Toronto University research analyze honey’s impact through systematic.
Honey is obtained from flower nectar, which contains a variety of complex sugars, organic acids, enzymes, proteins, amino acids, minerals, vitamins, and other biologically active compounds. Honey, is widely regarded as a healthier alternative to sugar. It has previously been shown in in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies to show the impact of honey on health, including reduced body weight, inflammation, lipid profiles, and glycemic control.
According to Research
The current study’s researchers searched the MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases for randomised and nonrandomized controlled feeding trials in humans. These studies looked at how honey consumption affected adiposity, glycemic control, lipids, blood pressure, uric acid, inflammatory markers, and markers of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
The researchers used the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) Approach to determine the effect of honey on these various factors. The GRADE approach, in particular, assesses the certainty of estimates extracted from selected trials to generate graded evidence profiles based on their degree of certainty.
Importantly, the studies included in this review were conducted on otherwise healthy patients who did not consume excessive amounts of sugar on a daily basis.
The study’s findings
The researchers used 18 controlled feeding trials from the initial 809 studies for their final analysis, which included 1,105 participants. The median daily dose of honey in these trials was 40 grams, with a median duration of eight weeks.
These studies compared the effects of honey on body weight, (BMI), waist circumference, (SBP), (DBP), fasting glucose, fasting insulin, glycated haemoglobin, (HOMA-IR), (LDL-C), (HDL-C), (ALT).
Honey was discovered to improve lipid outcomes by lowering total cholesterol, LDL-C, and fasting triglyceride levels while increasing HDL-C levels. Furthermore, honey consumption increased IL-6 and TNF- levels.
Notably, the researchers discovered that the floral source and method of processing honey affected its health. Robinia honey, clover honey, and raw honey, for example, were all linked to lower fasting glucose and total cholesterol levels.
The common belief among public health and nutrition experts has been that “sugar is sugar,” but this research shows that this is not the case.”
Takeaways from your studies
Despite the fact that honey has a high sugar concentration of about 80%, the majority of which is fructose and glucose, the current study discovered that the various other bioactive substances that comprise this honey, likely provide cardiometabolic health benefits to consumers.
In addition to the conventional sugars found in honey, rare sugars that have been shown to alter both short- and long-term glycemic outcomes account for approximately 14% of the honey’s sugar content. As a result, the presence of these sugars may also contribute to honey’s observed health benefits.
