I am 21, female, 170cm and weigh 129 pounds. So far so good, except that I don't really feel good and energetic. My body fat % is on the higher side. I have given up sugar for a week now and already seeing results. However, I do use honey and lime in my green tea. Can anyone tell me if honey is okay to consume or not?
I am new here: Giving up sugar. Is honey wi... - Healthy Eating
I am new here: Giving up sugar. Is honey with green tea a good idea?
29 Replies
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I gave up sugar a while ago, used sweeteners then honey now I don't use it at all... unsweetened tea for me these days.
in reply to
What differences have you noticed in your life after giving up sugar?
in reply to
Food tastes better, it tasted bland for a while but now its better, my skin seems to be clearer too.
Oh and I don't crave sweet things anymore either.
in reply to
I am experiencing the same thing. I have also become more sensitive to sweetness.
Cooper27Administrator
I was told to give up things like honey and sweeteners when quitting sugar - it just keeps the cravings alive. It's up to you - you can always reduce bit by bit, as long as it works for you.
Hi Hidden ,
Good luck with it all, and you might also find the information on NHS Choices helpful as well, as there are some tips there:
nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pa...
Zest 
in reply to Zest
Thank you Zest . Nice information there. Are fresh fruit juices, like the orange juice I make myself also not recommended?
Zest in reply to
Hi Hidden - I would imagine that your homemade orange juice is really nice. There is a page here about juices from the NHS Choices website, which you might find helpful:
nhs.uk/Livewell/5ADAY/Pages...
Zest
in reply to
Better to eat fruits and juice veggies...Any fruit juice not recommended..
andyswarbs in reply to
Ivygreen, homemade juice is better than shop bought juice. But research shows that essentially once the fruit is separated from its fibre it is very close to drinking flavoured sugar. You can ameliorate that by mixing greens with fruit to some extent.
In the end, on the fruit end of foods, nothing beats whole fruit. Even smoothies separate out that fibre, and are not as good as the whole fruit.
Bananas are an exception to the above rule.
The catechins in green tea are best absorbed with lemon.
Try drinking it weaker if you find it bitter. I use a flat teaspoon in a litre pot, I refill with water at least twice.
It's also nice brewed with rose buds or chrysanthemum, other dried flowers, or fruit.
in reply to BadHare
Thanks for the advice. Rose buds and chrysanthemums is new information to me. Bitter taste is no problem. I am using honey just because I had heard that honey is good for health.
BadHare in reply to
Raw honey has benefits. They're lost if it's been pasteurised, as is most commercial honey, & also heated.
Adding lemon does improve the health benefits, & the flower petals make it a lovely summer drink. I also like to add lavender if I have a virus, & start the day with elderberry in my tea.
I don't like the taste of teabags, & buy a green, sencha, or white teas. Yellow tea is a treat for weekends. I consider a tea pot is a good investment!
My favourite saying: Better three days without food, to a day without tea!
in reply to BadHare
I too use loose leaf tea. No tea bags. I like to spend extra 10 minutes preparing my green tea You seem to have researched about teas a lot.
BadHare in reply to
I love the tea, but only real tea. A perfect pot is a wonderful thing!
Bags just taste horrible: the contents are floor sweepings, or at least taste that way!
Sweetening of our foods is something that we become used to - to the point where, unless we use more and more sweetener, we can't really taste it. - Somewhat akin to our use of salt. I make a lot of indian foods and generally don't use any salt in any recipe ( in spite of them frequently calling for teaspoons of salt) - and now find that when I go to an Indian restaurant , I can hardly bear the taste of their food because of the high use of salt in them. Same for coffee/tea - I gave away having sugar in coffee/tea many years ago so that now I think I have been "poisoned" if anybody puts sugar in my coffee/tea
in reply to Bazza1234
Bazza1234 I am an Indian and I can relate to the overuse of salt you are talking about. I try to keep it minimal but I live in a hostel so I don't really cook my own food and that's why I have water retention all the time.
Honey is a valuable treat as it contains other minerals etc but do not use it as a sugar replcement. Continue to use sugar but gradually reduce the amount until it gets to zero. You could try half of the amount for a start. You should be able to get off sugar altogether in less that six months. Do not use artificial sweetners as many of them contain chemicals more dangerous than sugar. The day you can eat and enjoy a grapefruit without sugar you will know that you have arrived as you will be enjoying the flavour of the fruit.
Our sugar consumption for two of us is less than 1kg per annum.
Good luck, Tibbly
in reply to Tibblington
Thanks, Tibbly! You have your sugar sorted out it seems. Wonderful!
Honey is a type of sugar. So are things like agave syrup, date mollasses etc. I inadvertently lost weight when I cut out adding refined sugars from my diet, that said I dont think its necessary to completely deprive yourself of anything sweet. Cut out cakes, biscuits, high gi food like refined white bread and pasta. Plenty of recipes online for replacing sugar in baked goods with Apple purée and banana etc. Purée frozen banana for a lovely ice cream. Look at the the ingredients in prepared food you buy, cereals, ketchup, ready meals. Lots of hidden sugar. Stick to fresh food you cook yourself and wholegrains, nuts. have fruit and yogurt for dessert. Eat the rainbow!
Another trick with banana is to mash it and add it to any cooked fruit that is a bit sharp. Keep it for about 12 hours in the fridge and you will be amazed how palatable the sharp fruit becomes. You see there are ways around the sugar problem. Tibbly
Hi. Xylitol is an excellent replacement for sugar. It's what's found in some mints and chewing gum. It's great for your teeth. They use it in some European countries for school children for after they have eaten. It's great for diabetics too. It's around £5.00 for a bag from holland and Barrett's, it's not a huge bag but if your not craving sweetness any longer then I'm sure a little will go a long way. You can use it when cooking too. It's fantastic. X
in reply to Jan810
Thanks for the suggestion. However, I live in a hostel and cooking is not an option for me. I have no more sugar cravings and so I think I can do without substitutes for now. I will keep your suggestion in mind for future purposes though when I begin to make my meals and all
Jan810 in reply to
:), good on you for kicking the sugar habit too. Xx
Honey is delicious, but if you are screening out sugar, honey is full of it. You might find
hermesetas or sweetners might cut down the sugar without spoiling the green tea.
As a diabetic, sugar is not the only culprit in carbohydrate and sugar metabolism.
Wheat, cakes and biscuits, cereals, even with no sugar are full of carbs, which convert to
sugar in the liver, and is stored as fat. Rice and soya products, and potato chips are
like neat sugar in the bloodstream.
Some vegetables are high in sugar, such as peas, onions, root vegetables, such as parsnips
which are meant to have the highest sugar of all. Beetroot, also has sugar in it.
If you want to cut out sugars in vegetables, green veges such as broccoli kale and spinach and dark leaved cabbage, contain protein, but have no sugars. As honey is something you like then
why don't you keep it in your diet , spreading it on crumpets, rather than toast, as the carb level
in bread is higher. I find the hardest thing is to eat a salad, without rye bread or brown bread
to give the feeling of fullness. Tips for cutting down the carbs, are to drink some water, or
sugar free drink before a meal, and after it. Your stomach is full - so your appetite is controlled.
Supplements such as vitamin c at 1000grms a day, can act as a boost, to metabolism to help
you get over colds.
Best wishes Gadgrant
With or with out tea , the right manuka honey is believed to have healing powers.
Usually I find a confusing response in different article of combination of cinnamon with honey in its use in diabetic,best ideal answer mentioning quantity,ways of use and timings of use
If diabetic then I would treat honey the same as any sugar.
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