Honey?

I'm just wondering if anyone has any comments about sugar as a sweetener....I've heard that cinnamon and honey are supposed to be great in an infusion for dieters....but honey has so many calories that I'm just confused!....my mom is wanting to sweeten her tea with honey, but I really don't know if it is better (because it's natural and everything) or the high  calories affect in weight gaining....Anyone has experienced with this?

Well, look at the amount and calories of each one used. I'd just go with the one with less calories, but that's me...

You may want to check it out yourself but I believe that there are about 16 cals in a tsp of sugar and 21 in a tsp of honey.  I believe that honey is sweeter than sugar so you don't need to use as much to sweeten your tea.  I have also heard that honey has a lot more health benefits than sugar and when I sweeten my tea, I use honey.  If your mom is watching her calories but loves her sweetened tea, she can just work the calories from the honey into her day - it's not that many calories if she only uses a tsp.

Honey would be more of a whole food, less processed, especially if you get the honey comb.

White sugar is highly processed, brown would be a little better choice.

I use honey even though it is high in calories. I find that if I eat sugar I crave sugar and self-sabotage my diets if I use it (the same goes for Splenda). So I just make room in my daily intake for honey instead.

Original Post by spoiled_candy:

Honey would be more of a whole food, less processed, especially if you get the honey comb.

White sugar is highly processed, brown would be a little better choice.

 brown sugar is just plain white refined sugar - with molasses mixed in.

If you can count the teensy weensy amounts of nutrients you get from molasses, then sure it's healthier. But by the teaspoon, there is no real difference but the taste.

Honey is more natural, and that's a benefit. But it's still just sugar, so use it in moderation.

Cinnamon adds flavor without calories, so try adding that to cereals and stuff without sugar. Also, if you put a couple teaspoons of cinnamon in the coffee filter while brewing, it adds excelent flavor, and i find i don't need sugar at all.

I like to use splenda, but I am not sure if that is good for you, does anyone know if its worth saving the calories?

I did a research report on aspartame this year (AKA Splenda, Nutrisweet, etc.) and though some people will tell you that it is perfectly safe---the companies who manufacture it, their scientists, the FDA--- I believe that it has no real benefits, that it is not healthy at all, and that it is truly quite dangerous especially when it is consumed too often.

First of all, this chemical is composed of two manufactured amino acids [phenylalanine (50%) and aspartic acid (40%)] and methanol (10%) (AKA wood alcohol posioning, a deadly toxin).  Though phenylanine is only really dangerous to people with a rare genetic deficiency known as PKU, the other two compononents can create and even exacerbate health problems that already exist.  When aspartic acid is ingested in the human body from aspartame, because it is a manufactured amino acid, the blood plasma level of both aspartate and glutamate rise significantly.  Aspartate and glutamate are neurotransmitters in the brain which carry information from neuron to neuron.  When too many neurotransmitters are present, it results in the death of certain neurons by letting an excess amount of calcium into the cells. This influx can result in an excessive number of free radical build up which also kills cells.  Aspartate and glutamate are regarded as ?excitotoxins? for ?they ?excite? or stimulate the neural cells to death.?  In fact, it was found in study performed by Dr. John Olney, a research psychiatrist from the Washington School of Medicine, that when he had mice consume aspartic acid, holes formed within their brains.

The third component is methanol, AKA wood alcohol, a deadly toxin.  Though small amounts of methanol are found naturally within some fruit juices and alcoholic beverages, it is always found along with ethanol, which works as a natural antidote to counter the methanol toxicity that would otherwise occur in humans.  Again, due to the fact that aspartame is a man-made substance, there is no ethanol present to counter the methanol toxicity.  Therefore, when an individual ingests aspartame, the body breaks its methanol content down into formic acid and formaldehyde, a deadly neurotoxin.  Even when formaldehyde is consumed at very low dosages, over time, its gradual damage can result in the severe damage of a person?s neurological system and immune system.  It can also cause permanent genetic damage.  Due to this danger, the EPA recommends that a person should limit methanol consumption to less than 7.8 mg daily.  People who drink a liter of diet soda could unknowingly consume up to 250 mg, of methanol, 32 times the recommended daily limit.  

