Is honey dangerous for diabetes patients?

There are many discussions about the use of honey in diabetes mellitus patient. As we know, honey contains fructose, nutritive sugar, (and seems to be able to raise blood glucose level of diabetes patients) that is different with i.e., saccharine, as non nutritive sugar, which often advised for diabetes mellitus patients. Thus, for some years ago, the use of honey is contraindicated for diabetes patients.

But today, many researches show the beneficial effect of honey in diabetes patients.

In some articles, fructose is defined as a substance that doesn’t need insulin to be changed into glycogen. So it can be safely consumed by diabetes patients.

 (1) honey raises only low glycemic level compared with other sugar.  

(2) Other sugar and natural processed honey can raise triglyserid level, but natural unprocessed honey lower triglyserid and raise HDL (good cholesterol).

(3)  25 days natural unprocessed honey consumption can lower total cholesterol and LDL (bad cholesterol), and raise HDL level. (good cholesterol)

On diabetic patients, natural honey can lower total cholesterol, LDL, and CRP. Honey can increase insulin level better than sucrose. (Ali Waili, 2004)

 Honey can lower prostaglandin levels in plasma of normal person. After consuming 250 ml of water containing 1.2 g/kg body weight of natural unprocessed honey, once a day, for 15 days, plasma concentrations of thromboxane B2, PGE2, and PGF2a were decreased by 48%, 63%, and 50%, respectively. (Ali Waili, 2003). In general, prostaglandins are thought of as mediators of inflammation in the body. Both prostaglandins and thromboxanes have been implicated in immune suppression and atherosclerosis

 Pure honey, especially from the wild has multifactor anti-bacterial, haemostatic and nutritious properties, explained Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) Prosthodentics Department Head and Dental Care for Physicians Programme Director Prof. Dr Muhammad Amin.

 Pure honey is used to maintain oral hygiene and various inflammatory problems of the teeth and gums such as gingivitis periodontitis, plaque and caries,

Open ulcers are better healed with honey when applied locally instead of medicated gel, ointments or creams. In one case of Hepatic Cirrhosis, the ulcer of the mouth and tongue were completely healed with honey, while selective therapy did nothing good for the case.

.The antibacterial properties of honey, both the peroxide and non-peroxide, are effective against several strains of bacteria which are notoriously resistant to antibiotics (Heggers 1987). Other topical uses of honey include treatment and healing of eczema and masking of acne (Green 1988). Health benefits of honey use include anti-allergic properties.The anti-oxidant effects of honey (Gheldof et al 2002) would thus make it a useful adjunct in the management of diabetes mellitus.

 In conclusion, there are many researches show the beneficial effect of honey in diabetes mellitus patients. Some of the mechanisms are, however, not well understood. It can be concluded that the use of moderate amount of honey isn’t contraindicated in diabetes mellitus persons, and even has some beneficial effects.