Honey is better for you than sugar

There may be some degree of truth in this claim. Nutritionally there is little difference between these foods. Both are high in carbohydrate and contain only trace amounts of other nutrients. On a weight for weight basis, however, honey has less kilojoules than an equivalent weight of sugar. There is no significant difference in the kilojoules in white, brown or raw sugar. Whether sugar is more fattening than honey depends on how much is consumed and what is eaten with it. For example, honey on a slice of bread with butter or margarine has about 920 kilojoules (220 kilocalories), whereas a spoonful of sugar in a cup of tea or coffee with milk provides us with 125 kilojoules (30 kilocalories).

Many claims about the special properties of honey have been made. These claims cannot be dismissed out of hand because it is known that when bees are collecting nectar, they also pick up minute quantities of other substances from the plants they visit. The nature of these substances may vary from plant to plant, from location to location and from season to season. Some may have potential biological activity; others may not. Just because a biologically active substance is found in honey does not necessarily mean that it will produce any effect when consumed. Any effect will depend on the nature of the substance, its concentration and the amount of honey eaten. These substances could have a beneficial, harmful or no effect.

The topical value of honey in wound healing is well-established thanks to the work of Prof Peter Molan from Waikato University in NZ . There is emergent evidence that there may be anti-microbial effects of honey in the human gut which could be of value in gastointestinal infections. However, because of the presence of Clostridial spores in honey, it should be avoided by infants and the elderly. Nevertheless, the evidence is insufficient to warrant health claims in this area or any other area of oral usage at the present time. Because of the inevitably rich phytochemistry of honey, depending on what the bee feeds, there is a prima facie case to be made for other health benefits, but the in vivo and clinical evdence is not avilable at present. Moreover, and it has been known for many years , honey may also be toxic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bees_and_toxic_chemicals when bees feed on certain flowers in certain locations; some of the earliest observations of this were also made in NZ and were known to the authors. Recent reports of human cardiotoxicity (attachment ) continue to support this note of caution. Nevetheless, honey from known locations where there is local knowledge and food safety requirements are met, is safe for human consumption and possibly beneficial beyond its sugar composition.