Honey: A good sugar substitute?

1. You would like to live a healthier life, so you want to be the very first to keep the refined sugars out and replace them with honey. A great decision, but do realize that honey is not everything. There is no such thing as â € healthy sugarâ € ™, despite the fact that many people would like you to believe this.

2. You would like to live a healthier life, so you want to be the very first to keep the refined sugars out to replace them with honey. A great decision, but realize that honey is not the perfect solution either. There is no such thing as â € healthy sugarâ € ™, despite the fact that many people would like you to believe this.

1. TIP from Robert Jan: Would you like to experience all the physical benefits of honey? Then it is important that you get the right kind! This is the best honey >>

1. There are only unhealthy sugars and less unhealthy sugars. But despite that, honey can be an alternative to the refined white sugar you now have in your cupboard. Let's list the most important points about this.

2. There are only unhealthy sugars and fewer unhealthy sugars. But despite that, honey can be an alternative to the refined white sugar you now have in your cupboard. Let's list the most important points about this.

What's wrong with regular sugar?

1. To get straight to the point: There is a lot wrong with regular, refined sugar. Let me be clear about that immediately. The ordinary sugars as we put in our cup of coffee every day or sprinkle over the yogurt is a refined sugar. This means that all kinds of operations are done to eventually arrive at the well-known lumps and powder, the well-known shapes that are in our cupboard.

1. Through all these processes, the natural product (sugar beet or reed) of origin is completely stripped of all possible micro-nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and fibers. Precisely because of this â € cleaningâ € ™ sugar is just a sweetener that has no nutritional value in any way. As a result, there are no benefits to be thought of from refined sugar. There is a disadvantage: Sugar can cause irreparable damage to your body. As long as there is no fiber in the sugar, the sugar is absorbed by your body super fast, creating a gigantic insulin spike to remove the sugar or store it as body fat for later use. [! 180187 => 1140 = 5!] When fibers are added, ie unrefined, these fibers cause some delay in the absorption so that the peak in insulin is less extreme. But the peak remains, because sugar is sugar, no matter how natural it is.

2. Through all these operations, the natural product (sugar beet or reed) of origin is completely stripped of all possible micro-nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and fibers. Precisely because of this â € cleaningâ € ™ sugar is just a sweetener that has no nutritional value in any way. As a result, there are no advantages to be thought of from refined sugar. There is a disadvantage: Sugar can cause irreparable damage to your body. As long as there is no fiber in the sugar, the sugar is absorbed by your body super fast, creating a gigantic insulin spike to remove the sugar or store it as body fat for later use.

1. When fibers are added, ie unrefined, these fibers cause some delay in the absorption so that the peak in insulin is less extreme. But the peak remains, because sugar is sugar, no matter how natural it is.

1. On the other hand, we have to put this in a correct perspective. Sugar is not healthy, we all know that. But alcohol, chocolate and cola are also not healthy. That does not mean that you should not eat or drink anything, because that will not work either. As long as you eat everything in moderation, within reason, the risk will be very minimal. But as soon as you know that you have a real sweet tooth and eat and drink more sugars than is good for you, you have a problem. Then it is wise to stop eating sugars or at least cut down considerably.

1. More and more people are always looking for an alternative to the refined sugar, and then soon arrive at sweeteners, ie artificial sweeteners. Wrong plan! You'd better avoid anything that 'artificial' stands for. Ok, then a natural product. Is honey a good alternative? Let's take a closer look!

2. More and more people are constantly looking for an alternative to the refined sugar, and then soon arrive at sweeteners, ie artificial sweeteners. Wrong plan! You better avoid anything that 'artificial' stands for. Ok, then a natural product. Is honey a good alternative? Let's take a closer look!

There is honey, honey and honey

1. Before you get on your bike now to buy a jar of honey in the local supermarket, you should first know something about this natural product. have you ever wondered why a very large kilo jar of liquid honey at the supermarket costs only a few euros, while at the health food store you have to deposit at least 7 euros for a jar of 450 grams? There is of course a difference in quality here.

1. That well-known kilo-pot for 2 euros has nothing to do with honey anymore. It's sugar water with a honey flavor. Nice and cheap! Also, this â € honeyâ € ™, as far as we can speak of honey, is heated to get it better in the pot. The heating also kills any useful nutrients that might be in it. That is no problem for that cheap honey, because there is nothing in it basically. The heating should also ensure that it has a longer shelf life.

