A part of our diet for more than 4,000 years, honey represents one of our only "insect" foods—made by honeybees from sweet flower nectar. Honey is a supersaturated solution of water and sugars (primarily fructose, which is the sweetest type of sugar). Thanks to the bees’ hard work gathering nectar and pollen from various flowers such as clover and wild-flowers, honey has some nutritional powers worth noting.

• Sweeter than Table Sugar: Calorie for calorie, honey tastes sweeter than regular table sugar. This means you can sweeten your iced tea or use in recipes with fewer calories. You'll have to do a taste test, though, because honey and sugar don't measure up teaspoon for teaspoon. Honey has more carboydrates and calories per teaspoon (23, versus 16 for table sugar) because it's a liquid and is denser than dry sugar. You may find that a teaspoon of honey (23 calories) will adequately sweeten your tea, while two to three teaspoons of granulated sugar (32–48 calories) is needed for the same sweetness.
• Exercise Booster: Studies show that the sugars in honey are well-digested and quickly make their way into circulation. Add one tablespoon of honey to one cup of water to make honey-water, an excellent pre-workout energizer. During a long workout, a tablespoon or two of honey taken with water will also help boost endurance.
• Medicinal Magic: Honey contains some antioxidants with health-boosting properties thanks to pollen and other plant compounds the bee picks up from the flower. Honey also has anti-bacterial properties that have made this sticky "ointment" a longtime favorite for treating burns and small wounds. Certain types of honey are also sold as homeopathic remedies for medical use, such as Manuka honey. (Check with your physician before using honey on a wound, though!)

Article originally published in April of 2014 and updated in November of 2024.