The Effects of Honey Consumption for Diabetes, Is It Really Healthier Than Sugar?

Diabetics (diabetics) are often advised to avoid eating foods that contain sugar. The reason is, this can increase their blood sugar levels. Therefore, many diabetics have switched to using various sugar substitutes as food sweeteners, one of which is honey. However, is it true that honey consumption is definitely safer for diabetes?

Effect of honey consumption on blood sugar levels
Diabetes mellitus is a disease that occurs due to high levels of glucose in the blood. Glucose itself is blood sugar which is the main source of energy for the body.

Patients with type 1 diabetes do not have enough insulin to absorb glucose. Meanwhile, type 2 diabetes patients are unable to convert glucose into energy.

Both of these conditions cause glucose to build up in the blood so that blood sugar levels rise.

In addition, the increase in blood sugar levels can be influenced by the consumption of certain foods.
Not only foods that contain sugar, the American Diabetes Association explains that any food composed of carbohydrates also contributes to an increase in blood sugar levels.

Cane sugar, beet sugar, or honey contain simple carbohydrates, namely sucrose or natural sugar. This means that consumption of honey also affects blood sugar levels.

When consuming honey, the digestive system will process sucrose and then release it into glucose into the blood.

Therefore, there is actually no significant effect if you use honey as a sugar substitute for diabetes.

The reason is, both of them have the same increasing effect on blood sugar levels.

However, the exception is if you prefer the taste of honey as a sweetener than sugar.

Even so, this does not mean that the consumption of honey and sugar are equally prohibited for diabetes.

How to consume honey that is safe for diabetes
The most important principle of the diabetes diet is to regulate the amount of food intake with carbohydrates, including sweet foods.

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It aims to control blood sugar levels through food consumption. Like sugar, honey can be dangerous for diabetes patients if consumed in excess.

However, honey is safe for diabetes patients as long as it is consumed in limited quantities.

This is because the natural sugar content in honey can make blood sugar spike when you eat it more than your daily carbohydrate and sugar needs.

In one spoon of honey, there are at least 17.25 grams of sugar. In general, the recommended intake of added sugar by the Indonesian Ministry of Health is no more than 50 grams per day.

So, if you want to use honey as a sugar substitute for diabetes, you should only consume 2-3 tablespoons of honey per day.

However, the calculation of added sugar intake for each diabetic patient can actually be different. This means that the limit for consuming honey per day is not the same for every patient.

This depends on the daily calorie and carbohydrate needs that are determined when you consult a nutrition specialist or an internal medicine doctor.

Some of the factors that influence the amount of honey intake that is safe for diabetes patients are daily activity, age, body weight, and high blood sugar levels.

Diabetics who need to lower blood sugar levels and body weight should avoid sugary foods (whether with honey or not) and prioritize nutritious foods for diabetes.

Potential benefits of honey for diabetes
Based on the value of the glycemic index, honey is slightly healthier for diabetes patients than sugar or white sugar.

The glycemic index (GI) measures how quickly food can raise blood sugar levels. The higher the GI value of a food, the faster the food raises blood sugar.

Honey has a slightly lower GI value (58) than white sugar (60). However, this does not necessarily mean that honey is relatively healthier than sugar.

In addition to its effect on blood sugar levels, many studies have tried to explore the potential of honey for diabetes treatment.

Several studies, such as in the release of Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, state that honey has the potential to control blood sugar because it is hypoglycemic (lowers glucose levels).

Other research from the journal Pharmacognosy Research shows the anti-inflammatory component in honey can inhibit diabetes complications related to heart and nerve disease.

However, most of the studies examining the benefits of honey for diabetes are still conducted on a small and limited scale.

The researchers also concluded that the research results should be tested further on a long-term basis and on a larger scale. There are also several studies that have shown conflicting results.

Therefore, it can be concluded that until now honey has not been clinically proven to be able to overcome or help 

diabetes treatment.

It's just that, as explained earlier, it's okay if you are interested in consuming honey even though you have diabetes.

With a note, your daily honey intake is not more than the allowed amount of added sugar.