Honey and table sugar are both mostly sugar, but your body handles them a little differently. Most of the sugar in honey is already split into glucose and fructose, while table sugar (sucrose) must first be broken apart by a digestive enzyme. Honey also contains small amounts of enzymes, amino acids, minerals and plant compounds. Early research suggests honey may affect blood lipids more gently than sugar, but honey is still sugar and is not a treatment for any condition.
This article is based on the science talk from our EPKA Honey Ceremony.
Key Takeaways
- Honey is mostly glucose, fructose and water; table sugar is sucrose.
- Sucrose needs one extra digestive step before it can be absorbed.
- Honey carries small amounts of enzymes, minerals and plant compounds that table sugar doesn't have.
- In a small trial, swapping sugar for honey was linked to better LDL, HDL and triglyceride levels.
- Honey is not safe for babies under 1 year (risk of botulism).
What is honey made from?
Honey is made from flower nectar, a sugar-rich liquid that flowers produce to attract pollinators. Its composition varies with the plant and the environment, and bees transform it into honey.
How do bees turn nectar into honey?
Bees add enzymes, pass the nectar from bee to bee and fan their wings to evaporate water. Once it ripens into honey, they seal it in wax cells for storage.
What's in honey besides sugar?
Besides sugars and water, honey contains small and variable amounts of enzymes, amino acids, organic acids, minerals, phenolics and aroma compounds. The flowers the bees visit shape its aroma, flavor and composition.
How does your body digest honey vs. table sugar?
Most sugars in honey are already free glucose and fructose, so they can be absorbed directly. Table sugar is sucrose: the intestinal enzyme sucrase first splits it into those same two sugars.
Honey & Table Sugar
Composition, digestion & absorption
| Raw Honey | Table Sugar | |
|---|---|---|
| Main sugars | Mostly free glucose and fructose, plus water and smaller amounts of other sugars. | Almost entirely sucrose: glucose and fructose joined together. |
| Digestion & absorption | Free glucose and fructose need no further splitting before intestinal absorption.Glucose + fructose→Small intestine | The intestinal enzyme sucrase splits sucrose into glucose and fructose, which are then absorbed.Sucrose→Sucrase→Glucose + fructose |
| Beyond sugar | Contains variable traces of phenolics, enzymes, pollen and minerals. Typical servings provide little in the way of vitamins or minerals. | Provides carbohydrate energy, with negligible amounts of other nutrients. |
Does honey affect cholesterol differently than sugar?
Possibly, but the evidence is still early. In a randomized trial with 60 healthy young adults (Rasad et al., 2018), the group eating honey instead of sucrose showed lower LDL, lower triglycerides and higher HDL. A University of Toronto review of 18 trials (Ahmed et al., 2023) pointed the same way, especially for raw honey, but rated most of the evidence as low certainty. Honey works best as a swap for sugar, not something added on top. For a closer look at the research, read Does honey raise cholesterol? What studies show vs. sugar.
Three blood markers are worth knowing:
- LDL (low-density lipoproteins) — particles that carry cholesterol through the blood to the body's cells; lower levels are generally favorable.
- Triglycerides — fats the body uses for energy and stores in fat tissue as an energy reserve.
- HDL (high-density lipoproteins) — particles that help carry excess cholesterol from tissues back to the liver for processing and removal.
Know Where Your Honey Comes From
The quality of honey depends on the flowers, the bees and the beekeeper. When you buy from trusted local beekeepers, you know exactly what’s in your jar: raw honey, nothing added. On EPKA, you can meet our beekeepers and buy honey directly from them, so you always know whose hands it came from.
FAQ
Is honey healthier than sugar?
Honey is still sugar with similar calories, but it contains small amounts of other natural compounds, and early studies suggest it may affect blood lipids more gently than table sugar when used as a replacement.
Does honey raise blood sugar?
Yes. Honey is a source of sugar and raises blood sugar. Anyone managing blood sugar should count it like any other sweetener.
Is raw honey different from regular honey?
Raw honey is minimally processed and keeps more of its natural compounds. In the University of Toronto review, raw honey showed the most favorable results.
Can babies eat honey?
No. Honey should not be given to children under 1 year because of the risk of infant botulism.
Sources
- Rasad H. et al. (2018). The effect of honey consumption compared with sucrose on lipid profile in young healthy subjects. Clinical Nutrition ESPEN. PubMed
- Ahmed A. et al., University of Toronto (2023). Effect of honey on cardiometabolic risk factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutrition Reviews. PubMed
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Honey Ceremony. We'll see you at the next one.
This article is for educational purposes and is not medical advice.