Honey is apparently not “just sugar”

Two articles from Chris Kresser’s archives (apologies in advance for the “please sign up for my newsletter” advertising) talk about whether all sugars are equal and whether natural sweeteners are healthier. Some research he writes about there caught my attention. From the first link:

In one study, supplementation with real honey decreased triglycerides and LDL cholesterol, increased HDL cholesterol, and even decreased plasma homocysteine. (10) On the contrary, the artificial “honey” raised triglycerides and LDL cholesterol. Other similar studies have found that natural honey results in more stable postprandial blood sugar and insulin response when compared with artificial honey. (11, 12)

Citations in the original link directly to the papers in PubMed, so I left them in. The artificial honey mentioned is a mix of glucose and fructose that duplicates the sugar profile of real honey, but does not contain other nutrients.

There is not so much research done on other natural sweeteners, although Kresser does mention that the studies reporting negative effects of stevia are using fairly large doses.

Kresser also mentions that agave nectar isn’t recommended due to its unfavorable glucose:fructose ratio, but doesn’t go into detail in his post. It turns out that agave plant actually stores inulin, and that to become “nectar,” that inulin needs to be heated to be broken down into its component sugars… mostly fructose. While it’s clear large doses of isolated fructose are actively harmful, I don’t know whether agave syrup has similar effects.