"Let's Talk About" Series, Blog

Let’s Talk About: Honey vs Sugar

Amber Shehan February 3, 2010

I spent most of my life as most other folks do, blissfully unaware of the content of the foods that I consume and the power that it has over physical and mental wellness. One of the biggest issues that I’ve learned about is related to the amount of sugar that it in the modern day…

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I spent most of my life as most other folks do, blissfully unaware of the content of the foods that I consume and the power that it has over physical and mental wellness. One of the biggest issues that I’ve learned about is related to the amount of sugar that it in the modern day diet.

Sugar sneaks into your life and puts its claws in early on in our lives. Treats and candy were regular joys in my young life. Being the first grandbaby born to either side of my family in my generation had its sugar-coated benefits! My teenage years were spent in a dehydrated haze caused by sugary sodas and coffee with mountains of sugar stirred in. All the while, I suffered from migraines, stomach aches, itchy skin and occasionally severe acne, and couldn’t figure out why!

Sugar has a way of making you crave it, more and more. Why in the world would I want to eat something if it wasn’t sweet? Bitter or savory foods failed to impress me. I was a steak and potato kind of girl, and I abstained from most fresh veggies until my tastes changed when I turned 21.

It has only been since I began walking the herbal path that I’ve come to seriously turn my focus towards what I ingest and how it affects my health. Conscious eating has helped me quite a bit. These days I enjoy both fresh and cooked vegetables alike. I eat much less junk food and fast food than I used to. The most tangible change in my health was clear after I cut down on processed sugars and high fructose corn syrup. Now, I know, a lot of people don’t believe all of the hype about heavily processed sugars, and I don’t make a practice of following overblown fads of panic myself., but here are a few things that I learned when I switched from eating so much sugar and replaced it with honey.


Let’s Talk About: Honey vs Sugar

Honey vs Sugar

Reducing the amount of processed sugars in my diet has produced the following effects:

My skin is clearer!  I’ve been an itchy person my whole life. When I cut down my sugar intake,  a great deal of the irritation disappeared after a few weeks! My skin is much more smooth on my face and arms. There have been fewer pimples and blackheads to glare at in the mirror, as well.

My weight decreased!  Now, this one is not JUST the sugar, because I increased my physical activity around the same time as changing my diet. I still believe that both of those things contributed to losing thirty extra pounds and getting down to a comfortable weight within two years. I’m now holding steady at a healthy weight for my size with almost no extra effort – just eating healthy and moving my body has made a big difference.

My teeth squeak! I don’t have the best teeth, nor does anyone else in my family.  Maintaining the health of my mouth and gums has been much easier without a film from my soda eating away at them, or having to dig out bits of candy stuck between my teeth! After a few weeks of a sugar-free diet, my normal old toothpaste tasted like candy. Wow, that stuff is sweet!

Candida begone! Anyone can get Candida overgrowth, men, women, old and young. Candida is in our bodies naturally and is normally not a problem until it starts to take over. Candida feeds on sugar. If you swing the balance in the favor of Candida overgrowth, it will bloom and grow like mad, causing yeast infections and thrush to make itchy places of anywhere warm and wet on your body: mouth, tongue, genitals, armpits…it makes life quite uncomfortable!


I knew that reducing sugar would help, but I didn’t realize how extensive the changes would be! At first, I found myself gazing wistfully at a sweet realm that was so far away…chocolate cakes, cinnamon latte, sticky buns, and pound cake tempted me during my sugar fast. Now, all my former favorites are too sweet for me to enjoy often!

There has to be a medium, a healthy balance. There was a compromise to be made. Sweet flavors have their place. I started small – instead of the usual two spoonfuls of sugar in my morning coffee, I used one spoonful of honey. (These days I use NO sugar in my coffee, just cream!) If I have a glass of fruit juice, I have to dilute it a bit with water or herbal infusion. Pasta and bread are all right, but using them in my diet sparingly feels much healthier than the normal, painful gorging that I had been doing!

Honey provides a bolder flavor and feels infinitely more fulfilling than white sugar to me now. It has flavor, body, and a fire inside…that golden glow that nurtures me in ways that processed cane just doesn’t do!

I’m won over by the bees…and so is my skin, my teeth, my health!

Soon to come, honey as a medicine, honey for beauty, honey for first aid, and more about bees and their versatile gift. Learn where to find local honey!

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Amber Shehan

Hi! I'm Amber Pixie, and this is my site. Enjoy the recipes, information, posts, and please feel free to message me if you have questions!

9 Comments

  1. Denise on February 5, 2010 at 11:17 pm

    My husband and I have started cutting out processed sugars and white flour from our diets. I have noticed a big change in my skin, hair and even my hot flashes arent so hot anymore. Dont know if I can attribute that to the change in diet. High frutose corn syrup is awful for my gut which by the way isnt bloated anymore. We are switching over to honey as soon as we use up all the sugar I have in the house. Have you tried many recipes using honey instead of sugar?

  2. Amber on February 6, 2010 at 4:11 am

    Denise, thanks for your comments!

    A general rule for baking is 3/4 cup honey for 1 cup sugar, and lower the baking temp by about 20 degrees. And it blends especially well in recipes with buttermilk!

    I adore the richness of honey compared to the quickly-addictive sugar intensity of white sugar. Even when I do still use sugar, it’s raw crystals or brown sugar because I love molasses. 🙂

    It’s amazing to notice what happens when you make a conscious choice with your diet, isn’t it? I won’t totally quit sugar, but I sure do use a lot less of it and now so do the rest of the folks I live with.

    blessings to you and yours!

  3. Connie Shehan on February 6, 2010 at 12:14 pm

    Wow, Amber, what a wonderful lot of creative expression in such a short time! I’m so happy your “cottage industry” is growing.

  4. Amber on February 6, 2010 at 3:28 pm

    Me, too, Connie…and thank you for your well wishes!

    I’ve been swamped with orders this week, which feels AMAZING, let me tell you!

    We love you and miss you and hope to make enough $$ to easily visit Florida once it’s not icy muck around here!

  5. Amber on February 9, 2010 at 3:26 pm

    Bees and Me: It’s a GREAT face cleanser…just pat it on lightly and then let it dry. Rinse with hot, then cold water and you are squeaky clean!

  6. Bees And Me on February 9, 2010 at 12:00 pm

    Hello Amber,
    You have a lovely blog! Thanks for commenting on my blog too.
    Well I think Honey wins all the time over sugar. I think its such a lovely flavor. I just love it with tea and on crumpets.
    Honey also has a lower GI rate over sugar and decreases the need to eat more sugar??!
    I have been told that honey is a great face cleanser as well. It could be one of the best inventions which Mother Nature created.

  7. amuletsbymerlin on February 21, 2010 at 6:28 am

    Well done!
    Good to see this information as a part of a conversation.

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