Know2eat

Honey

Also known as honey, raw honey, manuka honey, clover honey

SaveCompare

Concentrated floral nectar processed and dehydrated by honeybees, composed overwhelmingly of fructose and glucose with small amounts of enzymes, acids and plant phenolics. Composition and colour vary widely with floral source.

Respiratory HealthBlood Sugar & Metabolic HealthImmune Health

Potential health benefits

Best supported: Moderate

Ordered by how well the human research supports them — strongest first. A rating describes the state of the evidence, not how impressive the food is. How we rate evidence.

Respiratory function

Respiratory Health
Moderate evidence

Reviews of randomised trials in children with upper respiratory infections report that a dose of honey at night reduces cough frequency and severity somewhat more than no intervention or placebo, with effects comparable to some over-the-counter cough preparations. Trials are small, hard to blind convincingly, and the outcome is parent-reported. It must not be given to infants under twelve months.

Moderate evidence. Several human studies point the same way, with real caveats.

4 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Blood glucose response

Blood Sugar & Metabolic Health
Limited evidence

Some trials report modestly different glucose and lipid responses to honey than to an equivalent amount of sucrose or glucose, and reviews of these are mixed. The differences are small next to the total sugar load, and none of this makes honey a low-sugar option for anyone managing blood glucose.

Limited evidence. Early human work, or mostly lab and animal research.

1 source

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Immune function

Immune Health
Insufficient evidence

Local honey is a long-standing folk remedy for hay fever, on the theory that it exposes people to local pollen. The few controlled trials do not support it, and the pollen carried in honey is largely heavy flower pollen rather than the wind-borne pollen that drives seasonal allergy.

Insufficient evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.

4 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Ask about Honey

Ask about Honey

Answers are written only from the entries on this page — the same nutrients, compounds, claims and citations you can read above. Nothing is added from outside the database, and every answer lists what it was built from.

AI explanations are not switched on for this site, so there is nothing to ask here. Everything above is read straight from the database and does not need them.

Key nutrients

Nutrient content per 100 grams
NutrientAmount% DV
Macronutrients
Calories304 kcal15%
Protein0.3 g1%
Total fat0 g0%
Carbohydrate82.4 g30%
Fibre0.2 g1%
Total sugars82.1 g—
Water17.1 g—
Fats
Saturated fat0 g0%
Monounsaturated fat0 g—
Polyunsaturated fat0 g—
Cholesterol0 mg0%
EPA (omega-3)0 g—
DHA (omega-3)0 g—
DPA (omega-3)0 g—
Linoleic acid (omega-6)0 g—
Vitamins
Vitamin A0 µg0%
Vitamin C0.5 mg1%
Vitamin D0 µg0%
Vitamin E0 mg0%
Vitamin K0 µg0%
Thiamin (B1)0 mg0%
Riboflavin (B2)0.038 mg3%
Niacin (B3)0.121 mg1%
Pantothenic acid (B5)0.068 mg1%
Vitamin B60.024 mg1%
Folate2 µg1%
Vitamin B120 µg0%
Choline2.2 mg0%
Minerals
Calcium6 mg0%
Iron0.42 mg2%
Magnesium2 mg0%
Phosphorus4 mg0%
Potassium52 mg1%
Sodium4 mg0%
Zinc0.22 mg2%
Copper0.036 mg4%
Manganese0.08 mg3%
Selenium0.8 µg1%
Other measured compounds
Beta-carotene0 µg—
Alpha-carotene0 µg—
Lycopene0 µg—
Lutein + zeaxanthin0 µg—
Caffeine0 mg—
Ash0.2 g—

Nutrient values are per 100 g of the USDA reference entry named on this page and vary with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

Source record: Honey (USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 169640).

% DV uses the FDA Daily Values for adults and children aged 4 and over. A dash means no Daily Value has been established for that nutrient.

Bioactive compounds

Compounds present in meaningful amounts. Presence is banded rather than quantified, because whole-food levels vary enormously with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

How preparation changes things

Only effects with real support are listed. If a preparation method is missing, it is because nothing dependable is documented — not because it makes no difference.

  • rawPreserves enzymes and volatile aroma compounds

    Heating honey for pasteurisation or in cooking degrades its enzymes, such as diastase, and drives off volatile aroma compounds. Whether that matters nutritionally is unestablished; the flavour difference is real.

Things to know

Allergies, interactions and intake concerns. Every food gets this section — a reference where everything is uniformly good is not a reference.

  • Avoid

    Never give honey to infants under 12 months

    Honey can contain Clostridium botulinum spores, which an infant gut is not yet able to suppress, and infant botulism is a serious, potentially fatal illness. This applies to all honey including pasteurised and organic, in any amount, whether eaten, baked into food, added to milk or put on a dummy. The restriction ends at twelve months of age.

  • Too much

    It is concentrated sugar

    Honey is roughly four-fifths sugar by weight and counts as free sugar in every major dietary guideline, exactly like table sugar. Its trace minerals and phenolics do not change that framing, and swapping sugar for honey does not reduce the sugar load in any meaningful way.

  • Worth knowing

    Grayanotoxin, or "mad honey", poisoning

    Honey made from rhododendron nectar contains grayanotoxins and causes dizziness, vomiting, dangerously slow heart rate and low blood pressure. Cases occur mainly with unregulated honey from parts of Turkey and Nepal, sometimes sold as a folk remedy, and regularly reach hospital.

  • Worth knowing

    Widely adulterated with syrups

    Honey is among the most commonly adulterated foods in global trade, diluted with rice, corn or beet syrups that routine testing does not always detect. Origin labelling on blended honey is often uninformative.