Honey Basics

Is Honey Healthier Than Sugar? Which Is Better for You?

Michael Bell

Published at: March 8, 2023
Updated at: September 27, 2024

11 minutes

Executive Summary:

Honey is generally considered “healthier” than sugar because it contains beneficial nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and prebiotics.
Honey is also lower on the glycemic index, which can be a big benefit for those looking to stabilize their blood sugar without sacrificing sweeteners completely.

The Health Comparison Between Honey and Sugar

When it comes to making healthier choices in your diet, the debate between honey and sugar is common. Both are natural sweeteners but aren't the same in terms of their nutritional profiles and health impacts. While honey and sugar add sweetness to your food and drinks, the key differences between them could influence your decision on what to use.

From their origins and processing methods to their effects on your blood sugar levels and overall health, understanding these distinctions is essential for making an informed choice. So, which sweetener should you reach for? Let's explore the facts and find out!

What Is Honey?

Honey is a sweet substance produced by honeybees. It’s been used by humans as food and medicine for thousands of years.

How Is Honey Made?

Honeybees gather flower nectar and process it using a special enzyme in their digestive systems. The nectar is placed in honeycombs; whereby worker bees flap their wings to create a warm breeze that dries and cures it, turning it into honey.

Once the honey reaches the right consistency, the bees cap it and store it in the honeycomb. This natural dehydration process is necessary to keep the honey shelf stable.

Finally, a beekeeper harvests and packages the honey, where it, then, makes its way into your pantry.

What’s in Honey?

Honey is a carbohydrate that contains at least 181 different substances. Its main components include the following.

Sugars in Honey

Sugars make up 82.5% of honey and include:

Fructose
Glucose
Maltose
Trisaccharides
Sucrose

Water in Honey

Water makes up 17% of honey, which is a relatively low water content. As stated above, this lower water content gives it a long shelf life.

Nutritious Components of Honey: Proteins, Vitamins, and Minerals

These compounds are 0.5% of honey and can include:

Amino acids: Proline, phenylalanine, tyrosine, glutamic acid, isoleucine, and leucine.
Enzymes: Diastase, glucose oxidase, and invertase.
Essential minerals: Potassium, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, sodium, zinc, and selenium.
Vitamins, antioxidants, and flavonoids (trace amounts): Ascorbic acid (vitamin C), thiamine (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), niacin (vitamin B3), pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), and pyridoxine (vitamin B6).

Inevitably, honey has many more beneficial nutrients than sugar, making it increasingly popular in the healthy-eating community. It also contains essential vitamins, minerals, and plenty of other nutrients that support overall wellness.

Note that the exact contents and makeup of each type of honey can vary based on various factors, including location, the bees’ diet, weather, and individual beekeeping practices.

For example, Manuka honey contains unique beneficial nutrients that other honey does not, including leptosperin and methylglyoxal (MGO), an organic, antibacterial compound specifically from the nectar of the Manuka tea tree.

Honey, a natural elixir rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, not only sweetens your day but also fortifies your health. With a glycemic index significantly lower than sugar, it's not just sweet—it's smart.

Types of Honey

Surprisingly, there are various types of honey. These include regular honey, raw honey, and Manuka honey.

Regular honey: This is the common type of honey you’ll find at the grocery store. It’s often pasteurized to preserve its color and texture and prevent crystallization. However, because of the pasteurization process, regular honey lacks the beneficial nutrients you’ll find in raw honey.
Raw honey: This honey hasn’t been pasteurized and is offered in its raw form — right out of the beehive. Raw honey retains all its beneficial nutrients, though it’s less commonly available than regular honey. If you purchase raw honey, keep in mind that it may crystallize quicker than store-bought honey and may require special storage considerations.
Manuka honey: Manuka honey is a special type of raw honey from New Zealand. Manuka honey is unique because it’s made by bees that forage flowers from the Manuka tea tree, also called the New Zealand tea tree. Raw Manuka honey contains beneficial nutrients, including MGO, leptosperin, and unique prebiotics.

What Is Sugar?

