Honey

Honey technically has more calories than sugar. 

A teaspoon of honey has about 21 calories, while one of white sugar contains around 16 calories. The sugars in honey have a lower glycemic index than those in white sugar. 

The glycemic index measures how quickly a food raises blood sugar levels. Foods with a lower GI cause a slower, more gradual rise in blood sugar.

Table sugar (sucrose) has a GI of about 65, while honey's GI typically ranges from 35-58, depending on the variety. This difference occurs because:

Honey contains a mixture of fructose and glucose (with more fructose), whereas table sugar is a 50/50 split of fructose and glucose.

Honey contains small amounts of fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that may slow glucose absorption.

The body processes all kinds of sugar in largely the same way. The differences in health benefits or risks between using honey and table sugar are largely negligible. 

If you're looking for a healthier sweet treat, consider choosing fruits, which contain sugar in their natural form.

Monofloral honey is made primarily from the nectar of one type of flower. Polyfloral or mulitflora honey, also known as wildflower honey, is derived from the nectar of many types of flowers. In India, honey from the Sundarbans mangrove forest and Kashmir fetches premium prices.

Products labeled as organic honey claim that their honey comes from bees that are not exposed to synthetic chemicals, antibiotics, or pesticides.

Honey is produced by bees who have collected nectar or honeydew. Pure honey is considered kosher (permitted to be eaten by religious Jews), though it is produced by a flying insect, a non-kosher creature.

In Islam, an entire chapter (Surah) in the Quran is called an-Nahl (the Bees). According to his teachings (hadith), Muhammad strongly recommended honey for healing purposes.

The World Health Organization recommends honey as a treatment for coughs and sore throats.

In Hinduism, honey (Madhu) is one of the five elixirs of life (Panchamrita). 

India certifies honey grades based on additional factors, such as the Fiehe's test, and other empirical measurements.

The genus name Apis is Latin for "bee". While about 20,000 species of bees exist, only eight species of honey bee are recognized: 

• Apis andreniformis (the black dwarf honey bee)
• Apis cerana (the eastern honey bee)
• Apis dorsata (the giant honey bee)
• Apis florea (the red dwarf honey bee)
• Apis koschevnikovi (Koschevnikov's honey bee)
• Apis laboriosa (the Himalayan giant honey bee)
• Apis mellifera (the western honey bee)
• Apis nigrocincta (the Philippine honey bee).

The increase in honey production in India is driven by a larger cultivation of mustard, an oilseed whose flowers account for over half of the country's honey output. Additionally, fruits like litchi and pomegranate, spices such as ajwain (carom seeds), and eucalyptus plantations provide abundant pollen and nectar for domesticated bees. 

More than 60% of India’s honey is produced in mustard fields. Domestic brands tend to avoid using mustard honey because it crystallizes and turns pale white during colder months, causing consumers to suspect it has been adulterated with sugar.

The adulteration of honey with rice syrup, often called all-pass syrup due to its ability to bypass standard tests, is widespread. This happens because rice starch escapes detection, unlike corn syrup, which can be identified in lab tests required by the FSSAI. A nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) test is one method to detect rice syrup in honey.

In 2024-25, India exported an impressive 100,773 tonnes of natural honey, about 66% of its annual production. US consumes more of Indian honey than Indians do.

Taking exports and the domestic market together, beekeeping is now a ₹3,500 crore industry. The number of beekeepers is estimated to have more than doubled in the past decade to over 70,000.