Honey is often touted as a natural sweetener with healing qualities, hence better than refined sugar. Indeed, honey is sweet, as it is primarily sugar. It is slightly more caloric than refined sugar, serving-for-serving.
Unlike naturally-occurring sugars found in nutrient-dense and fibre-rich fruits and vegetables, honey has no fibre and only negligible vitamins and minerals. Raw honey, while natural, may contain spores of the bacteria Clostridium botulinum, which can cause botulism poisoning and even life-threatening paralysis. For safe consumption, it is pasteurized to destroy bacteria, hence no longer natural.
Beyond antimicrobial quality
Honey has traditionally been used as a home remedy for cough, allergies and wound-healing, given its purported anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties. However, its effectiveness is equivocal and more research is needed to substantiate its therapeutic claims. Pasteurization may inadvertently destroy the enzymes and pollen found in honey that may confer therapeutic effect. Some pasteurized honey may even be adulterated with added sugar, which is pro-inflammatory.
Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties supposedly found in honey are not unique to honey. Many whole plant foods are rich in vitamins A, C and E, zinc and phytochemicals – all conferring powerful antimicrobial qualities with lighter calorie density. Some plant extracts, such as lavender oil, reportedly confer therapeutic effects, as claimed in honey.
Whole plant foods are packed with nutrients, including fibre which is missing in honey as in all other animal products. The significance of fibre to the health of gut microbiome and the body’s overall immune functions is abundantly evident.
Move aside, honey
Many whole plant foods are known for their immune-boosting qualities. Here are some examples: plant foods in the allium family (such as garlic, onion, shallot and leek), tumeric and ginger, green tea, mushrooms, cruciferous vegetables, beans, and various types of berries.
You can try adding curcumin root, cinnamon or clove, instead of honey, to your tea. To replace honey as a sweetener, date sugar (best) or molasses are great alternatives. Date sugar is pulverized dates, retaining original nutrients. Black molasses is rich in iron, calcium, magnesium and potassium.
The bittersweet honey
Like farmed animals (e.g. pigs, cows, and chickens), honeybees are subjected to inhumane treatment and exploitation. There will never be retirement home for them when the cost of raising/keeping them outweighs the potential profits they can generate. No exploitation is ethical, however local, organic or humane commercial farming operations claim to be.
What if bee-farming can save pollinators? Research shows that keeping honeybees adversely impacts wild bee population and diversity. Wild bees are found to be equally if not more effective pollinators than honeybees. Unfortunately, they are crowded out by honeybees for pollen and nectar, while facing already-shrinking floral vegetation. Even worse, managed bees can bring pathogens arising from tight confinement to wild bee populations. Despite managed bees’ pollination functions, it is hard to justify raising honeybees for honey production at the expense of the health of wild pollinators, who are tremendously vital for preserving crop yield and food security. After all, honey is non-essential in healthy eating – vegan or not.
The verdict on honey
Honey is sugar and can be unsafe to consume in its raw form. Honey from bees (farmed or wild) is no more natural than flesh and secretions from farmed animals. The exploitative nature and adverse effects of honeybee-farming on the eco-systems and food security should not be overlooked, despite the purported medicinal value of honey. I would leave honey for bees and eat an immune-enhancing whole-food plant-based diet without unnecessary calories or cruelty.
Authored by Debbie Fong, MBA, RD, September 2020