Honey: is it a safe sweetner for diabetics

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to determine whether or not honey could be used as a sweetening agent for non insulin dependent diabetics instead of sucrose. The work included 11 non-insulin dependent diabetic patients for whom an oral glucose tolerance test was performed on 2 alternative days. A carbohydrate load composed of 3 tea spoonfuls of honey together with a mixed flour bread [160 gm] was given on one occasion and 3 tea spoonfuls of sucrose with mixed flour bread [160 gm] on another. Blood glucose was determined in the fasting state and at 30, 60, 90, 120 and 180 minutes after the carbohydrate load. Serum samples were stored for insulin estimation by radio-immunoassay. Results showed that the values of the percent increment rise of blood glucose or serum insulin after sucrose were not significantly different from those after honey. It can be concluded that honey is not suitable to be used as a sweetening agent for non-insulin dependent diabetics in amounts higher than any other absorbable sugar allowance