It's a common misconception that honey is more nutritious than sugar. They are, in fact, very similar. Both are composed of fructose and glucose, which are called simple sugars. The body digests all carbohydrates down into one molecule, glucose, which is used for energy and can be stored as fat. Honey and sugar have similar amounts of calories per tablespoon.
Composition
Table sugar is made of sucrose, which is a combination of fructose and glucose. Sugar traditionally comes from sugar cane, although most sugar found on grocery shelves comes from the sugar beet. Honey, meanwhile, is made from bee nectar. It contains fructose, glucose and sucrose. These simple sugars do not require much digestion before they are absorbed into the blood stream; you may experience a "sugar rush" if you consume too much at once.
Nutrients
Honey offers minute amounts of vitamins and minerals that sugar does not have, but these amounts are too small to constitute an appreciable nutritional difference. Honey can harbor botulism spores, so it should not be given to infants less than one year of age because their immune systems are immature. Although honey and sugar have similar nutritional compositions, honey does have more fructose than glucose.
Sweetness
Fructose is sweeter than glucose and some people claim they use less honey than sugar due to that extra sweetness. Glucose requires insulin for its metabolism in the body. Fructose does not, at first, because it is absorbed more slowly. At one time, it was thought fructose might be advantageous to diabetics. This supposition proved to be false; fructose ends up taking the same path through the body as glucose and eventually does require insulin for proper metabolism, according to the Fort Valley State University in Georgia.
Nutritional Values
A tablespoon of honey contains roughly 8 g of glucose, 9 g of fructose and 0.2 g of sucrose along with tiny amounts of minerals, vitamins and amino acids; it provides 64 calories. The same amount of sugar contains almost 15 g of sucrose and provides 57 calories. The choice is up to you.
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