Is Honey Good For You When Trying To Lose Weight

Honey is the gold-coloured syrup created by bees following the collection of nectar from flowering plants. It's stored as honeycomb to provide food for the hive during the winter months.

Discover our full range of health benefit guides and learn more about the health benefits of manuka honey and whether honey is suitable for those following a vegan diet.

In its raw form, honey contains amino acids, protective plant compounds, vitamins, minerals and sugar. It has a high fructose content, making it sweeter than sugar but with a moderate glycaemic index (GI).

Honey Water Benefits And How To Make It

Commercial honeys undergo a filtration process and are heat-treated to prevent their sugars from crystallising, as well as to kill microbes before storage. This extends their shelf life and makes the product more attractive in the jar. However, this negatively impacts the honey’s natural antioxidant content and any potential health benefits. Raw honey on the other hand is unprocessed and hasn’t been pasteurised or filtered.

Thought to be the ‘queen’ of honey, manuka honey is a popular yet expensive option which is produced from the nectar of the flowering manuka tree. It is high in a chemical called methylglyoxal, which has been claimed by researchers to be the source of honey's antibacterial properties.

Unprocessed honey, particularly the darker varieties, are a rich source of chemical compounds such as flavonoids. Flavonoids have been reported to have antibacterial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory and anti-allergenic properties. Due to its rich flavonoid content, some people view honey as a healthier alternative to sugar.

Is Honey Good For Weight Loss? Find Out

Honey has a lower GI than table sugar because its sugar content contains comparatively more fructose than table sugar. However, honey is still high in calories, is classified as a ‘free sugar’ and causes increases to blood sugar so it should be enjoyed in moderation.

Honey has traditionally been used topically as an antiseptic. It is believed to speed up the healing process in mild, superficial wounds, ulcers and burns. This is because honey is composed mainly of glucose and fructose, two sugars that strongly attract water – honey absorbs water in the wound, drying it out so that the growth of bacteria and fungi is inhibited.

Thanks to its syrupy qualities, honey is a great throat soother. Studies assessing potential treatments for respiratory infections in children, with symptoms ranging from a hacking cough and runny nose to fever, found that a single nighttime dose of honey may have a small but effective influence on their cough and help them sleep better. However, honey shouldn't be given to children younger than 12 months.

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Unprocessed honey that is rich in polyphenols appears to have anti-inflammatory properties that may support and regulate the immune system. Honey’s influence may include increasing the number of immune cells such as the T and B cells, neutrophils and natural killer cells as well as antibodies.

Honey has a lower GI than sugar, meaning that it does not raise blood sugar levels as quickly. It is also sweeter to the taste than sugar, so in theory you may need less of it, but it does have slightly more calories per teaspoon so it's wise to keep a close eye on portion sizes.

If you do prefer honey, try to choose a raw variety, which contains vitamins, enzymes, antioxidants and other natural compounds that white table sugar does not have. However, don’t forget the amounts of these beneficial nutrients and compounds are negligible, so honey, like sugar, should be consumed in moderation.

Easy Hot Honey Recipe

Honey is classed as a ‘free’ sugar, the type we are advised to limit in our diets – so although it may be safe for most adults it should be consumed within guideline amounts.

For diabetics, or those trying to manage their blood sugar levels, there is no real advantage to substituting sugar for honey as both will ultimately affect blood sugar levels.

In addition to this, all infants under the age of 12 months should not eat raw or commercially produced honey. This is because they may be at risk of a type of food poisoning called botulism.

The Amazing Benefits Of Bee Pollen And Honey For Dogs

Although most of us may enjoy honey in our diets, it’s not acceptable to all. Honey is not vegan because harvesting honey is seen as detrimental to the bees who have worked to manufacture it and support their own survival through the winter months.

