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Swapping Honey for Sugar
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Swapping Honey for Sugar

General Health

Author:

Rowan Tuffs

Do you consider yourself to be a connoisseur of sweet treats? Does your mouth water when images of rich chocolate cake and sugar packed candies come to mind? 

There’s no shame in saying yes. Plenty of people have a weakness for sweets, and it’s completely understandable. With so many options there to tempt you around every corner of the grocery store, it’s practically impossible to pass up snagging a little special something for later. 

While indulging in sugary goodness is perfectly fine from time to time, too much of anything will catch up with you eventually. So, what can you do to continue satisfying your sweet tooth when you need to cut back on your sugar consumption? 

Honey could be the perfect answer.

Why Choose Honey?

You might be a little skeptical at the thought of replacing sugar with honey in your diet. After all, honey naturally contains sugar, so it kind of sounds like we’re running around in circles for no gain. 

Fortunately, that isn’t the case. Choosing honey over your typical table sugar does come with its own unique perks, despite what you might be inclined to believe. And if you’re still not convinced, just remember that naturally occurring sugar contains nutrients that are an important part of sustaining a healthy lifestyle!

Too much added sugar, however, can result in blood pressure spikes and other health problems. While honey is not excluded from this, consuming honey in moderation is safe and an arguably better option than table sugar. 

Sugary pancakes on a plate topped with sliced berries and cups of syrup
Enjoying a sweet treat every now and then isn’t going to hurt you as long as you’re aware of how much sugar you’re putting in your body. And yes, that goes for honey, too. 

Switching out sugar for honey also means smaller portion sizes. Honey is naturally sweeter than sugar, so you won’t need to add as much to achieve your desired level of sweetness, though you might end up consuming more calories if you go the honey route. Always be mindful of how much you eat, even if it is healthier.

Breaking the Sugar Bias

While your body doesn’t require added sugars as a necessary component of your diet, some sugar in reasonable amounts is perfectly acceptable, so don’t take a pass on honey simply because you want to avoid sweets at all costs. 

Though there is a common misconception that consuming sugar in any form is inherently unhealthy, the stigma surrounding sugar is largely undeserved. Sure, you shouldn’t be shoveling spoonfuls of sugar into your mouth at every opportunity you get, but swearing it off completely is fairly unreasonable. 

Even fruits have natural sugars, so don’t be afraid to indulge every so often!

How to Substitute Honey For Sugar

Since honey is sweeter than the average sugar you keep in your kitchen, you can’t rely on an exact one-for-one swap when making the switch. You should also be aware that honey contributes to dense, chewy textures in baked goods, and adding too much can negatively impact the desired quality of your products. 

Those concerns aside, substituting honey for sugar is an easy endeavor once you know the correct way to do it. 

A bottle of honey next to a nutritional bar covered in honey
The sweetness of honey makes for a wonderful sugar substitute that can be used in a majority of baked goods. Image courtesy of Simple Botanics

Tips on Baking with Honey 

  • While white sugar is made up of sucrose, honey is mostly composed of fructose and is sweeter as a result, so less is required to achieve the desired level of sweetness. For every one cup of sugar a recipe calls for, replace it with ½ to ⅔ cups of honey.
  • Honey has a high sugar content, so it caramelizes faster than granulated sugar and may cause your baked goods to burn. To avoid this, try lowering your oven temperature by 25°F.
  • Being about 20% water, honey will impact the consistency of your baking. Reduce other liquids in the recipe by a quarter of a cup for every one cup of honey used. 
  • Though the sweetness of honey is its dominant trait, honey is quite acidic and can interfere with dough’s ability to rise. For every one cup of honey, add ¼ a cup of baking soda to counteract this negative effect.  

Honey and Your Health

While honey is a delicious ingredient to add to your normal diet, it becomes all the more special when you realize the full effects that honey can have on your health. Refined sugar doesn’t do much in terms of benefitting your body, but honey is a different story. 

Unpasteurized, or raw, honey has been used for medicinal purposes throughout history. Much of the honey you find in grocery stores has been processed and lacks the nutrients that naturally occur in the substance, so it is preferable that you go for raw honey when you can. 

Health Benefits of Honey

  • Contains antioxidants to help protect your cells from damage
  • Antibacterial properties that assist in fighting infection
  • Acts as a remedy for coughs and sore throats 
  • Contains prebiotics that aid the bacteria found in the intestines, which are important to digestive health
  • Anti-inflammatory effects can help multiple areas of the body
Two packaged Simple Botanics Squares next to an opened one broken in half
Available in two delicious flavors, Simple Botanics Squares are a perfect choice of snack food. Image courtesy of Simple Botanics.

Healthy Snacks Make All the Difference 

What you put in your body matters, and that still applies to food you consume outside of your regular meals. Even if you make a habit of eating well balanced meals, excessive unhealthy snacking will put a dent in your well being. 

Simple Botanics Squares make for a delightful snack that is great to taste and good for your health. Made with natural ingredients, these wonderful bars are rich with nutrients and contain no unnecessary additives, as is the unfortunate case with a majority of snacks available on the market. 

Experience the amazing qualities of honey by trying out this tasty treat today!

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