Will Honey Increase Blood Sugar?

Carbohydrate Content

When you are watching your blood sugar levels, carbs are the nutrient you need to be most concerned with. The more carbohydrates a food contains, the higher your blood sugar levels are likely to go after you eat it, although what you eat along with high-carb foods can help limit the overall effect on your blood sugar levels. Honey has slightly more carbs than sugar, with each tablespoon containing 17 grams, compared to the 13 grams in the same amount of white sugar.

Glycemic Index

The glycemic index is a tool you can use to estimate how quickly and how much a food will raise your blood sugar levels after you eat it, with lower numbers indicating a slower and smaller increase in blood sugar levels. While honey has a GI score of 55, which is considered low, white sugar has a medium GI score of 68, which means honey won't cause as much of a spike in your blood sugar levels as white sugar.

Effect on Blood Sugar

A study published in the "Journal of Medicinal Food" in 2004 found that honey caused less of an increase in the blood glucose levels of diabetics than either table sugar or dextrose, which is another form of sugar. Regularly consuming honey may even lower your fasting blood glucose levels, decreasing your diabetes risk. People who added 1.2 grams of honey per kilogram of body weight to their diet for two weeks experienced a 5 percent decrease in their fasting blood sugar levels, according to a study published in the "Journal of Medicinal Food" in 2003.

Considerations

There isn't a huge difference between sugar and honey, so don't be tempted to go overboard and pour it on everything you eat. Use it to replace some of the table sugar you eat, rather than using it in addition to table sugar. While honey may increase your blood sugar levels less than regular sugar, diabetics still have to include the carbs in their diet planning and eat honey only in moderation, according to the American Diabetes Association.