Substituting your sweetener for a more natural one, such as Honey, doesn't always mean healthy. In a recent study done by the Unites States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which was partly funded by National Honey Board, saw a very unlikely result. The test results came back showing small differences between the use of honey and high-fructose sweeteners.
According to Susan K. Raatz, a research nutritionist at USDA said that the results were the same. The assumption made that high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) were unhealthier has led it to be less consumed in the past decade. The USDA tested this belief along with the National Honey Board, which partially funded the study to possibly prove the health benefits of honey over processed sweeteners.
In the study the researchers gave subjects daily doses of three sweeteners ---- honey, cane sugar, and high-fructose corn sweetener within two weeks. They then measured the subjects' blood pressure, blood sugar, insulin, body weight, and cholesterol. The results showed that the three sweeteners have almost the same impact in the subjects.
Raatz then commented on the revelation honey is thought to be more natural unlike white sugar and HFCS, which are process from corn, cane or beet. But essentially they all are chemically structured to be the same. All three sweeteners have fructose and another compound called glucose.
The problem with the number of consumers when it comes to choosing their sweeteners could be greatly affected by the name which the processed sweeteners have. With "high-fructose" in their name, it is more likely for consumers to think that the product has higher-fructose, when in the study; it revealed that all sweeteners have similar amounts of fructose in them. Raatz then added that a sweetener will always be a sweetener no matter what ingredient was used.
