I’ve done the search, and found mostly a post from 2017 where you stated that honey is sugar, not a sugar substitute. I’m just curious if that’s changed at all in any research in the 7ish years since?
I have Ulcerative Colitis, and I’m exhausting any means possible to control inflammation. Drs have suggested stepping me up to infusions for treatment, but they have notoriously bad side effects. I control my diet pretty well, seeking out “anti inflammatory” foods. Exercise regularly. And try to reduce stress where possible. I’ve been suggested (from non medical non nutritional individuals) to try regular honey to reduce inflammation.
if honey were the main source of sugar and stayed within the recommended daily value of sugar still, would this be beneficial?
Any majorly anti-inflammatory foods you recommend?
I think honey is pretty much sugar, which can be part of a health promoting dietary pattern.
I don’t think adding honey is likely to do much for UC, though I can understand where you’re coming from. If adding honey to the diet displaced ultraprocessed foods with added sugar, then that would perhaps be beneficial.
Regarding inflammation and diet, The Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) was developed to provide a quantitative means for assessing the role of diet in relation to health outcomes ranging from blood concentrations of inflammatory markers to chronic diseases. To monitor inflammation in a meaningful way, the markers used must be valid: they must reflect the inflammatory process under study and they must be predictive of future health status. This is an area of active research.
Overall, I do not think the DII should be used to micromanage someone’s dietary pattern. I also don’t love calling one food inflammatory vs another, as it seems to be more complicated. Most importantly, there are many dietary patterns that can temper inflammation related to the diet. so long as they contain the correct amount of energy, obtain lean protein from poultry, fish, dairy, and plant sources, favor vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, etc. over refined grains, limit added sugars, and favor PUFA and MUFA over saturated fats, especially from red meat.
Thanks for the info! This makes sense. I had started to look more into the Dietary Inflammatory Index, but this definitely helps keep it in context. I appreciate the insight on that.
I somehow missed that podcast! That looks very helpful, thanks for the link, I’ll be listening to that for sure!