Is honey better than sugar for people with diabetes?

Not by GI alone. The 2008 international GI tables put the average of 17 honeys at 61 and table sugar at 65; individual honeys ranged from 35 to 87. A tablespoon of honey (21 g) carries about 17 g of carbohydrate; a level tablespoon of granulated sugar is about 12.6 g (USDA: 4.2 g per teaspoon). Both are added sugars. If you manage diabetes, count honey as carbohydrate and follow your care plan.

What is Glycemic Load (GL) and why does it matter more than GI?

GI ranks how fast a food's carbohydrate raised blood glucose in a test, per gram of carbohydrate. Glycemic load adds the serving: GL = GI × grams of available carbohydrate ÷ 100. Watermelon tested at GI 72 and 80 in two Australian tests, but a 120 g serving has 6 g of carbohydrate, so its GL is 4 to 5 (Atkinson et al. 2008). For honey, one teaspoon (7 g) gives a GL of 1.8 for acacia (GI 32) to 4.3 for tupelo (GI 74), all in the low band (10 or less).

Why does acacia honey have such a low GI?

One acacia (Romanian locust) honey tested at GI 32 in the 2002 international GI tables; no other acacia honey has a GI in our sources. Acacia honey has more fructose relative to glucose than most: the International Honey Commission's descriptive sheets give a mean fructose-to-glucose ratio of 1.61, the highest of the 15 European types they cover (Persano Oddo & Piro 2004). In an Australian study of 8 honeys, GI tracked glucose content (r = 0.79). But in a US study, honeys with fructose-to-glucose ratios from 1.03 to 1.54 had statistically similar GIs, so the ratio alone does not predict a jar's GI.

Does cooking or baking with honey change its GI?

None of the studies cited here tested heated honey. A GI is measured on the food people eat, so the GI of a cake or glaze made with honey depends on the whole recipe and has to be tested on the finished food; the honey's own GI does not carry over.

How much honey fits within the WHO sugar guideline?

WHO recommends keeping free sugars, which include honey, below 10% of daily energy and suggests below 5% (WHO 2015). On a 2,000 kcal diet that is 50 g and 25 g of sugars. One tablespoon of honey (21 g) has about 17 g of sugars and 64 kcal (USDA FoodData Central 169640).

Honey Glycemic Index Calculator — GI & Glycemic Load by Variety

Select Honey & Serving

Honey

Source: 2008 international GI tables (Atkinson et al.); individual honeys 35–87

Serving Size

Glycemic Index61

0Low ≤55 · Medium 56–69 · High ≥70100 = glucose

Glycemic Load

10.5

Medium GL

Serving

21 g

Available carbs

17.3 g

Calories

64 kcal

GL = GI × available carbs ÷ 100 = (61 × 17.3) ÷ 100 = 10.5. GL 10 or less = low · 11–19 = medium · 20 or more = high. Carbs and calories: USDA honey, 82.4 g carbohydrate minus 0.2 g fiber and 304 kcal per 100 g.

Sweetener GI Comparison

Measured GI, glucose = 100. Honeys in amber; the selected honey is marked. Brown sugar, high-fructose corn syrup and corn syrup are left out: the 2008 international GI tables list no test of them.

Agave nectar· mean of 3 nectars: 10, 11, 1913

Fructose (pure)· mean of 3 studies15

Acacia (Romanian locust) honey· 2002 international GI tables (Foster-Powell et al.)32

Coconut sugar· SUGiRS 2014, one brand54

Maple syrup (pure)· one Canadian syrup54

Average honey (selected)· mean of 17 honeys61

Table sugar (sucrose)· mean of 6 studies65

Clover honey· US study, 12 adults (Ischayek & Kern 2006)69

Buckwheat honey· US study, 12 adults (Ischayek & Kern 2006)73

Tupelo honey· US study, 12 adults (Ischayek & Kern 2006)74

Agave tests low because it is mostly fructose (two of the three nectars were labelled 90% and 97% fructose). A low GI does not make a sweetener lower in sugar or calories. Sources: Atkinson et al. 2008; SUGiRS coconut sugar test, 2014.

GI of 13 Honeys Measured in People

Ranked lowest to highest GI. Glycemic load per teaspoon (7 g) and tablespoon (21 g) from USDA carbohydrate.

Honey	GI	Study	GL / tsp	GL / tbsp
Acacia (Romanian locust)	32	Foster-Powell et al. 2002	1.8	5.5
Yellow box	35	Holt et al. 2002	2.0	6.0
Stringybark	44	Holt et al. 2002	2.5	7.6
Red gum	46	Holt et al. 2002	2.6	7.9
Iron bark	48	Holt et al. 2002	2.8	8.3
Yapunyah	52	Holt et al. 2002	3.0	9.0
Commercial blend (WA)	62	Holt et al. 2002	3.6	10.7
Salvation Jane	64	Holt et al. 2002	3.7	11.0
Clover	69.2	Ischayek & Kern 2006	4.0	11.9
Commercial blend (NSW)	72	Holt et al. 2002	4.1	12.4
Buckwheat	73.4	Ischayek & Kern 2006	4.2	12.6
Cotton	73.6	Ischayek & Kern 2006	4.3	12.8
Tupelo	74.1	Ischayek & Kern 2006	4.3	12.8

Colour: green = low GL (10 or less) · amber = medium (11–19). No measured honey reaches a high GL at one tablespoon.

Why Honey GI Varies

Individual honeys in the 2008 international GI tables ranged from 35 to 87. In an Australian study of 8 honeys, the ones with more glucose had higher GIs (r = 0.79); fructose content was not significantly related.

In a US study of 12 adults, clover (69), buckwheat (73), cotton (74) and tupelo (74) were statistically the same, even though their fructose-to-glucose ratios ran from 1.03 to 1.54. A variety name is a rough guide, not a fixed number.

Glycemic load at one tablespoon runs from 5.5 (acacia) to 12.8 (tupelo); at one teaspoon every measured honey is under 5.

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