Well, I hadn't bought honey since ages ago (it never having been a favourite) but Mr P asked me to get him some...

In my search, I found one made from borage flowers, which I thought might be good so took a risk & tasted it... Man is it good   I have never really liked honey that much, except the occasional type (Bush honey from Tasmania) as others were always too strong a flavour & too sweet & some even gave me a headache

But in my experimenting last few days, I have added a tsp or two each day (ok I admit..quite a few on the first night - it was just so yummy) & have actually lost weight, when I usually struggle/have to work hard to (approx 2 lbs)

I cannot believe it...having previously had such unstable blood sugar that even the smallest amount of grain will make me gain & I avoid anything sweet like the plague... for fear that it will make me break out and/or gain (or at worst not lose)

I found this article on "Issues With Honey"  

"The first is the high fructose content in honey. Fructose has to be converted into glycogen and then into glucose by the liver before it can be used by the body as an energy source. It has a low GI and allows the pancreas to maintain a better constant blood-sugar level. Using honey can inhibit the harmful and genotoxic effects of mycotoxins, and improve the gut microflora. Research has shown that fructose such as High Fructose Corn Syrup can cause liver damage and obesity when eaten in large quantities.
The fructose contained in honey is a natural fructose and honey contains around 40%. The fructose is taken into the liver because the liver is the only organ in the human body with the fructose enzyme to take in this sugar. Fructose is a liver exclusive sugar. Fructose regulates the uptake and storage of glucose and therefore is a blood glucose regulator. Therefore we can use natural fructose to regulate blood glucose levels, to stabilise blood glucose and to maintain a regular supply of glucose to the brain - the biggest problem that we as humans have to deal with – keeping blood glucose stable and the brain fuelled for 24 hour."

Wonder if it explains things...

WOW so what honey did you try??

borage leaves,?????? brand name where to buy and how much??

will you and he only eat it off the spoon or fork or on toast with butter?

I never tried honey in any form but liked the white kind we had in the mountains where the honey came from pine trees and mountain flowers..

by chance is there a link to what you read?? does hubbie have sugar/diabetes issues??  

THANKS

WOW Possum...interesting about your weight loss and blood sugar being helped with honey.

I use manuka honey.  Supposed to have strong medicinal qualities.

Quoted from Goldie

WOW so what honey did you try??

borage leaves,?????? brand name where to buy and how much??

will you and he only eat it off the spoon or fork or on toast with butter?

I never tried honey in any form but liked the white kind we had in the mountains where the honey came from pine trees and mountain flowers..

by chance is there a link to what you read?? does hubbie have sugar/diabetes issues??  

THANKS

No Mr P doesn't - I think I might tho'...Mother has full on type 2 resulting in strokes etc as she indulged & never looked after herself enough, which is why I have avoided sweet things...

At the moment we are eating it off the spoon, medicinally - Mr P for his teeth I'm sure you would love it

This honey is made in the Marlborough High country from "alpine herbs & blue borage flowers" in Blenheim - South Island
As for a link...don't even know if they have website or export..but will post one if I find one (searching right now)
I paid approx NZ$7 (on sale) for a whole kg (2.2lbs) so am going back for more tomorrow!!

The info I quoted, came from a great site called Cooking for Celiacs, Colitis, Crohn's and IBS Forum Index which I stumbled on last night...

Yes Chloe manuka honey is supposed to be fantastic...especially the higher the UMF factor... My prediposition to dark, strong flavoured honey (& the high price ) had put me off investing too much...
Would you believe, (to quote one online newspaper here last year) "the intense flavour of dark manuka honey was once so disliked it was added to cattle feed or flushed away.

Today it earns such a premium on the export market that fake manuka honey has become a serious problem industry sources say twice as much manuka honey is sold than is produced in New Zealand every year."  ( business | Stuff.co.nz )

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twice as much manuka honey is sold than is produced in New Zealand every year."  ( business | Stuff.co.nz )

sounds similar to all healthy goody alternatives, like agave for example.....
so always be on the lookout for trustworthy sorces

My Swami knows I need to lose weight, yet my honey is a super bene!!!!  Swami really knows!!!!!!

Posum, you would love my dark, bush, herbs, wild, unudulturated honey from my honey bee hives ....  waiting for you next trip over.  

Tomorrow they are finishing that second shed ...    

Cool!! You betcha!! I'm there... Are you saying we coiuld hole up in that shed

Did I tell you that Mr P nearly applied for a job in Brisbane? Decided at last minute not to go for it (we want/need to be closer to family in ACT &/or TAS) but there are now probable high options on two others in Aus; would you believe - one in Canberra & other one in Hobart
Who'd have thunk after all these years...& he hasn't even been "looking" Interesting thing is we have in last year, got really close to both my youngest brother & his wife & kids in Canberra...

