Unlike processed table sugar, pure honey is an all-natural food. For this reason it has earned the nickname “Nature’s Sweetener.”

We humans have been eating honey for thousands of years and for good reasons. Not only does it provide us with great nutrition, but it serves us for its medicinal benefits too. But the question for diabetics is can they also indulge in this wonderful food of the bees? Watch the video below “Can Diabetics Eat Honey?” to find out.

My Notes:

Any diabetic will tell you that their meals have to be strictly controlled. Diabetics have to be forever mindful of sugar and mineral compounds in their diet. So do diabetics have to lose out and stay away from the medicinal benefits of raw honey?

Type-1 and Type-2 diabetes are different. In Type-1, the body doesn't produce any insulin at all. In Type-2 diabetes, people either don't produce enough insulin or their cells resist what their body does produce. Those with Type-2 diabetes tend to be overweight. In fact, the relationship with obesity and Type-2 is so close that the condition has earned the nickname diabesity. People with Type-2 diabetes gain weight because of the high insulin levels. They are unable to channel glucose into muscle cells, but it has to go somewhere as it can't remain in the blood. What happens is that excess blood sugar converts to fat and gets stored in the adipose or fat tissue.

As you can see, controlling a strict diet is crucial to the health of diabetics.  Although both conditions are manageable when diagnosed, there is still plenty the diabetic needs to be mindful of.

• Control blood glucose
• Watch cholesterol
• Monitor blood pressure
• Look after the kidneys
• Look out for the eyes
• Examine the feet

Many diabetics and pre-diabetes are able to safely enjoy natural honey. Obviously they have to be mindful of how much they eat. This means they need to find out how much honey they can eat on a daily basis. There is no “rough guide” here because every diabetic is different. Anyone who has been diabetic for a good while, or life even, will know how their body react to different foods containing carbohydrates.

In most cases, diabetics can enjoy cautious consumption of natural unprocessed honey. When it's factored into their total caloric needs, pure honey should not raise blood sugar levels. Some studies even suggest that honey can assist with reduced weight and an improved blood lipid profile.  Natural honey also has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.

You can read more on the science of this in an abstract from the report:

Effect of honey in diabetes mellitus: matters arising

Another piece you might find of interest is on a paper which concluded with the following:

The results of this study demonstrate that 8-week consumption of honey can provide beneficial effects on body weight and blood lipids of diabetic patients.

You can read the full abstract here:

Effects of natural honey consumption in diabetic patients: an 8-week randomized clinical trial.
Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2009 Nov;60(7):618-26. doi: 10.3109/09637480801990389.
Bahrami M, Ataie-Jafari A, Hosseini S, Foruzanfar MH, Rahmani M, Pajouhi M.