Honey and Diabetes: Can People With Diabetes Eat Honey? (2024)

This article covers whether honey is bad for people with diabetes as well as how honey affects blood sugar. It discusses the potential benefits of honey for those with diabetes, the healthiest forms of honey to shop for, and more.

How Does Honey Affect Blood Sugar?

Being a carbohydrate, it is expected that honey is going to impact blood sugar levels when consumed. However, when compared to other sugars, it may have less of an impact.

One study observed the glycemic effect of honey compared to glucose in people with type 2 diabetes, measuring participants’ blood sugar levels one and two hours after ingestion. Researchers found that with honey, blood sugar levels peaked at one hour, followed by a decline.

Two hours after ingestion of honey, blood sugar levels were lower than at the first hour. On the other hand, blood sugar levels with glucose ingestion were higher than with honey in the first hour and continued to rise even in the second hour.

Because honey exhibited a shorter peak in blood sugar levels, it can be suggested that honey has a lower glycemic effect than glucose. However, more research is needed to verify this claim.

What About Sugar-Free Honey?

There is no such thing as sugar-free honey. There are honeys that contain added sugars, and honeys that are pure, raw, and unfiltered. However, even pure honey contains natural sugars.

Although pure honey has a lower glycemic index than white sugar, it can still cause your glucose levels to spike if you consume too much or your blood sugar is not well-controlled.

If you have diabetes, choosing raw honey that does not contain added sugars is the way to go. But even though raw honey does not contain added sugar, it should still be treated like table sugar and eaten in moderation.

Are There Benefits to Eating Honey If You Have Diabetes?

A few small studies show that eating honey in moderation may actually have some benefits for people with diabetes. The evidence is promising, but researchers need to conduct more long-term, large studies on humans before any certain conclusions can be made.

Honey May Elevate Insulin

Depending on the type of diabetes, people with diabetes either no longer make insulin (type 1) or cannot use insulin properly (type 2). Glucose (sugar) remains in the bloodstream when there isn’t enough insulin or it isn’t being used properly by the body, resulting in high blood sugar levels.

Some studies show that honey stimulates a greater insulin response than other sugars. Because of this, some people have speculated that honey is actually good for people with diabetes.

Overall research on this topic has been conflicting, and more research with larger, long-term clinical trials are needed. Nevertheless, some studies do show promise.

Honey May Increase C-Peptide Levels

In a small study of both people with type 1 diabetes and without diabetes, researchers found that honey had less of an effect on blood sugars in all participants compared to sucrose. Honey also raised participants’ levels of C-peptide.

Additionally, after reviewing 66 studies on the effects of honey in people with diabetes, researchers concluded that honey supplementation effectively increases levels of C-peptide, including C-peptide levels two hours after eating.

C-peptide is a substance made in and released by the pancreas, along with insulin. Since C-peptide is produced in the body at the same rate as insulin, it is often used as a marker of insulin production. In other words, an increased level of C-peptide indicates the body is producing ample insulin.

Honey May Improve Cholesterol

Researchers at the University of Toronto found that consuming daily doses of raw, unprocessed honey may lower cholesterol and triglycerides in addition to stabilizing blood sugar.

After reviewing 33 clinical trials, researchers concluded that oral honey intake may help improve cholesterol levels, particularly by increasing "good" HDL cholesterol.

Keep in mind that consuming any kind of sugar—including honey—can raise your glucose levels. You should not consume honey to treat any health conditions (or as a supplement) without discussing with your healthcare provider first.

Honey Is Rich in Antioxidants

Hyperglycemia (high glucose) triggers oxidative stress, in which there are too many damaging free radicals in the body and not enough antioxidants to fight them.

Diabetes is linked to several long-term complications, including cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and vascular (blood vessels) and neural (nervous system) disorders. Oxidative stress has been identified as a key player in their development.

Antioxidants are compounds found in food that protect the body against oxidative stress. Honey happens to be a rich source of antioxidants. In fact, researchers have found that the antioxidant properties in honey can prevent oxidative damage to the brain, heart, and various other organs.

Despite these findings, there are no official recommendations regarding the use of honey for preventing oxidative stress and diabetic complications. Larger human studies are needed before any official recommendations can be made.

What Are the Healthiest Forms of Honey?

Over 300 varieties of honey collected from honeybees have been identified.

Some varieties have received more praise from the medical community than others. One such variety is Manuka honey, derived from the Manuka trees of New Zealand. Manuka honey is known for its impressive antimicrobial and antioxidant properties.

Other varieties of honey may be particularly beneficial for controlling glucose levels and blood pressure. Robinia honey (from black locust trees), clover honey (from clover flowers), and unprocessed raw honey are standouts for these purposes.

You will likely come across honeys that are labeled as pure, raw, or unfiltered, as well as honeys that contain added sugars. Truly raw honey is a single-ingredient product, and therefore it is not required to have an ingredients list.

Raw honey may contain tiny amounts of pollen, while pollen and other solids are removed from filtered honey. Some people prefer unfiltered honey because its bee pollen offers numerous vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that can protect against disease and promote overall health.

Is Honey a Good Substitute for Sugar?

Although honey does contain natural sugars, it's also a rich source of vitamins, minerals, and protective antioxidants, and has a lower glycemic index than sugar. In terms of nutritional value, honey beats table sugar by a landslide.

But despite its potential benefits for people with diabetes, honey should still be treated like any other sugar and eaten in moderation. While it is a good substitute for sugar, it still becomes unhealthy if eating it puts you over your recommended daily intake of sugar.

Therefore, if you choose to substitute honey for sugar, continue to track how much honey you consume and make sure that it fits into a healthy diet plan.

How Does Honey Compare to Other Sweeteners?

If you are trying to get your diabetes under control and need to limit your intake of added sugar, consider using a sugar substitute such as stevia, mannitol, agave syrup, or xylitol; these sweeteners rank much lower on the glycemic index compared to honey and sugar.