Is Honey Bad If You Have Diabetes?

For people with diabetes, honey might not be all bad news—it generally has a lower glycemic impact than sugar, but moderation is key. While it offers some positive effects like antioxidants, it still raises blood sugar, so choose pure, raw honey and keep portions small.

How Does Honey Affect Blood Sugar?

When used in moderation, honey is generally safe for people with diabetes who have well-controlled blood sugar levels. Honey has a glycemic index of 50, compared to sugar's 80, so it doesn't raise blood sugar as quickly.

However, honey is still a natural sugar and carbohydrate that can increase glucose levels. It may be slightly safer than white sugar, but it should not be consumed frequently or in excess. Also, some honeys contain added sugars that should be avoided.

Honey, being a carbohydrate, impacts blood sugar levels. However, its effect may be less pronounced compared to other sugars.

A study compared honey and glucose in people with type 2 diabetes, measuring blood sugar levels one and two hours after consumption. With honey, blood sugar levels peaked at one hour and then declined.

After two hours, blood sugar levels were lower with honey than at the first hour. In contrast, glucose ingestion led to higher and rising blood sugar levels even after two hours.

These findings suggest honey may have a lower glycemic effect than glucose, but more research is needed.

Because honey exhibited a shorter peak in blood sugar levels, it can be suggested that honey has a lower glycemic effect than glucose. However, more research is needed to verify this claim.

What About Sugar-Free Honey?

Sugar-free honey doesn't exist. Some honeys have added sugars, while others are pure, raw, and unfiltered. Even pure honey contains natural sugars.

Although pure honey has a lower glycemic index than white sugar, it can still spike your glucose levels if consumed in excess or if your blood sugar is not well-controlled.

For those with diabetes, choosing raw honey without added sugars is best. However, treat it like table sugar and eat it in moderation.

Are There Benefits to Eating Honey If You Have Diabetes?

A few small studies show that eating honey in moderation may actually have some benefits for people with diabetes. The evidence is promising, but researchers need to conduct more long-term, large studies on humans before any certain conclusions can be made.

Honey May Elevate Insulin

Depending on the type of diabetes, people with diabetes either no longer make insulin (type 1) or cannot use insulin properly (type 2). Glucose (sugar) remains in the bloodstream when there isn’t enough insulin or it isn’t being used properly by the body, resulting in high blood sugar levels.

Some research suggests honey prompts a greater insulin response than other sugars, leading some to speculate it may benefit people with diabetes.

Research in this area is mixed, and more large-scale, long-term studies are needed. Yet, some studies are promising.

Honey May Increase C-Peptide Levels

In a small study of individuals with and without type 1 diabetes, honey had less impact on blood sugar than sucrose. Honey also increased participants’ C-peptide levels.

A review of 66 studies found that honey supplementation effectively raised C-peptide levels, even two hours after eating.

C-peptide, made by the pancreas alongside insulin, is often used to gauge insulin production. Higher levels suggest ample insulin production.

Honey May Improve Cholesterol

Researchers at the University of Toronto found that consuming daily doses of raw, unprocessed honey may lower cholesterol and triglycerides in addition to stabilizing blood sugar.

After reviewing 33 clinical trials, researchers concluded that oral honey intake may help improve cholesterol levels, particularly by increasing "good" HDL cholesterol.

Keep in mind that consuming any kind of sugar—including honey—can raise your glucose levels. You should not consume honey to treat any health conditions (or as a supplement) without discussing with your healthcare provider first.

Honey Is Rich in Antioxidants

Hyperglycemia (high glucose) triggers oxidative stress, in which there are too many damaging free radicals in the body and not enough antioxidants to fight them.

Diabetes is linked to several long-term complications, including cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and vascular (blood vessels) and neural (nervous system) disorders. Oxidative stress has been identified as a key player in their development.

Antioxidants are compounds found in food that protect the body against oxidative stress. Honey happens to be a rich source of antioxidants. In fact, researchers have found that the antioxidant properties in honey can prevent oxidative damage to the brain, heart, and various other organs.

Despite these findings, there are no official recommendations regarding the use of honey for preventing oxidative stress and diabetic complications. Larger human studies are needed before any official recommendations can be made.

What Are the Healthiest Forms of Honey?

Over 300 varieties of honey collected from honeybees have been identified.

Some varieties have received more praise from the medical community than others. One such variety is Manuka honey, derived from the Manuka trees of New Zealand. Manuka honey is known for its impressive antimicrobial and antioxidant properties.

Other varieties of honey may be particularly beneficial for controlling glucose levels and blood pressure. Robinia honey (from black locust trees), clover honey (from clover flowers), and unprocessed raw honey are standouts for these purposes.

You will likely come across honeys that are labeled as pure, raw, or unfiltered, as well as honeys that contain added sugars. Truly raw honey is a single-ingredient product, and therefore it is not required to have an ingredients list.

Raw honey may contain tiny amounts of pollen, while pollen and other solids are removed from filtered honey. Some people prefer unfiltered honey because its bee pollen offers numerous vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that can protect against disease and promote overall health.

How Does Honey Compare to Sugar?

Although honey does contain natural sugars, it's also a rich source of vitamins, minerals, and protective antioxidants, and has a lower glycemic index than sugar. In terms of nutritional value, honey beats table sugar by a landslide.

But despite its potential benefits for people with diabetes, honey should still be treated like any other sugar and eaten in moderation. While it is a good substitute for sugar, it still becomes unhealthy if eating it puts you over your recommended daily intake of sugar.

Therefore, if you choose to substitute honey for sugar, continue to track how much honey you consume and make sure that it fits into a healthy diet plan.

How Does Honey Compare to Other Sweeteners?

If you are trying to get your diabetes under control and need to limit your intake of added sugar, consider using a sugar substitute such as stevia, mannitol, agave syrup, or xylitol; these sweeteners rank much lower on the glycemic index compared to honey and sugar.

Despite being 200 times sweeter than sucrose, Stevia does not contain any natural or added sugars, making it completely sugar-free. And, since it cannot be absorbed by the intestines, it is calorie-free as well. Stevia is often recommended for the management of diabetes, as it does not cause glucose levels to rise.

Although the stevia plant naturally contains vitamins and minerals, most of them are lost during processing. While Stevia is a great alternative to table sugar and honey for people with diabetes, more research is needed to see if its potential benefits for those with diabetes outshine those of honey.

Are There Risks to Eating Honey If You Have Diabetes?

Like any other sweetener, honey needs to be consumed in moderation due to its ability to increase blood sugar levels. If your diabetes is not well managed, it might be best to limit your consumption of honey. 

While honey contains some beneficial nutrients, you would need to consume more than is recommended for good health to get any significant amount from it. Do not consume large amounts of honey solely to get additional vitamins and minerals, as other sources of these nutrients will have much less impact on blood sugar levels.

Infants younger than 12 months should not be given honey due to the risk of infant botulism, which may be transmitted by both raw honey and pasteurized honey. There are no restrictions on honey for people age 1 and over, including those who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Adult intestinal toxemia botulism is extremely rare.

Raw honey is typically unprocessed, while most honey found in the grocery store has been filtered and/or pasteurized. If you are concerned about foodborne illnesses, purchase pasteurized honey certified by a food inspector.