HONEY -vs- High-Fructose Corn Syrup (Is Honey Healthier?) 2024

Is honey better than high-fructose corn syrup? Is honey better than sugar? Many people think honey is a healthier sweetener than sugar or high-fructose corn syrup. Here is a research study that shows some interesting findings that are important because they can protect your metabolic health.

Research study:

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Ken D Berry, MD, is a Family Physician and has been practicing Family Medicine in Tennessee for over 20 years, having seen over 25,000 patients in his career so far.
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[ResponseDigitalMedia]

I think an important point when referring to the Haza tribe is that they don’t eat honey every day. It’s a treasured and rare event when they find some. Not to mention that they might hike for like 20 miles to find it.

Becomes a problem when can just walk over to your pantry and use it every day.

[sandymorrison]

Sugar hates me...does not matter what form it comes in. Joints ache and I swell like a puffer fish. Organic, raw honey fresh from a hive, or chocolate covered cinnamon bears, or a baked spud. Sugar is not my friend.

[falcorthewonderdog]

Honey contains mostly sugar, as well as a mix of amino acids, vitamins, minerals, iron, zinc and antioxidants. In addition to its use as a natural sweetener, honey is used as an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antibacterial agent. People commonly use honey orally to treat coughs and topically to treat burns and promote wound healing.

[daynaandsteve]

I have done this same test on myself. Cane sugar, corn syrup raise my blood sugar noticeably. Coconut sugar raises it slightly. Raw honey barely raised it at all. So this study is making me curious. I’m not pre diabetic.

[YouTuber-epxx]

Three things we eat way, way more of today than we did historically/naturally:
1) Sugar. It was a seasonal rarity, now it is everywhere in everything.
2) PUFAs/Omega 6. Used to be in balance with Omega 3. No more.
3) Wheat. Seeds of grasses was starvation food until we resorted to farming.
Sugars, Omega6-rich oils, wheat/flour. The 3 primary ingredients of processed foods.
Avoid all 3 for optimal health. It is that simple. Not easy, but simple...

[williamdinwiddie]

My Dad had bad allergies, so bad he had to take shots for relief. He started taking Honey daily and after a couple of years he didn't need the shots any more. Couple more years and he was basically almost free of the allergies. He continued with the daily Honey for the rest of his life. Local Honey only (within 25 miles) and filtered, not pasteurized.

[ermahamilton]

as a former beekeeper we used to laugh when people wanted 'organic' honey. you CANNOT dictate where a bee gets her pollen! So, when fields, yards are pesticide sprayed... also, after a certain temperature (?104* -114*) it loses its benefits

[Lindabraggketovore]

Okay, I’ve followed you for a little over 2 years now. I’ve done the experiments with blood glucose levels like you have recommended on different foods with glucose meter. I’m not diabetic, but truly am trying to take care of my health with regards to food. Am I perfect, no! So I decided to check my reading this morning. My reading when I got up was 108. I know why it was not in the normal 99 reading. This was because I ate a brownie I made with Coconut Palm Sugar. Now after checking my sugar level this morning in 30 minutes after eating 1 teaspoon of raw honey with the comb inside it went up to 152. So for me it does spike my blood sugar. Thank you Dr. Berry for enlightening me on this. Now to check it in 30 minutes once I eat a brownie that I have made with Coconut Palm Sugar. This is the only thing in my Coconut Floured Brownies that would spike my blood sugar I’m guessing! God bless and please keep doing what your doing know matter what the naysayers say. Their body might react differently or they might not want to know the truth and use a glucose meter to find out!

[cedricstone]

From NZ, the official home of 'Manuka' Honey, collected from the native manuka or kanuka trees. The medical profession have used Manuka Honey as an antiseptic/burn dressing for yrs. It is very effective and ok to eat occasionally....but its still sugar.

[aymanabdellatief]

It’s not about honey vs sugar vs high fructose corn syrup because you’ve just shown they all have the same effect. It’s about how much and how often you consume those things and in general consuming the right amount at the right frequency has the biggest impact on health even more so than what you consume.

[JamesSmith-pcbh]

I once had a very bad cold with sore throat etc. I bought some local raw honey to soothe my sore throat, I ate two table spoons every four hours. Within three days my cold was completely gone. It is also good for treating allergies, if it's local raw honey.

[Dan-cusf]

The honey debate is difficult for me. As a big fan of Dr. Lustig, I've long been firm on fructose being problematic no matter what. On the other hand, Saladino's argument that sugar in complexes (raw honey, fruit) may behave differently in the body is compelling.