Like honey, sugar is a commonly utilized sweetener. It’s used in foods, beverages, and even in beauty products.

How Is Sugar Made?

Sugar juice is extracted from sugar cane stalks or sugar beets. It is boiled until it crystallizes. From there, the crystals are separated from the liquid. At this point, the sugar is typically refined to its final form, whether granulated, powdered, or brown.

What’s in Sugar?

Table sugar is made of 50% fructose and 50% glucose. The fructose and glucose bond together to create disaccharide sucrose, also known as sugar. Unlike honey, sugar doesn’t have any additional nutrients.

Embrace the natural benefits: Honey infuses your diet with essential nutrients absent in plain sugar, making it more than just a sweetener—it's a health enhancer.

How do the different types of sugar compare?

There are many different types of sugars, with the most common ones listed below.

Raw sugar: Sugar in its raw form without being refined. Raw sugar is popular in coffee shops and is also used in home baking.
Granulated sugar: Your typical white, granulated table sugar.
Cane sugar: Minimally processed sugar made primarily from sugar cane rather than sugar beets.
Powdered or confectioners sugar: Fine powder often used to make icings and frostings for baked goods.
Light brown sugar: Granulated like white sugar but with a small amount of molasses added.
Dark brown sugar: Sugar with a higher molasses content added for a deeper flavor.

Less is more with honey. It’s sweeter than sugar, allowing you to use less for the same sweet impact, reducing both sugar intake and calorie count— a small change with a big health benefit.

Honey Vs. Sugar: A Comprehensive Health Comparison

Now that we’ve discussed the basics of honey and sugar, let’s compare them and discuss the pros and cons.

Honey is lower on the Glycemic Index (GI).

The glycemic index rates foods based on how much and how quickly they increase your blood sugar levels. Foods higher on the glycemic index scale tend to quickly spike your blood glucose levels, while lower ones release glucose slower and steadier. Foods lower on the glycemic index can help maintain healthy, balanced blood sugar.

High glycemic index foods often contain added sugars. Cereals, white bread, and most treats you’d use to satisfy your sweet tooth typically fall into the high glycemic index category. Overeating these foods is associated with an increased risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Sugar, with its higher concentration of glucose and fructose, has a glycemic index rating of 65. The effect of sugar on blood sugar levels is one reason to reduce sugar consumption. Meanwhile, honey is lower on the glycemic index, with a rating of 61.

Keep in mind that both sugar and honey’s glycemic index ratings can vary slightly from one product to the next. Many nutritional experts point to honey’s lower glycemic index as a good reason to substitute it for sugar.

This means that it is possible to choose a sweetener that you can also feel good about. At Manukora, we like to think of our raw honey as a healthy indulgence due to its beneficial nutrient, unbeatable flavor profile, and uniquely satisfying creamy texture.

Honey offers additional nutrients beyond fructose and glucose.

Sugar does not contain the proteins, minerals, vitamins, and beneficial nutrients naturally occurring in raw honey. That’s because sugar is a simple compound made up of only fructose and glucose.

Raw honey can include essential minerals and vitamins like potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, and vitamins C, B1, B2, B3, B5, and B6. It can also support a healthy immune response and contains prebiotics that can support gut health.

Honey is sweeter, yet lower in sugar and calories.

Did you know that honey is around 25% sweeter than sugar? That means you can use less of it to get the same sweetening effect. Additionally, honey contains less sugar and calories per gram than table sugar.

Let’s compare their sugar and calorie levels by weight, using 100-gram servings:

Sugar: 100 g sugar, 387 calories
Honey: 82.4 g sugar, 304 calories

Not only is honey sweeter, but it also has less sugar and calories per gram. That’s mainly because of its higher water content.

However, if you look at a tablespoon serving of honey versus sugar, the picture looks a bit different:

Sugar (1 tbsp): 12 g sugar, 46.5 calories
Honey (1 tbsp): 17 g sugar, 64 calories

Because of honey’s liquid form and higher water content, it fills the entire spoon and weighs more than a tablespoon of sugar. A tablespoon of honey weighs around 21 g, while a tablespoon of sugar weighs just 12.5 g. This is why comparing the two by weight rather than serving size is more helpful.

