Myth Busters

I did a lot of posts on Facebook and Mal suggested that I put them into a blog on the webpage so this is new territory for me and the first of a series of blogs on different topics to do with health and fitness. I am going to keep these short and punchy and you can always ping me if you need to discuss anything.

There are a lot of myths out there about what exercises are good or bad and what foods are good or bad so let's dig into these in this short Myth Buster series.

Myth: Honey is less fattening than table sugar because it is natural.

Truth: Honey and table sugar are almost chemically indistinguishable. Spoon for spoon, sugar contains fewer calories than honey, but extra calories from either one will lead to weight gain.

However, honey is natural food and not processed. It also has some nutrients (unlike table sugar). Honey is rich in anti-oxidants and contains ascorbic acid, pantothenic acid, niacin and riboflavin; along with minerals such as calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium and zinc.

There have been studies that found honey effective in the healing on burns and wounds that have become infected after surgery. Honey has also been found to be an effective treatment for diabetic foot ulcers.

AND, whilst there is no scientific evidence to prove this, it has been said that if you have hay fever you should consume 1 teaspoon of pure local honey to desensitise you to pollen and help alleviate systems.

So the moral to this story is to choose honey over sugar to sweeten drinks and cereals etc but use only in moderation. Don't be like Pooh!

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Karen is a qualified personal trainer and nutrition coach living in Cyprus near Paphos with her husband Mal and their cat Dave. She has been a personal trainer for 14 years and a qualified nutrition coach for over 2 years. She is passionate about working with people of any age and fitness level to improve their health and wellbeing.

Click here to see more of her posts.