Oh & explorers have honey as a super food!!

Quoted from Possum

Oh & explorers have honey as a super food!!

Explorers are "beneficial" and "O" non-secretors are "avoids" for honey.     At least my Swami is a "limit or avoid".  

Canberra will be nice, Jenny is up there and it is not that far from Qld, maybe a day's drive or minutes in plane ...    Good luck with the job hunting relocation, wishing you the best for your lives, whether in NZ or Aussie land or anywhere else in the world... Isn't your daughter in America?  My son is still in Vegas commuting to the California coast for his surf on weekends ...    Maybe we meet there too some day ...  

Must be an earlier book... Was listed as a "Superfood" - This Genotype Book only had listings of Diamonds; Superfoods; Black Dots & Avoids
& Borage is an Explorer Superfood in that book too...

Thanks Cristina Yes Jenna (daughter) is in LA - baby due in early Dec Do you plan to go over there anytime in the near future? We are heading over in September for 2-3 weeks

(I think) Borage is not even listed in the diabetis book.. so does that tell me anything?? yet under honey -its a near avoid.. like once a year.. so, please just put some on a 'post' and I lick it off.. s   

My three diamond sugars are:
honey, vegetable glycerine and barley malt...but isn't barley malt a gluten product?

Agave and molasses are neutrals. (on my SWAMI)

Now that I realize honey is so good for me, I'm going to start using it more often.

I think the function of beneficial sugars in the diet is to allow cells to communicate better with one another...

We are programmed to love sweets - you just have to know which are best for you.

Not an issue around here!

No, Possum, we have not plans to go to America in the near future, but my son will be here around October ...   Congrats to your daughter on the news!!! and grandma too!!  

Cristina,
Your son must travel within 15 miles of my house when he commutes from Vegas to the Pacific... via Interstate 15...if he goes to Southern Cal beaches?! I live just a 2 1/2 hour drive southwest of Vegas!

Your honey sounds sooo yummy! I love it in my morning tea, or together with fresh lime on grilled fish or fresh pineapple, too!

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isn't barley malt a gluten product?

if you are gluten intolerant or have celiac disease, you might need to check on gluten content not only in barley and its derivatives but everything else possibly containing it in your list

Good to hear that you're having success with honey Possum. I love baking with it it can be used instead of agave (still haven't got any of that) but you need to reduce the oven temperature by 10 degrees C to stop it burning though.  Also love it in homemade bread, when toasted it goes stiff like cellulose and is so yummy!  The yeast love it too.

Interesting quote thanks Poss.  All sugars aint sugars.  Honey is like medicine, is known to be anti-bacterial and help your gut heal.

Reminds me of a song.

"Ah, sugar, ah, honey, honey
You are my candy girl,
And you got me wanting you."

Honey, I mean, yum

If you can get "Local" honey I was told by and old timer that it will help reduce allergies, if a person has itchy eyes, sneezing and all that goes along with them.
http://health.howstuffworks.com/diseases-conditions/allergies/local-honey-for-allergies.htm

What I really love about honey is the comb. It's a perfect mineral source and contains silica and similar minerals also. But dextrose or stevia is safer than honey itself I think.

Quoted from 7596

What I really love about honey is the comb. It's a perfect mineral source and contains silica and similar minerals also. But dextrose or stevia is safer than honey itself I think.

In the US, dextrose is quite often corn based.

Quoted Text

But dextrose or stevia is safer than honey itself I think.

Quoted from 7596

What I really love about honey is the comb. It's a perfect mineral source and contains silica and similar minerals also. But dextrose or stevia is safer than honey itself I think.

Safer in what way?? Personally I doubt it

I didn't think of the source of dextrose but the difference is that dextrose supplies with glucose directly, the sugar liver converts other things into. Fructose is different and dangerous.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mercola/sugar-may-be-bad-but-this_b_463655.html

"Fructose is a major contributor to:

• Insulin resistance and obesity
• Elevated blood pressure
• Elevated triglycerides and elevated LDL
• Depletion of vitamins and minerals
• Cardiovascular disease, liver disease, cancer, arthritis and even gout"

And stevia has no calories, no sugar but a sweetining taste.

Dr Mercola often writes about sweeteners and insulin resistancy, you can refer to him about those.

About honey, raw honey has good effects on mycotoxins, this can be a reason to use it, but only raw, I think. For me, O nonseretor, it also is an avoid. But that could be the  reason when I use it for myself.

Honey sold in markets aren't raw.

Mycotoxins are found in plants with fungal diseases. Aflatoxin is a more dangerous form of it. They are easier to find in vegetative foods that passed time in damp environments.

