Special to The Examiner
Q: My husband swears that honey is sooo good for you and, as a result, thinks he doesn’t need to monitor it like other sweeteners. I tell him that even though honey may be healthy, it’s still sugar and he shouldn’t put it on everything. He even adds it to smoothies that already have sweetening berries, protein powder and Splenda. Doesn’t honey spike insulin levels like other sugars? – Lorraine, Studio City, Calif.
A: You’re correct that your honey’s use of honey would be healthier if it were more balanced. Like fame and fortune, there are both good and not-so-good things about this sweetener.
Eighty percent of what makes up honey is sugar, and a tablespoon contains about 64 calories. Table sugar has about 48 calories in a tablespoon — that’s 33 percent less! Both spike insulin and blood sugar at about the same rate, so drizzling (or sprinkling) with abandon can lead to health risks including weight gain, heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. Too much sugar of any type — honey, corn syrup, table sugar — also can raise your risk of pancreatic cancer by 70 percent, because your pancreas has to go into overdrive producing insulin, and that leaves the organ vulnerable.
Plus, it sounds as if your spouse is sabotaging his taste buds by overly sweetening everything. This can make naturally sweet, good-for-you fruits such as strawberries, apples or bananas taste not good enough, which can lead to overeating.
Now, the upside: Honey is rich in compounds that can help fight aging and disease, especially if you choose darker honeys (honeydew varieties). Lighter honey is made from pollen, while darker honeys are made when bees make use of the sugary substances that other insects leave on trees and plants. That makes them richer in amino acids and compounds that protect your cells. Just remember to keep honey in control and gradually eliminate other simple sugars and artificial sweeteners.
Q: I’ve heard you say that we should stay away from “four-legged” fats. What do you mean by that? – Anonymous
A: A four-legged fat is simply a fat that comes from a four-legged animal, which includes the fats in butter, beef fat, bacon and cheese. What’s so dangerous is that products from mammals contain saturated fat, and the “S” in saturated fat stands for “stay away.” While the fat in chicken (a two-legged fat) is somewhat better, the best fat has no legs at all (think avocados, fish, olives and almonds). Saturated fat turns on genes that are activated long after the taste is gone — those genes cause aging of your immune system, build plaque in your arteries, raise your cholesterol and inflame your blood vessels.
On the other hand, the right amount of no-legged (unsaturated) fat helps your body absorb certain vitamins, boosts heart health, keeps nerves and cells working optimally, and raises your good cholesterol.
Q: I have just recently started drinking white tea, but I’m not really sure exactly what it is. What are the benefits, and how does it compare with green varieties? – Anonymous
A: White tea is made from the buds and early leaves of the same plants used to make green and black teas. So it’s likely that the white stuff offers some of the benefits of other shades of tea; they boost the immune system, improve attention span, and lower the risk of heart attack, some cancers, stroke and Parkinson’s disease, to name a few.
In fact, white tea may even contain extra benefits. Because it is less processed than green or black tea, it has more of some tongue-twisting but body-loving compounds, like epigallocatechin-3-gallate (which helps muzzle aging free radicals) and methylxanthines (theobromine and caffeine). Both have been found to help increase fat-burning. Two to three cups of any of these disease-fighting teas is enough to reap the benefits.
The YOU Docs, Mehmet Oz and Mike Roizen, are authors of “YOU: The Owner’s Manual.” Want more? Watch “The Dr. Oz Show” on TV starting Sept. 14 (check local listings). To submit questions, visit realage.com.
