting: The study was funded in part by the National Honey Board (not a sugar company), so it’s pretty legit.
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For the study, researchers from the USDA, the Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, and the University of Minnesota had 55 participants ingest daily doses of honey, sugar, and high-fructose corn syrup for two weeks. After the two weeks were up, scientists compared the participants' blood sugar, insulin, body weight, cholesterol, and blood pressure readings.
What they discovered: The impact was pretty much the same, no matter what type of sweetener people had. Most markers were unchanged during that time (which makes sense—you’re probably not going to gain five pounds after having a daily dose of sugar for two weeks), but triglyceride levels (blood fats that are a marker for heart disease) rose with all three.
While the news is a bummer for honey fans (and the National Honey Board), it’s not shocking to everyone.
The American Heart Association already lumps honey in with other added sugars.
They state on their website:
“Added sugars include any sugars or caloric sweeteners that are added to foods or beverages during processing or preparation (such as putting sugar in your coffee or adding sugar to your cereal). Added sugars (or added sweeteners) can include natural sugars, such as white sugar, brown sugar, and honey, as well as other caloric sweeteners that are chemically manufactured (such as high-fructose corn syrup).”
Added sugars definitely have a bad rap. A study published last year in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine found that added sugars cause an increased risk of dying from heart disease. It can also impact your brain: A 2012 rat study from UCLA found that a high-sugar diet can impair learning and memory by basically slowing down your brain.
Research is mixed on whether all forms of sugar are equally bad, but the Mayo Clinic released proceedings earlier this year that declare “there is no need for added fructose or any added sugars in the diet.” And, apparently, honey.
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So while you don’t have to completely shun sugar, it’s probably safe to assume that there’s no form out there that’s actually “healthy.”
