Does Honey Help You Lose Weight?

By its taste, honey helps calm anxiety and the need for sugary foods, while activating the metabolism. However, it should not be consumed in excess.

The result of the tireless work of bees is honey. It is a food that has been consumed for hundreds of years and in addition, various medicinal properties have been attributed to it. For this reason, you may have already heard how useful honey can be in relieving discomfort or simply promoting well-being, you may have even heard that honey helps you lose weight.

Grandmothers comment that, for example, if used externally, it is very good for improving the health of the skin and hair. But what about losing a few extra pounds? In this article, we explain this to you in more detail.

Honey and its slimming capacity: what the science says

Besides being delicious and for this very reason it is widely used in various culinary preparations. The honey is a food that has been extensively studied over the years.

Although initially, it is usually associated with relief from throat discomfort, flu, and colds. In a study conducted on rodents, it was decided to evaluate how honey promotes less weight gain, adiposity and triglycerides than sucrose in rats. The authors came to the following conclusion:

On the other hand, the results of other investigations on the slimming properties of honey, affirm that it is necessary to continue to analyze this food, because for the moment there is no certainty that it has the capacity to indicate to the brain that he has already received a sufficient dose of sugar.

Continuing the idea that it could be a good ally for weight loss, there are people who consider that a tablespoon of this product could be beneficial. Now, although there is no evidence to confirm that honey has “slimming” properties, the truth is that honey could generate changes in metabolism that help us shed extra pounds.

• It is energizing, so consuming it before exercise or sport can be very beneficial in promoting performance.
• It can help calm cravings. This would help to avoid unhealthy snacks, pastries and groceries.
• It is less addictive than refined sugar, for example.

To consider

If we eat sweets at night, it can prevent us from sleeping properly, waking us up in the middle of the night, or having insomnia. It is proven that a good rest helps us to lose weight since during the night certain processes of muscle repair and fat burning take place.

So, if we consume a tablespoon of honey before going to sleep, we satiate our appetite for sweets without generating addiction (because the fructose it contains is natural and of high quality) and at the same time we let’s give the body the opportunity to rest and therefore to recover.

Honey, cinnamon and water: the ideal recipe for losing weight?

There are several hypotheses about the ability of honey to lose weight. For example, in addition to consuming a tablespoon before doing a workout, we can enjoy its benefits during the day (but without exceeding the quantities, because it would be counterproductive).

It is necessary to completely stop ingesting products with processed sugars.

• Sweeten your desserts, fruits and infusions with honey (you find it in different presentations, more liquid or more solid, more or less sweet, etc.) and include more fruits, vegetables and legumes in your daily diet.
• Avoid flours, sodas, and trans fats. These have shown a close relationship with obesity and metabolic problems in rodents.
• Drink two liters of water a day and don’t forget to exercise. The more active you are, the less likely you are to gain weight.

By following all of these tips, you will help the body burn fat and flush out accumulated toxins.

On the other hand, there are people who – in addition to following the previous advice – consume a glass of water with honey and cinnamon every day to supplement their diet. The recipe would be as follows.

Ingredients

• 1 glass of hot water (200 ml).
• 5 teaspoons of honey (25 g).
• 1 pinch of ground cinnamon.

Preparation

• Heat the water and, when it comes to a boil, add the honey and cinnamon and mix well.
• Drink earlier in the morning (half an hour before breakfast or half an hour before exercising).

In those times when anxiety overwhelms you and you don’t know what to do to stop thinking about eating sweets, this infusion can be very helpful. But remember, do not overdo the amount of honey and, as much as possible, reduce it until you can drink the infusion naturally, without any type of sweetener.

Consume honey in moderation to improve weight loss

If you have any questions about how to improve your lifestyle for healthy weight loss, talk to your family doctor or nutritionist. Consuming honey can help because of its satiating power, but you should not exceed its consumption. Remember that it will have to be introduced as part of a balanced diet.