How much sugar in 1 tsp honey

Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with any advertisers on this site.

To avoid the empty calories of refined sugar, swapping honey into baking recipes is a commonly suggested “healthier” option. Similarly, packaged products that are sweetened with honey can give consumers the impression that they’re getting a sugar upgrade.

So, is honey actually good for you?

The not-so-sweet answer: not really, when it’s used as a food. Honey does supply some nutrients, such as iron and vitamin C. But the amounts are so small — less than 1 percent of what you need in a day — that it’s basically meaningless, says Amy Keating, a Consumer Reports nutritionist.

Honey actually has slightly more calories per serving than sugar: 21 calories per teaspoon, compared with 16 calories per teaspoon of sugar. In addition, just like sugar and agave syrup, the honey that you stir into your tea or use as a sweetener in baked goods is a type of added sugar.

“Honey should be treated like all added sugars, something to include in your diet carefully and kept to a minimum,” Keating says. The American Heart Association recommends that men consume no more than nine teaspoons (36 grams) per day; women and children, no more than six teaspoons (24 grams) daily. A teaspoon of honey contains almost six grams of sugars.

Still, research has shown other potential benefits to honey.

Does honey work as a cure?

Honey has served as a time-honored home remedy for cough, allergies and even wound healing. But the evidence is mixed regarding its effectiveness as a remedy.

It’s worth trying a spoonful of honey to ease a cough: Some research shows that it can help. But don’t try this with infants under 1 year old. Honey can contain the bacteria that cause infant botulism. (Honey is safe for children once they’ve reached their first birthday.)

And don’t rely on honey to help with a runny nose, itchy eyes or stuffy sinuses during allergy season. While some people swear by “local” farm honey to alleviate their seasonal allergies, it actually doesn’t have notable benefits, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

The ancient Egyptians used honey to speed wound healing and prevent infection, and there may be some truth that it works. A 2015 review published by the medical organization Cochrane showed honey to be even more effective than traditional antiseptics in treating certain burns, but the report authors stress that more research is needed.

The effect may be due to the antibacterial and anti-inflammatory ingredients quercetin and garlic acid, says Diane Madfes, a professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. That said, consult your doctor before you start spreading honey on wounds and burns.

Copyright 2018, Consumer Reports Inc.

Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. CR does not endorse products or services, and does not accept advertising. Read more at ConsumerReports.org.

Because it comes from nature — from bees, no less — honey has a health halo. But is honey really healthy? Here’s what dietitians say about the health benefits of honey.

What is honey made of?

Honey is made from nectar. “Bees collect the dilute-sugary nectar of flora plants, produce an enzymatic activity after ingestion, regurgitate it into honey cells and evaporate a high percentage of the water out of it, producing a super-sweet viscous liquid known as honey,” explains Dana Hunnes, a senior dietitian at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

The sweet substance is mostly fructose and glucose — simple sugars that are easily converted by the body into energy — and water.

Honey also contains trace amounts of vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, enzymes, amino acids and flavonoids, says Jenny Friedman, a Philadelphia-based registered dietitian. “These compounds are responsible for some of honey’s potential health benefits and part of what distinguishes the sweetener from more traditional ones like sugar.”

Is honey healthy?

Research has linked honey to an improvement in gut microbial balance, coughing and other respiratory conditions. Because of honey’s trace nutrients, the sweetener has been thought to have antibacterial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, along with healing potential for ailments such as sore throats, digestive disorders and burns, Friedman says.

Want to eat healthier but don’t know where to start? Sign up for TIME’s guide to food myths, debunked

But it’s important to consider the full nutritional picture. To get many of these benefits, “we’d have to eat a lot of honey,” says Friedman. “And unfortunately, consuming a lot of honey means consuming a lot of calories.”

Remember: Honey is sugar — something that Americans consume in excess. The American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugar to about six teaspoons per day for women and about nine teaspoon per day for men, but the average American adult consumes about two to three times more than this.

“Consuming sugar in excess amounts has been implicated in causing increased weight gain as well as increased risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes,” says Meredith Price, a registered dietitian at Priceless Nutrition & Wellness in New York.

Is honey an added sugar?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently required that food labels start differentiating between types of sugar: specifically by calling out added sugars, or sugars that are added to foods when they’re processed or prepared.

And even though honey comes from a natural source, it is still an added sugar, like corn syrup or cane sugar. “A lot of people feel better when they read a food label and see honey instead of sugar,” says Friedman. “However, in the long run, the nuance is more meaningful to the mind than the body. The body pretty much perceives sugar and honey added to foods the same way.”

Certain terms on products — like “natural sugars,” “no artificial sugars” or “naturally sweetened” — are often simply marketing tactics, says Price.

What’s the healthiest way to eat honey?

It’s important to consume honey in moderation, experts say. A little goes a long way. Think of a serving size of honey as about a tablespoon (the size of your thumb or a poker chip), says Friedman. This much honey has about 64 calories and 17 grams of sugar, according to the USDA’s food composition database. Aim to keep your daily intake from any added sugar under 100 calories a day for women and 150 calories a day for men, suggests Hunnes.

Because honey’s flavor is largely what distinguishes it from other sweeteners, Friedman recommends using it in ways that highlight flavor. Drizzle up to a tablespoon into tea, on top of yogurt, into morning oats or on peanut butter toast. Honey also works well in dressings, she says.

The main types of honey are organic, dark, light, raw and filtered, says Friedman, but there are over 300 varieties of honey. “The variety refers to where the honey comes from, basically the types of flowers bees have fed on,” she says. “The color, flavor and major nutritional properties of honey all depend on the nectar that the bees used.”

So what’s the best type to buy? “It depends on what flavors you’re looking for and how you’re using it. Manuka honey has a stronger and distinct taste that might not make it great for using in baking, for example,” she says. Darker honey is also said to be higher in antioxidants, she notes, but it tends to have a more intense, bitter flavor that not everyone enjoys. “Buckwheat is one variety that has been highlighted for a robust nutrient profile.”

When it comes to buying honey, it’s important to do your research. Honey — especially when it’s imported — can be cut with other sweeteners like corn syrup. “Always read the label to determine what you’re getting,” Friedman says.

It’s also easier to detect a genuine product if you can actually get your hands on the honey itself, she says. “True honey is thick and slow moving (though the texture of honey may differ depending on whether it is raw or unfiltered). It shouldn’t spread out like syrup and actually won’t feel too sticky on your hands. The smell is distinct, usually floral.”

When possible, try to buy locally produced honey from a place where you can see the honeybees or how the honey is produced, Hunnes says. Doing this makes it more likely that the honey you’re buying is actually honey.

Contact us at .

Is honey better for you than sugar?

Is it OK to have a teaspoon of honey everyday?

Does honey count as sugar intake?

How much sugar is in a spoonful of honey?