Honey and Diabetes: The Importance of Natural Simple Sugars in Diet for Preventing and Treating Different Type of Diabetes

Abstract

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder with multifactorial and heterogeneous etiologies. Two types of diabetes are common among humans: type 1 diabetes that occurs when the immune system attacks and destroys insulin and type 2 diabetes, the most common form, that may be caused by several factors, the most important being lifestyle, but also may be determined by different genes. Honey was used in folk medicine for a long time, but the health benefits were explained in the last decades, when the scientific world was concerned in testing and thus explaining the benefits of honey. Different studies demonstrate the hypoglycemic effect of honey, but the mechanism of this effect remains unclear. This review presents the experimental studies completed in the recent years, which support honey as a novel antidiabetic agent that might be of potential significance for the management of diabetes and its complications and also highlights the potential impacts and future perspectives on the use of honey as an antidiabetic agent.

Natural Products and Their Bioactive Compounds: Neuroprotective Potentials against Neurodegenerative Diseases

“…It is widely used as a nutrient supplementation Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine and in traditional medicine. Since the last two decades, honey has been explored for its gastroprotective, hepatoprotective, reproductive, hypoglycemic, antioxidant, antihypertensive, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, wound healing, cardioprotective, and antitumor effects [33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40]. In general, pure honey contains over 200 compounds, consisting mainly of carbohydrates (monosaccharides: glucose and fructose; disaccharides: sucrose and maltose), protein (amino acids and enzymes), minerals, vitamins (vitamin B6, riboflavin, niacin, and thiamine), phenolic compounds (flavonoids and phenolic acids), and volatile substance (responsible for the characteristic aroma of honey) [41][42][43][44][45][46].…”

Effect of different ratios of ginger solution concentrations on the quality of millet-based Kunun-Zaki

“…14 Inverted sugar syrup contains high amounts of Fructose; and several studies have shown that the anti-diabetic and hypoglacaemic effect of honey resulted from the Fructose component; owing to the fact that Fructose increase the uptake of hepatic Glucose as well as storage and synthesis of glycogen. 14,39,[40][41][42] It has been recently reported that Fructose has the ability to lower the blood Glucose in animals' models of diabetes; and the mechanisms involved in this process include prolongation of gastric emptying time and reduced rate of intestinal absorption, stimulation of glucokinase in the hypatocytes which plays an important role in the uptake and storage of Glucose as glycogen by the liver under the adipose tissues of the body. 14 Although, there are some studies that reported contrary opinions regarding the use of honey in the control and management of diabetes mellitus diseases, other several research findings favourably discuss and opined that honey with high amounts of Fructose can be used to manage and control Type 2 diabetes.…”

“…14,39,[40][41][42] It has been recently reported that Fructose has the ability to lower the blood Glucose in animals' models of diabetes; and the mechanisms involved in this process include prolongation of gastric emptying time and reduced rate of intestinal absorption, stimulation of glucokinase in the hypatocytes which plays an important role in the uptake and storage of Glucose as glycogen by the liver under the adipose tissues of the body. 14 Although, there are some studies that reported contrary opinions regarding the use of honey in the control and management of diabetes mellitus diseases, other several research findings favourably discuss and opined that honey with high amounts of Fructose can be used to manage and control Type 2 diabetes. Hence, the need for larger sample sized; multi-centre clinical controlled studies so that better and reliable conclusion can be drawn.…”

An Overview of Honey: Its Composition, Nutritional and Functional Properties

“…This for, honey consumption has potential health benefits due to the antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of honey [34]. Honey contains more than 200 components, with fructose, glucose, and water as main substances [35]. The antioxidant activity depends on the floral source, as well as on seasonal and environmental factors and the processing may also have effect on composition and antioxidant activity of honey [36].…”