Honey has many health benefits. These benefits result from honey’s high antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties. As a result, people have used it for millennia to help heal wounds, deal with coughs and colds, and even as a beauty treatment. But did you know you can use honey for weight loss as well?
Honey For Weight Loss: How It Works
Honey is one of the healthiest sweeteners you can find. Also, its various properties may help address numerous health issues. Just like refined sugar, honey also contains calories and carbohydrates, but much less. It also has certain qualities that may help you to lose weight.
Fructose, glucose, and fructose, together with other compounds, make up the main ingredients in honey. Natural sugars, glucose and fructose are low on the glycemic index. This means they take a long time to break down and provide your body with a long-term energy source.
Fructose, especially, may help with weight loss. This is because your body metabolizes fructose differently than it does other sugars. Your body uses fructose as an immediate energy source and does not store it as fat as it may do with other sugars.
Your liver uses honey for weight loss by producing glucose that keeps your brain’s sugar levels high and forces it to release hormones that promote fat loss. As a result, using honey for weight loss may cause a decrease in food cravings. It may also help you feel fuller for longer periods due to its low standing on the glycemic index.
Many of us who struggle with our weight eat too much processed and sugary foods. When you cut out processed foods and replace sugar with honey, you may soon see a downward shift in your weight.
How To Take Honey For Weight Loss?
Taking up to two tablespoons of honey each day may help you lose weight. You can incorporate this honey into your diet in various ways. Remember, honey is much sweeter than sugar, so a little goes a long way.
At Breakfast Time
Whether you eat fruit, porridge, or yoghurt for breakfast, drizzling over some honey will help you reap the sweet syrup’s natural health benefits, including weight loss. If you eat pancakes for breakfast or even toast, adding honey will make your meal a much healthier one.
In Food
Home-cooked meals are always much healthier than ones purchased over the counter. You know what you add to them. Furthermore, you can add honey to foods calling for a sweetener instead of the usual sweetening agents used.
In Drinks
It is easy to substitute sugar with honey in any beverage you drink, whether you use it in your coffee, tea, or smoothies.
If you want to add even more health benefits to your honeyed drink, why not try some of these:
- Cinnamon and honey green tea: Green tea promotes digestion and is a great source of antioxidants. Cinnamon is a spice known for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and blood sugar regulating effect. Adding some honey to the mix instead of sugar will double down on the benefits of this drink.
- Honey and lemon pre-breakfast drink: Lemons have many beneficial properties. They support heart health, improve digestion, reduce your risk of cancer and oral issues, help with skin health, give your immune system a boost, and help with weight reduction. Adding some honey and lemon juice to a glass of warm water and drinking it in the morning will give your body a wonderful boost while helping you with your weight loss journey. You can also add these two ingredients to a bottle of water and sip it throughout the day for added benefit.
Other Ways To Use Honey To Lose Weight
You could, of course, eat your honey right off a spoon. But to add more punch to its benefits, you could add some finely crushed garlic before swallowing it down. Garlic supports immune function and fights inflammation. It may also help improve brain, liver, and heart health.
You can also add some turmeric to your honey or honey-garlic mix. The benefits of turmeric include its ability to fight inflammation, improve metabolism, promote kidney health, and reduce cholesterol levels. It may also help address arthritis and certain eye conditions.
What Is The Best Honey For Weight Loss?
Raw honey is the best for weight loss. This honey has not gone through any type of processing and thus contains all the natural ingredients that promote weight loss as well as its other health benefits.
Honey, when going through processing of any kind, may lose many of its health benefits.
Who Should Not Use Honey For Weight Loss?
People allergic to bee stings and with pollen allergies should not use honey for weight loss without first talking to their healthcare provider. Also, diabetics should first consult a healthcare provider before using honey as it could interfere with their medications.
In Closing
In a world where people have become addicted to sugar, honey may prove the solution. This is especially true in people who struggle with their weight. Do remember, though, that too much of a good thing often results in a bad outcome. So, if you want to use honey as part of your weight loss journey, do remember that two tablespoons per day is quite sufficient. Overusing honey to satisfy your sweet tooth could lead to the opposite of the desired effect. You could see spikes in blood sugar levels when taking too much which could result in weight gain instead of weight loss.