2. That well-known kilo-pot for 2 euros has nothing to do with honey anymore. It's sugar water with a honey flavor. Nice and cheap! Also, this â € honeyâ € ™, as far as we can speak of honey, is heated in order to get it better in the pot. The heating also kills any useful nutrients that might be in it. That is no problem for that cheap honey, because there is nothing in it basically. The heating should also ensure that it has a longer shelf life.

1. If we then look at the health food store, we see there the better honey, the organic honey. It used to be much more, but we still have active beekeepers in the Netherlands. But look at the potty? Then you see that the organic honey comes in most cases from Africa and South America. Don't we have organic honey in the Netherlands? According to the rules: No, this is virtually impossible in the Netherlands. For the designation â € ˜biological honeyâ € ™ there must be no pollutants around the hive within a circle of 7 kilometers.

1. So no highway, no industry, no residential areas and certainly no neighbor happily spraying his potatoes with pesticides. You can imagine that such a place no longer exists in the Netherlands. But organic honey that has to travel so many kilometers to be sold in the Netherlands, what remains of the whole organic aspect? Very, very little!

1. It is for this reason that I recommend that you buy raw, unprocessed Dutch honey. Even if the label 'organic' is not on it, just enjoy it. You can sometimes get this honey at a good health food store, but it is best to look up a local beekeeper. Feel free to ask him about the method, and you will soon notice that the Dutch honey is made according to traditional methods. Only in this way can you be sure that you are buying real, unprocessed honey, which still contains all the healthy nutrients. And let's be honest: you notice that in the taste, right?

1. TIP from Robert Jan: Would you like to experience all the physical benefits of honey? Then it is important that you get the right kind! This is the best honey >>

Honey, there's something in that

1. Honey, and I am talking about raw and unprocessed bee honey, is a natural product that is collected and processed by honey bees. The bees collect pollen, nectar and honeydew. They mix this and add their own enzymes. This stuff is stored in the combs and sealed with a wax for aging, just like a good wine.

1. The moment the beekeeper decides to harvest the honey, the combs are taken out of the cupboard, the wax seal is cut open and the honey is thrown out, as in a centrifuge. This process produces the best honey. Sometimes the honey is heated to get a higher yield, but then there is a rapid loss of nutrients. Cold harvested honey is therefore the very best quality.

1. Honey roughly consists of the following substances:

1. It is this last 3% that makes honey so special in many ways. This part contains essential vitamins, enzymes, trace elements and minerals. And it is especially the enzymes glucose oxidase, catalase, diastase and invertase that are good for your health.

Honey as a solution for diabetics?

1. Speaking of honey as a sugar substitute, let me clear up a common misunderstanding. All over the internet you will find stories about the special effects of honey on blood sugar. With regular sugar, you inevitably experience a spike in blood sugar, which triggers the production of insulin. This insulin transports the sugar in the body and causes a drop in the blood sugar level. But this decrease is lower than the starting point that gives your brain the signal that sugar should be eaten again. After this, the whole process starts again. Many internet sites claim that honey does not have this effect at all.

1. Honey is said to have no effects on blood sugar because it contains slow sugars. This would make honey extremely suitable for diabetics. As beautiful as this sounds and as much as you want to believe this, this is definitely not true! Ultimately, honey contains normal fructose and glucose, and will therefore irrevocably raise blood sugar levels. In addition, the fructose must be converted by the liver into glucose, which is a heavy burden on the liver.

1. In short: Honey simply remains sugar and has the same effect on blood sugar. It does not matter whether it is organic, raw, or perhaps biodynamic. It remains 'ordinary' sugar. Therefore, honey is definitely not suitable for diabetics, despite other claims.

So watch out: Sugar remains sugar!

1. Honey consists of 80% sugars, and will behave like this in your body. The very best remains to avoid or at least reduce sugars. And if you still want to use a sweetener (sporadically), honey is a great choice. Not because the sugar itself is different, but because the honey contains very healthy nutrients. In any case, refined sugar contains nothing at all.

Finally…

1. The manufacturers can put wonderful stories and catchphrases on the packaging, but don't smell in it. ALL sweeteners are considered sugar by the body, after which the body will react to it. One sweetener may be a bit more intense than the other, but the result will always be the same: Peaks in your blood sugar after which large amounts of insulin are produced.

1. My advice: At least cut down on sugar, and replace that little bit of sugar you still use with a less unhealthy product such as honey. Then you will at least benefit from the natural nutrients that can be important for your body.

1. TIP from Robert Jan: Would you like to experience all the physical benefits of honey? Then it is important that you get the right kind! This is the best honey >>