The term glucose has two different meanings in today's parlance. First, glucose is a carbohydrate with a particular structure, six carbon atoms, 12 hydrogen atoms and six oxygen atoms forming a simple sugar. Glucose is the preferred form of sugar for metabolic processes in the body, and other food is converted to glucose before it is used for energy. Because glucose is the main form of energy in the body, the term is also used to refer to blood glucose levels, or blood sugar.
Composition of Honey
According to the USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory, honey contains 17.25 g of sugar per tablespoon, which is divided primarily between glucose and fructose. In the USDA sample, glucose makes up 7.51 g of the sugar and fructose makes up 8.60 g, with only small amounts of sucrose, galactose and maltose. However, sugar distribution varies among different types and sources of honey.
Glycemic Index
The glycemic index is a measurement of how much blood glucose increases after you eat a certain food. The sharper the blood sugar spike, the higher the glycemic index number. Honey has a broad range of glycemic index scores for different types and sources. For example, locust honey from Romania scores only a 32 against a pure glucose standard of 100, whereas some commercial blends of honey score as high as 72. The variations in glycemic index score can be explained, at least in part, by the differences in sugar composition from one honey to the next.
Glucose and Other Sugars
Glycemic index tests compare foods to either glucose or white bread, arbitrarily giving a score of 100 to the standard against which other foods are compared. When glucose is used as the standard and given a score of 100, fructose, sucrose and the other sugars score lower in comparison. Likewise, when white bread is used as the standard and assigned a score of 100, the other sugars score lower than glucose, even though the score for glucose against white bread is only 72.
Moderation
It is clear that some sugars, like honey, have a slower glycemic response than pure glucose, making them less likely to give you a quick rush followed by an energy crash. However, it is important to remember that even sweeteners comparing favorably to glucose are still sweeteners and should be limited. For a healthy diet, make sure no more than 10 percent of your total caloric intake comes from added sugars of any kind.
References
- USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference: Honey
- "Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism: Fourth Edition"; James L. Groff and Sareen S. Gropper; 2008
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; International Table of Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load Values: 2002; Kay Foster-Powell et al.; July 2002
- USDA and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Dietary Guidelines for Americans: 2010; December 2010