Raw, unprocessed honey offers several potential health benefits, thanks to the natural plant compounds it contains. However, although it makes a tasty, lower GI alternative to table sugar it still impacts blood sugar levels and has a high calorie content. For diabetics and those trying to manage their blood sugar levels there is no real advantage to substituting sugar for honey as both will ultimately affect blood sugar levels. It's also worth remembering that, like other syrups, honey is classed as a 'free' sugar – the type we are advised to cut back on. If you do prefer honey, try to choose a raw variety, which contains more vitamins, enzymes and antioxidants than white sugar, and use it in moderation.

Kerry Torrens BSc. (Hons) PgCert MBANT is a Registered Nutritionist with a post graduate diploma in Personalised Nutrition & Nutritional Therapy. She is a member of the British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine (BANT) and a member of the Guild of Food Writers. Over the last 15 years she has been a contributing author to a number of nutritional and cookery publications including BBC Good Food. Find her on Instagram at @kerry_torrens_nutrition_

Reasons Why Honey Is Where To Put Your Money

All health content on is provided for general information only, and should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor or any other healthcare professional. Any Healthy Diet Plan featured by BBC Good Food is provided as a suggestion of a general balanced diet and should not be relied upon to meet specific dietary requirements. If you have any concerns about your general health, you should contact your local healthcare provider. See our website terms and conditions for more information.Medically reviewed by Jerlyn Jones, MS MPA RDN LD CLT, Nutrition — By SaVanna Shoemaker, MS, RDN, LD — Updated on January 12, 2024

Honey is rich in nutrients and antioxidants, has antibacterial properties, and can play a role in diabetes management as part of a balanced diet. But that’s not all.

Honey is a syrupy liquid that honeybees make from plant nectar. It is a common ingredient in many foods and is available in many forms.

Honey Myth Or Fact

Honey is essentially pure sugar, with no fat and only trace amounts of protein and fiber. It contains small amounts of some nutrients, but most people typically don’t consume enough honey for it to be a significant dietary source of vitamins and minerals.

Summary Honey is primarily composed of sugar, provides small amounts of several vitamins and minerals, and is rich in health-promoting plant compounds.

Minimally-processed honey contains many important bioactive plant compounds and antioxidants, such as flavonoids and phenolic acids. Darker varieties tend to offer more antioxidants than lighter varieties (

Honey For Sleep: How It Can Help

Antioxidants help neutralize reactive oxygen species (ROS) in your body, which can build up in cells and cause damage. This damage can contribute to conditions like premature aging, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease (

Although honey raises your blood sugar level just like other types of sugar do, the antioxidants it contains may help protect against metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.

Researchers have found that honey may increase adiponectin levels, a hormone that reduces inflammation and improves blood sugar regulation. There’s also evidence that daily honey intake may improve fasting blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes. (

Is Honey Good For You? Health Benefits And More

It’s also important to know that some producers dilute honey with plain syrup. Although honey adulteration is illegal in most countries, it remains a widespread problem (

Summary Honey may offer some protective effects related to blood sugar management, but it should still be consumed in moderation, especially by people with type 2 diabetes.

Honey may also help prevent heart disease. According to one review, honey may help lower blood pressure, improve blood fat levels, regulate your heartbeat, and prevent the death of healthy cells — all factors that can improve your heart function and health (

Is Honey Good For Face?

One observational study, including over 4, 500 people over 40 associated a moderate honey intake with a lower risk of high blood pressure among women. A rodent study also showed that honey helped protect the heart from oxidative stress (

Additionally, raw honey typically contains propolis, a resin that bees produce from sap-producing trees and similar plants. Propolis may improve cholesterol and triglyceride levels (

All told, there’s no long-term human study available on honey and heart health. More research is needed to understand honey’s effects on heart health better.

Does Honey Go Bad?

Summary Honey has been linked to beneficial effects on heart health, including reduced blood pressure and blood fat levels. Still, more human research is needed on the topic.

There is a historical precedent for the use of topical honey treatment for wound and burn healing. The practice is still common today.

A review of 26 studies on honey and wound care found it most effective at healing partial-thickness burns and wounds that have become infected after surgery (

Is Crystallized Honey Safe To Eat?

Manuka honey, specifically, may have