The Downside to Sugar

For starters, table sugar provides a boost of energy.  When consumed in food or a cup of hot herbal tea, it metabolizes as glucose, which is high in calories.  What happens is any excess energy from sugar would be saved as fat, which means it contributes to weight problems.  Although the body requires some fat deposits to survive, when levels are too high, all types of health risks exist, specifically for anyone living with diabetes.  In addition, sugar promotes the growth of bacteria, which leads to cavities and tooth decay.

Go with a Healthy Sweetener

For healthy tea, you should stop using sugar and turn to honey.  Interestingly, of all known natural sweeteners, honey is the oldest.  Historians tell us that honey was used for healing and medicinal benefits in ancient Egypt.  As we all know, honey is sweet, thick, and delicious that comes from nectar of the honey bee that they carefully store in the cells of the hive.  Honey can be enjoyed fresh or as a processed product.  In both cases, hone is a natural sweetener that offers nutritional value.

Many people think of honey as being “liquid gold”.  In fact, some philosophers say that honey is “fashioned through an ingenious alliance that connects plant and animal kingdoms”.  We do know that honey contains phytochemicals, which help prevent and fight disease.  Thanks to the honeybee that pollinates approximately two million flowers to make a single pound of honey and for people that love drinking Chinese green tea, loose black tea, or any other kind of tea, this is great news.

Kim Yong, the founder of Your Tea Place, which is a great place to buy tea online, states, “Honey blends exceptionally well with black and flavored teas and enhances its fragrance”.  The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry also published a special article specific to antioxidant levels found in honey compared to fresh fruits and vegetables showing them to be almost identical.  Because of this, you could easily relax with a cup of exotic tea sweetened with honey instead of eating broccoli.

Numerous clinical studies have also shown that honey helps cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy in that it reduces the horrific side effects.  Other benefits found directly related to honey include improved performance for athletes, better oral health, and it can even be used as a food preservative.

The University of Illinois conducted its own study on honey a consisting of 25 men.  These men consumed a concoction of Chinese black tea, buckwheat, hot water, and sugar, compared with drinking two cups of water with four tablespoons of honey only.  The results showed that capacity for serum antioxidant increased by 7% in just two hours of drinking of the water and honey.

This is great news because antioxidants reduce oxidation of low-density lipoproteins, which are more commonly referred to as bad cholesterol, which clog arteries that lead to heart attack.  Another benefit of antioxidants is that the development of atherosclerosis is also greatly reduced.  With many types of honey containing flavonoids and phenols that fight cancer, this makes honey even more beneficial from a health standpoint.

The bottom line is that when you sit down to enjoy your next cup of hot tea or even a glass of cold tea, instead of using sugar, consider natural honey.