Janet's Fitness Blog

Slim Down with Honey

Posted on May 24th, 2011

According to new research, you should grab the honey pot, not the sugar bowl. In a study, the effects that honey had on appetite hormones and blood sugar control were more favorable than those of table sugar. Which means choosing honey could help prevent weight gain.

In the small study, young healthy women who had normal body mass indexes ate a 450-calorie baked good for breakfast, and it was made with either honey or sugar. Then, the women’s levels of an appetite-stimulation hormone called ghrelin were measured. The hunger-making hormone was lower after the honey-based baked good than after the sugar-based one. Not only that, but the honey-based baked good was associated with higher levels of appetite suppressing hormones, too. And honey-sweetened breakfast goods made the women feel more satisfied. Researchers think these beneficial effects on hunger hormones and satiety could have a really positive impact on people’s attempts to manage their weight.

Of course, the recent honey study isn’t an excuse to start dipping your finger into the honey jar. Sweeteners add calories to your diet. A teaspoon of honey has about 21 calories. To help reduce your risk of obesity, try to limit your intake of added sugars to no more than 100 calories a day if you’re a woman and no more than 150 calories a day if you’re a man. And when you just have to have a little something sweet, choose honey.

May 24th, 2011 by Janet Hern
Posted in Food and Diet |

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