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Lifestyle

Honey Is the Best Sugar Alternative and This Is How You Should Be Using It

This article is written by a student writer from the Spoon University at Carleton chapter.

Since sugar is almost in everything we eat, maybe it’s time to switch to honey? In my humble opinion, there are way too many reasons as to why honey is the best solution to reducing processed sugar in our lives. As you know, sugar is in almost everything — salads, salsa, and cereals — and it isn’t the greatest ingredient to have in everything. But, you can change that with Winnie the Pooh’s true love — honey. 

booze as nature syrup liquor
Stephanie Lee

What is honey

Honey, in layman’s terms, is bee vomit. Yes, you read that right — bee vomit. But we mostly consume honey from one kind of bee — the honeybee. They produce honey from the sugary secretions of plant nectar and later store it in their hives. 

Honey also comes in various types and flavours. In the United States alone, there are 300 different types of honey. Bees visit different flowers, resulting in different flavours and colours depending on the flowers they pollinate

Ways to replace sugar with honey

Honey has a lot of uses and I mean a lot. There’s a reason why honey has been consumed by us, humans since we were living in caves.

Tea

honey coffee espresso
Julie Lau

Instead of dropping sugar cubes, you can mix in honey. Just remember to stir it frequently for a balanced taste. 

Coffee

Washington and Lee's Tea House black coffee mocha
Shelby Cohron

Just like tea, you can add honey into coffee to wash out the bitterness. Honey doesn’t exactly taste like honey but it’s still sweet and is healthier.

Salad dressing

honey salad vegetable
Skyler Bouchard

If you’re the type who likes sweet dressings, don’t forget to add honey. Mix it in with your usual dressing ingredients. 

Curry

honey chicken curry
Elizabeth Layman

Honey is perfect for reducing the spice in almost any spicy dish. Since I don’t have sugar in my kitchen, I use honey and it works wonders for my curry. 

Baked Goods

honey chocolate cookie
Spoon Csu

From cookies to muffins, opt-out sugar for honey instead. It can add a little more flavour than sugar with less.

Why is it the best

Honey is the best because of its all-natural nutrition content and wide uses. It not only works great as a sweetener, but acts as a natural remedy for various illness.

College care package sweet honey
Sam Jesner

Honey is rich in anti-oxidants. Honey has shown evidence that it can reduce likelihood of critical illnesses like cancer, diabetes and strokes. 

whiskey mixers juice sweet
Jocelyn Hsu

I also love using honey as a cough or sore throat remedy, especially when I was in my high school choir. I love having a spoonful of honey with a spoonful of lemon juice for a stronger remedy. If you can’t handle it too concentrated, pour warm or hot water and mix it.

honey
Elizabeth Layman

Convinced yet? No? Besides helping with your health, honey can be used for skin and hair care. It’s great as an overnight lip mask, hair conditioner, or even to combat itchy skin from dry air or mosquito bites.

However, as much as I advocate for more honey instead of sugar. I suggest you use honey in moderation, as there are reports of bee colonies failing. Bees are critical to our environment and there are multiple ways of preserving them

As you can tell, there’s a reason why honey is the best sugar alternative. Even Winnie the Pooh knows what’s up. That being said, before you go out and stock up with honey, do some research onto the various types of honey that works for you.

LuiXia Lee

Carleton '19

Hailing all the way from Malaysia, Lui Xia is a Carleton University Bachelor of Journalism grad. She's now at University of British Columbia pursuing her MA. Other than being a major foodie just like all her other fellow spoonies, Lui Xia also enjoys dancing, taking pretty, Instaworthy photos, and saving up money to travel the world!