If You're Watching Your Blood Sugar Make This Sweetener Swap

If you're like many adults, you may try to keep your sugar intake within the daily recommended limits (here's how much sugar you should really have in a day). But limiting how much sugar you consume isn't the only way to avoid experiencing signs of high blood sugar. You can also switch up the sweeteners you use, since different sweeteners can affect your blood sugar in different ways.

All foods have a glycemic index rating between zero and 100. This rating determines how rapidly your blood sugar will rise after you consume the food in question. The higher the rating, the faster your blood sugar will go beyond healthy levels.

One of the most common sweetener options is regular white granulated sugar. It only contains 16 calories per teaspoon, which can make it appealing as a sweetener option; however, it doesn't carry any real nutritional value due to a lack of nutrients. Plus, its glycemic index rating is high at 65.  Of course, not all sweeteners have as high a glycemic index as white sugar. Some, like honey, have a significantly lower rating.

Honey has about 21 calories per teaspoon, so it's not exactly a reduced-calorie sweetener choice. That said, it may be friendlier to your blood sugar levels because of its glycemic index of 50, according to studies comparing its blood sugar effects with those of sucrose, the main component of white granulated sugar.

For instance, a 2008 study in the Journal of Food Science determined that in the three hours after adults without diabetes ate honey, they experienced less of a swing in their sugar levels than peers who ate a honey-like substitute or sucrose. Although the honey still made their blood sugar go up and down, it was a more gradual rise and fall. Researchers observed a similar reaction in older children, according to a 2011 study published in Acta Diabetologica. Subjects who consumed honey instead of sucrose experienced a more modulated blood sugar response.

Honey may assist your blood sugar in another way by helping you manage your weight, since being overweight is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Some research suggests that honey could be a weight management tool. 

Per a 2008 review in Nutrients, consuming honey has the potential to reduce a person's risk of metabolic syndrome (a disorder that involves having a number of conditions that heighten the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes). One study involving rats who were fed honey indicated that the animals' bodies were leaner after a year compared to a control group that wasn't fed honey. Another study involving human subjects found that individuals who ate honey rather than sucrose dropped weight, as well as reduced their BMI levels.

With that said, while there are many benefits of honey you'll wish you knew sooner, you definitely still need to monitor how much of it you consume.