Fructose show neurotoxicity and cause aggressive behaviours, especially in high doses.

I think I'll follow Dr Mercola's writings about sweeteners still.

Quoted from 7596

I think I'll follow Dr Mercola's writings about sweeteners still.

Here is a thread you may want to read...

http://www.dadamo.com/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?m-1277988287/s-2/#num2

The first article Dr. D posted in this thread is very enlightening...

Onur, I suggest you read this and also try to focus on the physiological differences everytime you read anything
Tamam?

Quoted Text

Dr D
Fructose cannot cause any significant insulin spikes since fructose does not require insulin for its absorption and metabolism. Agave is a source of fructose (as are blueberries) but the main reason it is generally considered a 'neutral' as compared to other sweeteners is that it seems to produce almost no bacteria overgrowth (as opposed to hfcs, which does) and does not provoke major immune/ gut related reactions, which hfcs also does (probably because it is corn derived; I've seen this same thing with 'ascorbic acid' vitamin C versus rose hip and acerola derived vitamin C -- most commercial ascorbic acid is derived from corn syrup).

Beware of the 'fructose is bad' mantra. If you took that to it's logical extreme, you'd never eat a fruit. It's the hfcs we are being deluged with that is the problem.

Beware of the 'fructose is bad' mantra. can be right, but I'd say fructose can cause insulin resistancy indirectly.

depending.......
wrong lectins can also cause IR
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150191182060397

some years ago I worked together with a serbian doc. here in Zürich, he was so pleased that I'll gave a little hand while he was on his holidays, so he gave me a big glass of serbian wonderful honey..... while testing me later I told him...boy sorry I can't have honey at all.... he didn't believed it, measured me with his bicom apparatschnik and yeeeeaaaaa... Isa was right no honey at all for her.... not even the selfmade serbian one .... I worked with him over 6 months but sad to say, he wasn't ready to implement BTD for his clients, he was an A Rh+ I guess explorer but as stubborn as I am ....

Yeah, I'm still with BTD

But I'm afraid abundance of carbohaydrates cause insulin resistancy little by little. Fructose also have other effects such as triglycerides.

supposedly raw honey will not cause sugar spikes because of the enzyme content.

i was re-reading some of elaine gotschall's selective carbohydrate diet last night and noticed that she recommends clear pasteurized honey over the natural honey with pollen as the pollens contain disacharides.

i used to avoid eating sweet fruits because i was brainwashed that the sugars were somehow harming me.  i think it is pure bs now, not that people don't have severe sugar regulation problems but the causes are misunderstood.

there are people recovering from diabetes, cfs and yeast problems eating tons of sweet fruits, but eliminating other foods like grains, fats and meat. so clearly fruit is not the culprit.

so, what else is new wero??

glad you have no more yeast problems!

I suspect (tho' I could be wrong) that for those ppl effected adversely by fructose, low glycemic fruit wouldn't be as much as a problem   Certainly that is true for me... Hence the slightly lower glycemic honey has been ok for me... No blood sugar level spiking & no skin reactions...
Also I am losing weight, rather than simply plateauing as I would if I ate grains or other sugar/carbs;)

I commented to my husband how it's amazing that eating honey actually helps me lose weight... & he looked from me to the half empty bucket of honey, raised an eyebrow & said "well I can see you should have lost heaps by now..."

Oh, Possum...that was funny! I laughed out loud!
I can identify.....local buckwheat honey is my only sweet (besides compliant fruit) and I have lost weight without trying!

Cheers Btw he has eaten a good proportion of that bucket I might add...

I found this old thread about Manuka honey and want to investigate a bit about whether I as an O nonnie can have it. Hearing the positive effects that Possum had from eating it regularly, I am tempted to try, as a friend of mine has just given me a jar with UMF 20+, supposed to be very good in medicinal effects.

On my SWAMI it is a black dot. I remember last week when I had a bit of sore throat near bed time, I ate a spoonful of that and the next day I felt totally fine again. I also remember eating, some years ago, bonbons made purely with Manuka honey, and they had always helped me avoid getting a cold or flu. Does that mean it is OK for me?

If it's a black dot you should tolerate it somewhat sparingly. It seems to have had magical results for you! Maybe save it for when you are not feeling well.

I am on a honey kick as of late. I recently cracked open local raw honey from my farmer's market. Yummy! With the blasts of snow storms we have been getting lately, a spoon in my tea is warming, soothing, and gives my day a lift!

Quoted from 7596

Yeah, I'm still with BTD

But I'm afraid abundance of carbohaydrates cause insulin resistancy little by little. Fructose also have other effects such as triglycerides.

I find that it certainly causes cravings for more and more sweet things.  So I try to limit agave nectar even though it's a superfood.