Angels Honey
New Study Finds That Eating Honey Daily May Lower Blood Sugar and Cholesterol Levels
Food is the key to people's health, and diet directly affects human health. Good and sensible healthy eating habits are an important aspect of health care, enabling the body to grow and develop in a healthy manner. Poor dietary habits, on the other hand, can lead to disruptions in the normal physiological functions of the body and infection with disease. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the world's number one cause of death, and is also the number one cause of death in China. According to the World Health Organisation, nearly 18 million people die from CVD each year, accounting for more than 30% of all deaths worldwide. The high mortality and morbidity rates of cardiovascular diseases are a major global public health problem that needs to be addressed urgently.
On 16 November 2022, researchers from the University of Toronto, Canada, published a research paper entitled " Effect of honey on cardiometabolic risk factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis" in the journal " Nutrition Reviews".
The study showed that eating honey daily can improve key indicators of cardiometabolic health, including lowering blood sugar and cholesterol levels, and appears to provide the greatest health benefits especially when honey is raw and from a single floral source.
​
In the study, researchers conducted a meta-analysis of clinical trials of honey, including 18 controlled trials and 1105 participants, to analyse the effects of honey on cardiometabolic risk factors, including obesity, blood sugar control, blood lipids, blood pressure, uric acid, and inflammatory markers.
The average daily intake of honey was 40 grams, or about two tablespoons, over an average trial period of eight weeks.
Overall, honey consumption provided many health benefits, reducing fasting blood sugar, total and 'bad' cholesterol, triglycerides and markers of fatty liver disease, as well as increasing 'good' cholesterol and increasing levels of some inflammatory markers.
​
Cardiometabolic benefits of honey
​
When honey was analysed by floral origin and processing, significant differences were found between the effects of floral and raw honey on cholesterol and blood glucose levels, with honey from a single floral source and raw, unprocessed honey, such as clover and acacia, being more beneficial in reducing blood glucose, cholesterol levels and triglycerides.
Effects of raw honey on cardiometabolism
Researchers say these results are surprising because honey is about 80% sugar, but honey is also a complex composition of common and rare sugars, proteins, organic acids and other biologically active compounds that are likely to have health benefits.
Earlier studies have shown that honey can improve cardiometabolic health, particularly in in vitro and animal studies. This study supports the same idea and is the most comprehensive review of clinical trials to date.
In addition, the researchers stress that it is important to consider the context of the study, as the participants were following a healthy dietary pattern with only 10% or less of their daily calorie intake of sugar in their diet.
Finally, the researchers said that if you swap out sugar in your diet for honey, you may reduce your cardiometabolic risk.
In conclusion, the study suggests that consuming honey may improve key indicators of cardiometabolic health, including blood sugar and cholesterol levels, especially if the honey is raw and comes from a single floral source.