honey

is the sugar in honey natural like in fruit?

or is it processed, or does it vary (such as in process peanut butter/natural peanut butter)?

 

You're better off using agave nectar, it has a much lower glycemic value...Here's a nice tidbit of info that might answer your  question, though...

Honey is made from distilled flower nectar in a bee's stomach. (Aren't you GLAD you asked? :^D )
Look for your honey "Raw" and purchase it locally if possible. Imported honey does not have the same requirements for additives that US honey has. Also honey gathered from your local area is reported to help build up the body’s immunities to local allergens. Also, it helps your local beekeeper and helps them build your local economy.

Honey is a natural food, and usually isn't processed at all.  Like fruit, it's sweetness comes from a combination of fructose and glucose.  

If you buy honey, get it from a local beekeeper.  What you see on the store shelves has been heat extracted and always has a faint smell of beeswax.  The local honey I get tastes so fresh and smells like flowers. 

As for it being better than using refined, white sugar - a calorie is a calorie and sugar is sugar.  While we can get some benefits from honey, such as the flavor, the calories add up the same way.

Moderation is the key.  Just stay within your daily limit and burn more than you eat and you'll lose weight.

Original Post by clairelaine:

If you buy honey, get it from a local beekeeper. What you see on the store shelves has been heat extracted and always has a faint smell of beeswax. The local honey I get tastes so fresh and smells like flowers.

As for it being better than using refined, white sugar - a calorie is a calorie and sugar is sugar. While we can get some benefits from honey, such as the flavor, the calories add up the same way.

Moderation is the key. Just stay within your daily limit and burn more than you eat and you'll lose weight.

oh, i know that a calorie is a calorie; i was just unsure if my recent cravings for more sugar were linked with the fact that i recently started eating honey.

 

but thanks everyone for answering.

Cravings for sugar are often a result of low blood-sugar.  Symptoms... energy dies away, feeling a little 'jittery' or shaky, low moods, fatigue/yawning, hunger-pangs.  This can be caused by a) not eating enough in total, b) eating too much sugar, refined carbohydrates and processed foods and c) going too long between meals.  A little honey on its own is unlikely to cause the problem

Check you are a) eating enough, b) eating mostly 'whole' unprocessed, unsweetened foods and c) eating regular meals and snacks.  Good luck

raw honey, un prcoessed honey is very very very healthy

yes, its basically the same as sugar, but thats not even counting the varoius enzymes it has ( like amalyse ( spelled wrong) ) which helps digest carbohyrates.

Theres also trace minerals and anti oxidants in raw honey.

yeah, weeve all heard that agave has a low GI, thats because its almost all fructose, and fructose, without the natural fruit to support it, is rather bad.

an apple has fructose, but its not a pure shot to your liver, like agave is.

besides if you want some sugar, which agave still is, reach for something that has benefits, like raw honey.

Original Post by gi-jane:

Cravings for sugar are often a result of low blood-sugar. Symptoms... energy dies away, feeling a little 'jittery' or shaky, low moods, fatigue/yawning, hunger-pangs. This can be caused by a) not eating enough in total, b) eating too much sugar, refined carbohydrates and processed foods and c) going too long between meals. A little honey on its own is unlikely to cause the problem

Check you are a) eating enough, b) eating mostly 'whole' unprocessed, unsweetened foods and c) eating regular meals and snacks. Good luck

none of those symptoms really apply to me. i'm pretty much just craving carbs and sweets.

i actually never get real hunger pangs, just cravings.

cravings for sugar are either caused by blood sugar swings

or as a few doctors put it, "not eating right for your metabolic type"

basically, your not eating the right things, or right amounts of fats, saturated fats, mono-sat fats etc.

Many people simply need more fat and thier cravings would probably subside, at least thats the case with me. about 45 percent of my diet comes from fat, a good half comes from saturated fat in the form of grass fed butter, coconut oil, and from fish. i used to have these cravings, and after i adjusted, i felt beter.

Original Post by garnet18:

Original Post by gi-jane:

Cravings for sugar are often a result of low blood-sugar. Symptoms... energy dies away, feeling a little 'jittery' or shaky, low moods, fatigue/yawning, hunger-pangs. This can be caused by a) not eating enough in total, b) eating too much sugar, refined carbohydrates and processed foods and c) going too long between meals. A little honey on its own is unlikely to cause the problem

Check you are a) eating enough, b) eating mostly 'whole' unprocessed, unsweetened foods and c) eating regular meals and snacks. Good luck

none of those symptoms really apply to me. i'm pretty much just craving carbs and sweets.

i actually never get real hunger pangs, just cravings.

Correct me if I'm confusing you with someone else, but I'm pretty sure I remember seeing a post by you mentioning how you only eat like 1000 calories a day, or some low number. It was in one of the threads about the new Light n' Fit, you said that 20 extra calories is a big deal when you're only eating ___. & I remember reading it & thinking it was a low number. If I'm right, a) could be the reason for your problems. If I'm wrong, just ignore this haha.

Original Post by dartrinton:

raw honey, un prcoessed honey is very very very healthy

yes, its basically the same as sugar, but thats not even counting the varoius enzymes it has ( like amalyse ( spelled wrong) ) which helps digest carbohyrates.

Theres also trace minerals and anti oxidants in raw honey.

 Honey, raw or otherwise, isn't a health food; the health food store just wants you to think it is.  :-)  We have plenty enough of our own amylase; our bodies have no trouble digesting starch (which is what amylase does).  And pasteurizing honey doesn't take any of the minerals out; minerals aren't typically heat-sensitive.  That said, as long as you're over the age of 3 and not diabetic, raw honey isn't particularly unhealthy in reasonable quantities and makes a great alternative to sugar if you happen to like the flavour (which I do very much).

of course our body makes amlayse, but i dare say that a little help never hurt, espeically from honey.

i get raw honey from down my street, i can taste the flowers in our garden, its kinda neat.  however, i know when i was very underweight and not eating enough, the doctor said my pancreas wasnt creating enough enzymes, so under right conditions, your body may lack enyzmes.

Im not saying yours is doing the same, but its possible.