Provided by:
The University of Arizona College of Agriculture &
Life Sciences - Cooperative
Extension
April 17th, 2016
This Week:
Learn about
honey!
Thanks for
participating in
this year's WAAZ
program!
Newsletter 8:
The Health Benefits of Honey
Welcome to the final WAAZ newsletter!
This week's topic is on honey.
What are the health benefits of honey?1
Honey is made up of about 82% carbohydrates and 17% water, but
does have some unique properties and trace amounts of other
substances that give it several health benefits. Read below to find out
why honey may be a little healthier than you thought.
 Honey contains trace amounts of several B vitamins. This
means they generally aren't present at high enough
concentrations to put on the nutrition facts label, but they are
there. These include folic acid, niacin, riboflavin, vitamin B6,
pantothenic acid, and even a little vitamin C. In general, many
of the B vitamins are used by your body to help it with the
metabolizing processes required of life.2
 Antioxidants can be found in honey as well. Specifically, honey
contains flavonoids, which may have health benefits in helping
to prevent several chronic diseases.3
 Honey had a lower glycemic index (GI) compared to other
sugars such as white, granulated sugar. Honey's GI is around
Lorem
Walk Across
IpsumArizona
Dolor Newsletter
[Issue] :: [Date]
55, while other sugar can be seen around 68. To give you some
comparison, both of these scores, 55 and 68, are in the
medium range of the GI. However, 55 is right at the bottom,
and 68 is almost right at the top. This means that ingesting
honey will cause your blood sugar levels to rise more slowly
and steadily than ingesting the same amount of sugar.
How to Enjoy Honey
Honey can be added to several foods to add flavor and sweetness.
You can add honey to:
 Hot tea
 Cereal
 Smoothies
 Yogurt
 The tops of breads, bagels, and biscuits
How to cook With Honey
Honey can be added or substituted in place of sugar for most baking
recipes. There are just a few rules of thumb to keep in mind.
 For each 1 1/4 parts sugar the recipe calls for, only use 1 part
honey. Honey has an increased density compared to sugar.
 For every 1 cup of honey, add 1/2 tsp of baking soda. This will
lower the extra acidity and weight.
 You might want to cook with temperatures 25 lower than the
recipe calls for to prevent the food from browning too quickly.
 Measuring tip: Spray the inside of measuring containers with
nonstick spray or rinse them out with water (don't dry) to help
the honey pour more easily after you measure it.
This was the last newsletter! Thanks so much
for reading!
Honey
Honey is found at most
grocery stores and is
best stored at room
temperature. Although it
contains no fiber or
protein, honey does
have some healthpromoting qualities.
Below are the nutrition facts
for a serving (1 tbsp) of
honey.
Calories
64
Total Fat
0 grams
http://extension.arizona.edu/sites/extension.arizona.edu/files/pubs/az1577.pdf
Carbs
17 grams
References:
Fiber
0 grams
Protein
0 grams
More About Honey:
1
Kappico, J.T., Suzuki, A., Hongu, N. "Is Honey The Same As Sugar?" The College of
Agriculture and Life Sciences Cooperative Extension 2012. 4. 13. 2016.
2
Beerman, Kathy A., McGuire, Michelle. "Nutritional Sciences From
Fundamentals to Food". Second edition. Wadsworth Cengage Learning 2011.
Chapter 10.
3
Higdon, Jane, Dr. "Flavonoids." Micronutrient Information Center. Linus
Pauling Institute, 01 Jan. 2005. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.
2
Featured Food of the Week:
Sources:
USDA Nutrition Database
http://extension.psu.edu/food/pr
eservation/faq/storing-honey