Honey is better for you than sugar

There may be some degree of truth in this claim. Nutritionally there is little difference between these foods. Both are high in carbohydrate and contain only trace amounts of other nutrients. On a weight for weight basis, however, honey has less kilojoules than an equivalent weight of sugar. There is no significant difference in the kilojoules in white, brown or raw sugar. Whether sugar is more fattening than honey depends on how much is consumed and what is eaten with it. For example, honey on a slice of bread with butter or margarine has about 920 kilojoules (220 kilocalories), whereas a spoonful of sugar in a cup of tea or coffee with milk provides us with 125 kilojoules (30 kilocalories).

Many claims about the special properties of honey have been made. These claims cannot be dismissed out of hand because it is known that when bees are collecting nectar, they also pick up minute quantities of other substances from the plants they visit. The nature of these substances may vary from plant to plant, from location to location and from season to season. Some may have potential biological activity; others may not. Just because a biologically active substance is found in honey does not necessarily mean that it will produce any effect when consumed. Any effect will depend on the nature of the substance, its concentration and the amount of honey eaten. These substances could have a beneficial, harmful or no effect. In some parts of the world it is known that the honey produced from particular plants can be poisonous. It is possible that other substances in honey could have medicinal properties.