Diabetes mellitus is a condition that affects how the body regulates blood sugar. It causes abnormally high blood glucose levels which can harm the body. The sugar comes from foods and drinks. It develops when the pancreas does not make enough insulin or any at all, or when the body is not responding to the effects of insulin properly.
When glucose is in the bloodstream, it needs the help of a “key” to reach its final destination. This key is insulin (a hormone). If the pancreas is not making enough insulin or the body is not using it properly, glucose builds up in one’s bloodstream, causing high blood sugar (hyperglycemia).
Simple dietary and lifestyle modifications have a role in the prevention and slow progression of the disease. The choice and role of sweeteners (sugars) such as sugarcane, honey, and jaggery have always been a difficult decision for patients with type 2 diabetes.
Although the presumed anti-diabetic effects of honey and jaggery as sweeteners are much more complicated and have not been convincingly compared with ordinary table sugar, researchers in a new study said that honey is the safest sweetening agent for patients with diabetes in comparison with cane sugar and jaggery.
In an evaluation and comparison of the effects of cane sugar, honey, and jaggery in male Wistar rats with diabetes, researchers found honey in type 2 diabetes mellitus caused a minimum increase in blood sugar level (hyperglycemic) and weight gain effects, unlike processed cane sugar. It was in the journal, ‘Proceedings’.
The study, conducted at the Department of Physiology, Services Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS), Lahore, Pakistan, from March 2013 to November 2015, involved healthy adult male albino rats that were made to develop diabetes and randomly grouped into four groups of 30 rats each.
Three different sweetener solutions were prepared daily, and each experimental animal was fed with the respective sweetener solution at a dose of 1 g/kg body weight at a pre-scheduled time of the day for a total of 28 days of the study period.
A minimum rise in blood sugar levels was observed in the rats that were fed honey when compared with the effects of dextrose and sucrose, along with a greater elevation of insulin.
They suggested that the significant increase in blood sugar levels and weight gain with the consumption of minimally processed sugar and jaggery could be attributed to the high glycemic index of jaggery compared with other sweeteners.
The glycemic index is a measure of how big a spike in blood sugar a particular food will cause. Lower the GI; the lower the spike, the better that food is for diabetics. High-fibre food has a very low GI. Sugary foods have a very high GI.
They added, “The findings of this study validate that natural sweetener, which is honey in Type 2 diabetes mellitus, has the least weight gain and hyperglycemic (high blood sugar) effects than chemically processed cane sugar and jaggery.
“Whereas the minimally processed jaggery exhibited considerable hyperglycemia and weight gain as compared to the highly processed table sugar, it suggests the beneficial effects of honey on the overall metabolic profile of subjects with diabetes.”
Sugars, utilised as sweeteners, are an important ingredient in human food, but there has been ample debate regarding their contribution to metabolic syndrome and diabetes.
One of the most exploited sweetening agents by mankind is the white, odourless, crystalline processed table sugar that has been linked closely to the mounting epidemic of obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, abnormally elevated cholesterol or fats (lipids) in the blood, fatty liver, and various other related negative health effects.
So, currently, there is a resurgence of scientific interest in natural medicinal sweeteners such as honey by researchers, the medical community, and even the general public.
Before the popularity of refined sugar and other sweeteners, jaggery, which is derived from sugar cane, was considered one of the dominant forms of cane sugar utilisation. This traditional, low-priced, minimally processed sweetener is a natural mixture of sugar and molasses.
If pure clarified sugar cane juice is boiled, what is left is solid jaggery possessing sucrose (65–85 percent), whereas white sugar contains purely sucrose (99.7 percent).
Nutritional recommendations by the Diabetes Associations have emphasised achieving individualised blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol control along with achieving and maintaining body weight, as well as preventing or reducing diabetic complications.
It also persuades people with diabetes to abate their energy intake while maintaining a healthy eating pattern to encourage weight loss and improve blood sugar control. It has been acknowledged that judicious use of sweeteners in modest amounts is acceptable, especially those that minimally derange metabolic control and body weight.
Specifically, public health and nutrition experts say diabetics should eat honey in moderation because “a sugar is a sugar”.
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