Is using honey to sweeten oatmeal or pure yoghurt good or bad?
I believe honey is better for you than refined sugar.To be honest with you,I’ve got really addicted to honey lately,lol.I’ve been putting it on everything but I haven’t gained any weight.I mean,I was eating a bunch of this stuff,which is kinda weird .Everything in moderation my friend.
The results of research presented today at the annual Experimental Biology meetings in San Diego, California may sweeten the appeal of honey to athletes. “During the past three decades, carbohydrate ‘sports gels’ have become a popular means of providing energy to athletes,” said Dr. Richard Kreider of the University of Memphis Exercise and Sport Nutrition Laboratory, and the lead investigator of the study. “We found honey to be one of the most effective forms of carbohydrate gels to ingest just prior to exercise. This could translate into greater endurance during a workout or a race.” As part of a three-phase clinical trial, honey is being studied against other forms of carbohydrate gels when ingested just prior to or during exercise. The trials are sponsored by the National Honey Board, which develops research and consumer information programs to increase the demand for honey, and are being performed in collaboration with IMAGINutrition of Aptos, CA. “Honey appears to be a carbohydrate source that is relatively mild in its effects upon blood sugar compared to other carbohydrate sources,” added Dr. Kreider. The lower ‘glycemic index’ profile of honey is an important consideration for sports enthusiasts because when ingested just prior to exercise, higher glycemic index carbohydrates (like dextrose, maltodextrin or sucrose) may promote fatigue more quickly due to the corresponding release of insulin and faster muscle glycogen (stored carbohydrate source) utilization.
In the first phase of these trials, blood glucose, insulin concentration, glycemic index and the insulin response index were determined in seventy-one study subjects. After an eight-hour fast, the subjects were given one of seven gel packets. The packets contained either dextrose, sucrose, fructose, maltodextrin, honey, PowerGel (a commercially available gel product) or a similarly flavored placebo. “One of the issues during exercise is the timing of carbohydrate ingestion just prior to exertion,” Dr. Kreider stated. “Although simple and complex carbohydrates are a popular means of energy replacement, less is known about the use of honey to boost exercise performance. The glycemic index of foods refers to how quickly and how high ‘blood sugar’ (glucose) increases in comparison to pure glucose. The insulin response index is a measure of how much insulin is released by the pancreas in order to ‘process’ the sugar just consumed.”
In addition to the research presented today, future studies will examine the effects of honey in comparison to different types of carbohydrate gels prior to weightlifting exercise. These studies, focusing on the effect on glucose, insulin and markers of protein breakdown, are now in review for other scientific conferences scheduled later this year. The research team is currently reviewing data from their most recent study examining the impact of the ingestion of honey on endurance athletes exercising to exhaustion. These results should be available by December 2000.
[quote]Brown_Sugar wrote:
Is using honey to sweeten oatmeal or pure yoghurt good or bad?
[/quote]
I am kind of a fan of using honey, actually. Not sure if it is just anecdotal stuff or not but I have [i]heard[/i] that eating local honey can help with any sort of pollen-based allergies. I must admit I just like the taste. lol
While it is slightly better than plain-old sugar, it’s still basically just simple sugars. I don’t think a tablespoon or two each morning is going to affect you much, but keep in mind, it’s largely composed of fructose (i.e. sugar), and should be ?counted? as such.
That said, honey does tend to add more flavor, and it is generally sweeter (calorie for calorie) than the equivalent amount of sucrose. So yes, add some to your oatmeal if it makes it palatable for you, just don?t add too much.
Just remember, there’s no such thing as a free-lunch.
Thanks everyone! 
YES, HONEY TASTES GREAT!!
[quote]Brown_Sugar wrote:
Thanks everyone!
YES, HONEY TASTES GREAT!! [/quote]
Honey is fine, just don’t drink it.
I have goat cheese and honey sandwiches on wholegrain rye bread after training. Yummy!!!
If you can get your hands on some, try white honey. A-MAZING.
[quote]Massif wrote:
Brown_Sugar wrote:
Thanks everyone!
YES, HONEY TASTES GREAT!!
Honey is fine, just don’t drink it.
I have goat cheese and honey sandwiches on wholegrain rye bread after training. Yummy!!![/quote]
Damn that sounds good, except for the rhye part. Clover honey with some bleu or feta cheese and a slice of pear or granny smith apples is great too.
[quote]Massif wrote:
Honey is fine, just don’t drink it.
[/quote]
Hahahaha one of my friends, who is a wrestler drinks a few ounces of honey before his matches.
Honey is quite good, especially natural honey or “active” honey. Avoid the processed, refined honey.
Another thing to consider is blackstrop molasses. (or is it blackstrap?) … when they refine sugar, all the goodness goes out of it … into molasses. It has all the vitamins etc… that the white sugar no longer has. It is a thick strong flavour, but for sweetening tea, coffee etc… it is good. And you tend to want a lot less of it than sugar.
I first heard of it from a bodybuilding magazine years back, touted as a super food, for all the vitamins in it.
You guys should try honey with your peanut butter.It tastes great!
Honey is the shiznit!!!
Yogurt is good to mix in your oatmeal too - anything’s better than putting refined sugar on it.
CR
[quote]rrjc5488 wrote:
Massif wrote:
Honey is fine, just don’t drink it.
Hahahaha one of my friends, who is a wrestler drinks a few ounces of honey before his matches.[/quote]
I tried doing this when I was heavy into grappling, but it made me drool for about an hour after I did it. I’d have someone pinned on the ground and I’d drool on the poor bastard’s face. Gross!!
crunchy peanut butter ,and bananna(sp?) with honey sandwich, + a tall glass of milk = insanely delicous.
Massif, that’s hilarity at it’s finest right there.
I love using honey in my teas. Makes them taste awesome, and I have a lot more energy to put forth in my training. I get the urge to run with my sled rather than just walk it down the grass with a bit of honey in my stomach.
Are local honey batches just available from a farmer, or do you get it at a grocery store? I’ve never seen “active” honey or local honey in a store where I’m at. Of course, I never knew to look for something like that.
I love honey. I try to limit my intake of it as I would any other simple carb. I guess it depends on my current intake and goals.
I like it in cooked oatmeal. I also like it with natural peanut butter. That is a treat I have every few months.
Christopher