In addition, when the methanol in aspartame-containing products is heated above 86 degrees F (30 degrees C) it becomes free methanol, which the body absorbs at a significantly higher rate.  Many Desert Storm troops drank carbonated beverages that contained aspartame, and most of these beverages were heated above 86 degrees F due to the high temperatures of Saudi Arabia.  A large number of troops who returned suffered from numerous disorders similar to what has been seen in individuals who have been chemically poisoned by formaldehyde.  It is believed that it is quite possible that the free methanol created from the heating of these beverages could have played a role in the resulting illnesses.

Honestly cypris, for these reasons I really don't think that Splenda is worth using to just save some calories throughout the day.  There's a ton of information out there about aspartame and other artificial sweeteners, chemicals, dyes, etc.  I suggest you do your own research to figure out what feels safe or worth it to you.

kate777, I stopped using anything (even Fiber One cereal) with aspartame because I'd heard this long ago.  I just started putting 1 tea. of pure maple syrup on my cereal and love that and use it in some baking.

That's awesome that you stopped Ohio45.  I didn't find this all out until after I'd been diagnosed with anorexia and had been pretty much surviving off of sugar-free gum (I went through packs and packs of Trident and Orbit).  I know now not to touch ANYTHING with aspartame in it, and I've been trying to convince my friends to stop too.  They don't listen though, even when they ironically refer to it as "cancer-gum." 

Ugh, I know I'm ranting, but I really hate that our government allows our food to be tainted, and how everything in life seems to be revolved around money.  In the 1970's when Regan, a friend of G.D. Searle, (the man who owns the company that manufactures aspartame) became president he fired the FDA's commissioner who had been against approving the use of aspartame, and replaced him with Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes.  The approval of aspartame was still being challenged b/c there were still questions surrounding whether or not the sweetener posed a risk of brain damage that could result in mental retardation or endocrine dysfunction.  To resolve this issue, the FDA appointed a panel of unbiased pathologists to examine Searle?s research reports. The panel concluded that users would not immediately develop brain damage but recommended long-term testing on animal subjects before approving the product. The board clearly stated to the FDA?s commissioner, Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes Jr., ?Do not approve aspartame,? but Dr. Hayes overruled the board and approved of its use despite this warning.  In 1983, not long after he approved of aspartame?s use in carbonated beverages, Dr. Hayes left the FDA for a high paying position with G.D. Searle?s Public Relations Firm. 

Its horrible that our government allows this to happen..

I used to like gum and can't find any without aspartame.

I feel the same as you do.

Honey is high calorie, but its very good for you. Try buying in honey sticks-- each one only has 15 calories and is a really good amount for drinks and such.

The calories in honey are nothing compared to the health benefits you'll get from eating it--its great for your heart and its all natural. The calories in honey have not made me gain weight--theyre so much less significant than say, a slice of chocolate cake. =)

Well, a teaspoon of honey has about 20 cals. But as it is sweeter than sugar, I find that a little dab is totally enought to satisfy my sweet craving.  I add it to my plain yogurt with cinnamon, on peanut butter sandwiches instead of jam, sometimes on oatmeal, in tea.  Really, I eat honey just about everyday.  I just try not to go over about a tablespoon a day.  I also use honey instead of sugar in a lot of my baked goods, just use a little less than the sugar called for.  Oh and if you have allergies, eating local wildflower honey is a good way to build up tolerance to local pollens.  So all in all, I think that honey is much better than sugar and, in moderation, won't totally blow the day's calories.

I'm sure it's fine as long as you don't eat a ton of it. :)  I think honey tastes better than sugar. 

You can also try agave nectar to replace honey.  I personally use leaves from a stevia plant (it's an herb, I plant them in my back yard) and add them to my tea before i put the hot water in.  It's sweet, so I don't need to add sugar.