For years I was putting back honey, because I had heard how good it as for you and that it lasts almost forever. While watching the prices of honey sore, I came to the conclusion, I was going to start buying white sugar instead of honey.

Why did I make this decision? Well after looking at prices, I found that on average and in normal purchasing quantities I could buy about 4 pound of sugar per pound of honey. I could beat that quite a bit when I buy in bulk.

Average price I found for honey is about $4.81 a pound.
Average price of white sugar is about $1.00 a pound.

Those prices may vary by region and amount you buy at a time and the quality.


Nutritional value of honey
Honey

NDB No: 19296 (Nutrient values and weights are for edible portion)

Nutrient Units 1 tbsp

Proximates
Water g 3.59
Energy kcal 64
Energy kJ 267
Protein g 0.06
Ash g 0.04
Carbohydrate, by difference g 17.30
Sugars, total g 17.25
Sucrose g 0.19
Glucose (dextrose) g 7.51
Fructose g 8.60
Maltose g 0.30
Galactose g 0.65

Minerals
Calcium, Ca mg 1
Iron, Fe mg 0.09
Phosphorus, P mg 1
Potassium, K mg 11
Sodium, Na mg 1
Zinc, Zn mg 0.05
Copper, Cu mg 0.008
Manganese, Mn mg 0.017
Fluoride, F mcg 1.5
Selenium, Se mcg 0.2

Vitamins
Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid mg 0.1
Riboflavin mg 0.008
Niacin mg 0.025
Pantothenic acid mg 0.014
Vitamin B-6 mg 0.005
Choline, total mg 0.5
Betaine mg 0.4

Amino acids
Tryptophan g 0.001
Threonine g 0.001
Isoleucine g 0.002
Leucine g 0.002
Lysine g 0.002
Cystine g 0.001
Phenylalanine g 0.002
Tyrosine g 0.002
Valine g 0.002
Arginine g 0.001
Alanine g 0.001
Aspartic acid g 0.006
Glutamic acid g 0.004
Glycine g 0.001
Proline g 0.019
Serine g 0.001


Nutritional value of white sugar

Sugar, granulated:
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 390 kcal
Carbohydrates 99.98 g

Health concerns of white sugar

With all the reports on how bad sugar is, I did a bit of research myself and came to the conclusion, that maybe all the anti-white sugar stuff is hype to get people to buy the alternative sweeteners. I have to admit, I am not a bio-chemist and have not studied sugar vs honey myself in the lab, so have to do some guess work on the newest research papers I can find and see what is going on. I found this which I thought was interesting.

http://www.sugar.ca/english/consumers/s ... smyths.cfm

"Does sugar contribute to the development of diabetes?
No, sugar intake is not linked to the development of diabetes. It was previously believed that sucrose (table sugar) and other sugars contributed to the development of diabetes and that people with diabetes should avoid sugars. This belief was based on the assumption that sugars were more rapidly digested and absorbed than other carbohydrates and would therefore cause high blood glucose levels. In fact, sucrose and fructose actually produce a lower blood glucose response than equal amounts of many starches like bread and potatoes. Furthermore, recent Canadian, American and International recommendations have concluded that sugars do not contribute to the development of diabetes and can be included as part of healthy meal plans for people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. It is for this reason the Canadian Diabetes Association does not recommend the avoidance of sugars."
"Is it better for you to eat honey instead of sugar?
Honey, brown sugar, white sugar and maple syrup all have similar nutritional values. They all provide carbohydrate and energy, but insignificant amounts of vitamins and minerals. Sugar and other carbohydrate sweeteners play an important role in making other foods taste better, and, through their many uses in food preservation, cooking, etc., increase the variety of foods available."

I also found out that the caloric value of honey is equal to that of cane-sugar (1800 cal.)

So basically Honey is better for you, but takes more to give same sweetness flavor and costs a lot more. White sugar like honey if stored correctly lasts almost forever. You choose which bets meets your personal and economic situation.

Great article/post.
Now, you are not getting your sugar at the right places if you are paying almost$1 per pound! Wally world has it for about 50 cents a pound. Sugar has an unlimited shelf life as well. I sometimes go to a wholesale place that sells to caterers and get 50 pound bags of it.
As far as honey goes, my son recently called to ask if I'd be interested in going in on some hives with him. I said "Oh yeah!". He's doing the research and will fill me in, but we figure if a good producing hive gives almost 60 pounds of honey a year, we might actually have a bit extra to sell and make money to pay for the hives. Once we get them up and going we hope to never be short of honey/sweetener again!

Personally I love my honey!!Especially when she gives me sugar!!Matt

LOL, Postal.....
Honey is WAY better for you, it is obvious just by looking at the list of nutrients; and the doccumented healing properties. The main issue with sugar is the glycemic index; sugar spikes blood sugar (glucose) and even in non-dibetics that is not healthy. Sugar crashes (low blood sugar) 1-2 hours after having high sugar food or drink can lead to headaches, tiredness, even depression.
Buy both, but use honey if you have the choice.

Semper Veritas

Or get yourself a couple of bee-hives.