Excess calorie intake is well acknowledged to be linked with the rise in obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, especially the extra calories from added or free sugars. The public often regards honey as a healthier alternative to sugar and has surpassed white sugar as the preferred sweetener nowadays. Despite being beneficial to body (e.g. improvements in body weight, inflammation, lipid profile, and glycaemic control), systematic evaluation and quantification of those effects were not there to help justifying it. A Canadian research team conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on the effect of honey on cardiometabolic risk factors using the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) approach. Although there were differences in the effect by floral source and processing, honey reduced a series of indicators (fasting glucose, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting triglycerides and alanine aminotransferase) when consumed within a healthy dietary pattern, except high-density lipoprotein cholesterol increased. Further investigation into how the floral source and processing of honey affect the effects is still needed.

Reference:

Ahmed A, et al. Nutr Rev. 2022 Nov 16:nuac086.