Thanks to its lower glycemic index rating and beneficial nutrients, honey comes out on top as being slightly “healthier” than sugar.

That’s why we recommend savoring a small spoonful of rich, creamy Manuka honey as a pick-me-up and as part of your regular wellness routine. (Check out our list of top five foods to eat with Manuka here!)

This table provides a clear, side-by-side comparison of honey and sugar, highlighting why honey might be a healthier choice due to its lower glycemic index and richer nutrient profile.

Attribute	Honey	Sugar
Origin	Produced by bees from flower nectar	Extracted from sugar cane or beets
Nutrient Content	Rich in vitamins, minerals, prebiotics, and antioxidants	Lacks additional nutrients
Glycemic Index	Lower (around 61), slower impact on blood sugar	Higher (around 65)
Caloric Content	Less sugar and calories per gram, more water content	More calories per gram
Health Impact	Supports immune system, gut health, and has anti-inflammatory benefits	Contributes to blood sugar spikes
Suitability	Preferred in health-conscious diets, especially in moderation	Less suitable due to high GI
Types and Varieties	Raw, regular, Manuka with varying health benefits	Granulated, raw, brown, powdered

Wrapping Up: Is Honey a Healthier Choice than Sugar?

Honey and sugar are both common, naturally occurring sweeteners.

Thanks to honey’s lower glycemic index rating and extra proteins, vitamins, and minerals, it offers a bit more when compared to table sugar. Plus, honey is sweeter yet higher in water content, making it lower in calories.

Manuka honey, known for its unique properties, is not just a sweetener but a powerhouse of health benefits. This natural sweetener, especially when measured with precision using a Manukora Dose Spoon, becomes a vital part of a health-conscious diet.

Exploring the Manuka Honey Collection can open up a world of choices, ranging from the potent Manuka Honey MGO 600+ UMF 16 to various bestsellers, each offering unique benefits and flavors.

To truly appreciate the longevity and quality of this honey, it's interesting to delve into topics such as 'Does Honey Expire?' and understand the journey of Manuka honey in 'The First Month with Manuka Honey'. Each jar from Manukora's Bestsellers Collection is not just a sweetener but a testament to the extraordinary properties of the Manuka tree, making it a healthier alternative to traditional table sugar.

So, is honey healthier? Well, the definition of healthy is a bit tricky, but we can say that honey, especially raw Manuka honey, has a whole lot more to offer than table sugar. We think it’s safe to say that raw Manuka makes for a worthy natural sweetener that brings benefits to the table that sugar just can’t!

Looking for more info on all things honey? Explore the Manukora blog here.

Looking to learn more about a particularly wellness-supportive variety of raw honey that you can only get from New Zealand? Learn more about Manuka honey here.

FAQs

Is honey better for your health than sugar?

Honey, especially raw honey, tends to be a healthier choice compared to sugar due to its lower glycemic index and beneficial nutrients, like vitamins, minerals, and prebiotics.

Which is healthier, honey or sugar, and why?

Honey is generally considered healthier due to its composition. It contains beneficial nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and prebiotics, which are not found in sugar. Plus, honey has a lower glycemic index, making it a better choice for maintaining regular blood sugar levels.

Is raw honey better than regular sugar?

Raw honey, which retains all its natural beneficial nutrients, is often considered better than regular sugar. It has fewer sugars and calories per gram and offers more nutritional benefits, such as essential vitamins, minerals, and prebiotics.

Is there a specific type of honey that's healthier than others?

Different types of honey have different health benefits due to varying nutrient and antioxidant content, largely influenced by the flowers the bees have pollinated. However, Manuka honey from New Zealand is often considered particularly healthful due to its unique nutrients. It contains leptosperin and Methylglyoxal (MGO), an organic antibacterial compound derived from the nectar of the Manuka tea tree.

Additionally, raw honey (unprocessed and unheated) tends to retain more of its natural beneficial properties compared to heavily processed varieties. It's also important to note that honey should always be consumed in moderation as it is still a source of sugar.