Good news for those with a sweet tooth: there is a natural alternative to sugar that tastes just as good and is better for you!  Many people don’t know that honey is a natural and unrefined sweetener with many added health benefits.  Studies show that honey increases blood antioxidants, promotes good cardiovascular health, and helps to lower LDL cholesterol.  Too much LDL cholesterol can result in a buildup of plaque in the arteries and lead to heart attack and stroke.  Honey is also easier to digest than refined sugar and has trace amounts of vitamins and minerals that make it more nutritious.

Additionally, honey is a suitable substitute for those individuals on medical diets who cannot digest refined sugar.  For instance, in The Specific Carbohydrate Diet, a diet designed for individuals who suffer from Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, celiac disease, diverticulitis, cystic fibrosis and chronic diarrhea, refined sugar is banned completely.  Even if you do not need to eliminate refined sugar for medical reasons, beware of the problems it can cause.  Refined sugar is void of fiber, minerals, proteins, fats, and enzymes.

The good news is that honey is emerging as a popular and tasty natural sweetener.  Since bees collect nectar to create honey from various flowers in the wild, there are a variety of flavors of honey available, including mild, aromatic, spicy, fragrant, and robust.  My personal favorite brand of honey is Golden Blossom, a genuine, natural, pure honey composed of three varieties: extra white clover, sage buckwheat and orange blossom.  Honey should be stored in a dry cupboard.  Make sure not to refrigerate honey as cold temperatures tend to hasten granulation.

Honey is also a suitable alternative to use in place of refined sugar in cooking and baking. Because honey contains fructose, it is actually twice as sweet as sugar.  Therefore when baking with honey, reduce the amount of liquid called for in a recipe by one quarter and reduce the baking temperature by 25 degrees.

Here is a recipe for apple-cinnamon muffins.  Honey is used in place of sugar, and almond flour is substituted for white flour.  Even though white flour might not taste sweet, it ultimately breaks down into sugar, causing many of the same problems as refined sugar.