Like Your Tea Sweet? Add Honey Instead of Sugar

One of life's purest pleasures is a cup of steaming tea. Some like it pure but most like it sweet. Adding sugar is by far the most common way of sweetening tea. Common table sugar (sucrose) is comprised of fructose and glucose. While sugar satisfies a natural craving, it is not without its downside.

Sugar is the quintessential source of energy and most foods, when digested, are metabolized by the body as basic sugar (glucose). It is a major source of calories in the diet. The body will save the excess energy in sugar as fat. While some stored fat is necessary, too much is undesirable and pose several health concerns especially for diabetics. Sugar also supports the growth of the bacteria that causes tooth decay.

A healthier alternative is honey. Honey is one of the oldest sweeteners used by man and was highly valued by ancient Egyptians for its medicinal and healing properties. It is a sweet, usually viscous, liquid made by bees from flower nectar and stored in the cells of the hive for food. Consumed fresh or after processing, it is usually used as a nutritive sweetener.

"Honey is the ultimate in products derived from herbs. It's like liquid gold. Fashioned through an ingenious alliance between animal and plant kingdoms, honey delivers a diverse array of phytochemicals in one package. This bounty arrives courtesy of the industrious honeybee, who visits some 2 million flowers to manufacture just one pound of honey" said Dr.Gina Mohammed, a plant physiologist in Sault Ste Marie, Canada. "Honey blends exceptionally well with black and flavored teas and enhances its fragrance", added Kim Yong, founder of Your Tea Place, an online tea site which focuses on tea and health.