[ryanray]

There is a one more important thing ! It is a huge difference between pasteurized honey and non pasteurized, unheated, unfiltered, organic honey . Wondering if ever they will do study about this . Everyone knows, that pasteurized honey turns into pure sugar !

[DarkFurniture]

Here's an excerpt from the study he is siting for everyone curious whether or not natural, RAW Honey was used or not.
"Dietary treatments.
Participants were provided daily with a 50-g portion of carbohydrate from honey (Dutch Gold Honey), HFCS55 (CornSweet 55; Archer Daniels Midland), or sucrose (C&H Sugar; Domino Foods). The honey chosen for use in this trial is a product formed from a blend of honeys of different floral sources, color, and geographic origin, which is the most commonly used type of honey in the United States."
You can go look up Dutch Gold Honey, absolutely none of their products seem to claim being RAW, as in UNPASTEURIZED.
So the answer is NO, they did not use natural, raw honey in the test.
OF COURSE pasteurized honey loses it's health benefits.

[richardjones]

My A1C was well above 8. Lost the top part of a toe. I had serious retinopathy. I went Keto or at least low carb. A1C dropped to 5.7. Ithas been 5.6 to 5.8 for the last year. Reversed the retinopathy. A little month I started eating a teaspoon of Manuka Honey 16+ each night. I took my A1C right before I started 5.8. A month after using the Manuka Honey 5.3. In the study you mentioned were they using a highly processed Honey from China or a high quality raw honey? Also quantity is key. I imagine of I consumed several tablespoons per night rather than a teaspoon the results would not have been so good.
Also I had a small diabetic ulcer on my shin for years that wouldn't go away. I applied some to that and it healed. So I'm sure there's more to honey than just sugar.

[sofializzy]

Yep - I believed it too until this past spring. Dr. Ekberg talked about sweeteners (natural & man made). He discussed fructose and pointed out things to look for on the ingredient label. I owe him, Dr. Berg, and you a huge thank you because y'all saved my life & enpowerd me to educate my young adult sons on how to eat.

We have all lost weight on the keto diet we all started in March (they are kind of a captive audience). They don't follow keto strictly but have made HUGE improvements in their diets and I'm thrilled they've lost weight because I thought they were doomed to a life of poor health and becoming diabetic like me.

[maryvanderplas]

I don't think Dr. Saladino would disagree with any of this. I've never heard him say that honey doesn't cause a spike in blood sugar. Of course it does; it's a simple sugar. Nor have I heard him say that consuming honey is good for people who are dealing with metabolic derangement. In fact, he cautions that those with metabolic syndrome should not eat carbs, especially ones that are known to cause a significant glucose response. He says only that he doesn't think honey and fruit cause metabolic dysfunction; he attributes this to PUFAs. And he says that honey has certain beneficial properties that HFCS lacks.

[hbarwickjr]

I'm into my 3rd month of battle to reverse type 2 diabetes after my last a1c of 8.9. Blood glucose fasting that date was 193 mg/dl. Now 2 1/2 months since, my past 30 day daily average fasting and eating combined is 105 mg/dl, and past 7 days is 102/mg/dl meaning continued progress to my goal. From following exclusively instructions from your videos using a glucose monitor has shown me how to effectively monitor this significant progress per the
mg/dl readings of fastings, pre and post meals. I anticipate the doctors jaw to drop after the next a1c. I picked up from other videos of yours honey is like sugar so I reluctantly stop taking it too before hand. Like you I believed it was totally safe and good to eat. These studies shown here it's not good especially for those having intolerant glucose issues. I follow your low carb high fat diet advice. I cannot thank you enough for all you have done here on YouTube. My Primary YouTube doctor!

[wingabouts]

I use raw honey to preserve slices of fresh ginger (which I grow myself) - super yummy - I eat 3 or 4 coin-sized slices a day. I also preserve whole garlic cloves in raw honey. After 3 months they sink to the bottom of the jar and will keep indefinitely. I eat a couple right out of the jar every day. I don't purposefully consume the honey, but it is coating both the ginger and the garlic. All 3 of these foods are incredibly rich in health benefits. I do IF and eat the ginger and garlic with my main meal. Never have I felt better! Age: 62.

[MofATC]

Any carbohydrate will spike your glucose levels, aside from fiber. It’s the amount of other nutrients that are the benefit. Or the laboratory chemicals that can hurt your body’s chemistry. Honey has anti fungal, antibacterial properties, etc. High fructose corn syrup blocks the signal from your stomach that tells your brain that you’re full, etc.