Artificial sweeteners can be a trap. They promise to sweeten up your favorite foods and beverages without adding any calories to your daily total. That all sounds great until you look a bit closer and find that these ultra-processed products are packed with potentially dangerous compounds. Luckily, there are plenty of natural sweeteners that can do the trick. Which begs the question: If you have a sweet tooth you need to satiate, what is the healthiest natural sweetener, honey or agave?
Meet the experts: Michele Waide, R.D.N., L.D.N., registered dietitian and member of The Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics; and Allyson Balzuweit, M.P.H., R.D.N., L.D., registered dietitian and nutrition consultant
Ahead, dietitians break down the key nutritional differences between honey and agave to determine which deserves its place in your diet.
Benefits and downsides of honey
Benefits of honey
People have been harvesting and eating honey for thousands of years, and the sweetener has quite the history. The same sticky stuff you use to sweeten yogurt bowls, protein shakes, and salad dressings was also used to treat wounds in Mesopotamia and preserve food in ancient Egypt.
Honey’s perseverance as a pantry staple throughout so much of human history is well deserved. In addition to being commonly used as a sore throat remedy, “honey contains some bioactive compounds like polyphenols or flavonoids,” explains Michele Waide, R.D.N., L.D.N., registered dietitian and member of The Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics. She adds that it contains small amounts of “vitamins and minerals, antioxidants,” as well. Raw honey in particular—which is unprocessed and taken straight from the honeycomb—has higher levels of these important compounds and has been shown to reduce cholesterol levels.
Potential downsides of honey
It’s worth noting that honey is calorically dense—60 calories per tablespoon, according to the USDA—so you have to be mindful of portion sizes. However, equally important to the number of calories in any food is where those calories come from.
Whereas agave is mostly made of fructose, “honey has about equal parts of glucose and fructose,” explains Waide. According to the International Food Information Council, honey has a more balanced ratio of 40% fructose and 30% glucose. This amount of glucose means that honey has a higher glycemic index and is more likely to spike your blood sugar.
While that’s worth keeping in mind, Allyson Balzuweit, M.P.H., R.D.N., L.D., registered dietitian and nutrition consultant, emphasizes that it doesn’t mean you should avoid honey. “Each food, in and of itself, has a rating on the glycemic index,” she explains. “But when you’re pairing and combining things into a balanced meal or snack, it completely changes what it’s doing metabolically.” So, while eating a spoonful of honey by itself might quickly spike your blood sugar, using it to sweeten foods rich in protein or healthy fats, like Greek yogurt, will lessen this impact.
Benefits and downsides of agave nectar
Benefits of agave nectar
If you’re looking to add a touch of sweetness, agave nectar will certainly do the trick. It’s made mainly of two types of simple sugar: fructose, which makes up about 80%, and glucose, which covers the rest.
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The fructose content in particular is much higher than that of honey, which makes agave nectar taste much sweeter. That means you’ll likely need less of it to achieve your desired sweetness level. That same high fructose ratio also gives it a generally low glycemic index, meaning that it won’t spike your blood sugar as much as other options like honey. Plus, this natural sweetener is completely vegan, making it a great option for people looking to avoid using the labor of tiny, hard-working bees.
Potential downsides of agave nectar
In order to turn a spiky agave plant into a bottle of sweet syrup, it must undergo a refining process that strips the end product of most of the original plant’s micronutrients. “It does not really have any significant vitamins or minerals or antioxidants or anything like that, as honey does,” says Waide. However, it does retain its calorie content—about 60 per tablespoon according to the USDA. This is not an inherent downside, but if you’re looking to manage your weight or limit your sugar consumption, “you have to make sure you’re not over-consuming it,” Waide warns.
While the high fructose ratio in agave nectar means it won’t spike your blood sugar as much, that content comes with its downsides as well. Before your body is able to use fructose, it must convert it into glucose. So, instead of going “through the normal pathways that our bodies would process glucose, it goes directly to the liver,” Waide explains. “That can be an issue for people with any sort of liver issues… It can really impact metabolism if you’re using a lot of it.” Additionally, studies indicate that overconsumption of fructose may lead to health issues like metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and inflammation.
Honey vs. agave: Which is healthier?
“I think I would always choose honey,” says Balzuweit. While agave nectar currently “has a lot of hype surrounding it,” she says honey’s health properties are undeniable and have been effective for thousands of years. Not to mention that honey is more accessible, as it’s easy to find in any grocery store and usually comes with a lower price tag than agave nectar.
Waide agrees. “I think, overall, honey has the better nutritional profile,” she adds. She believes that agave nectar can have its place in a balanced eating pattern—she sometimes uses it as an emulsifier in dressings—but that honey’s micronutrient content makes it a clear winner.
Are natural sweeteners good for you?
While natural sweeteners are healthier than their artificial or highly processed counterparts, all are still added sugars and need to be eaten in moderation. “There are a lot of misconceptions about the benefit of switching to something natural,” points out Balzuweit. “Honey and agave, those natural sweeteners, I would argue are preferable to a white sugar… But they’re not really going to metabolically be all that different. At the end of the day, sugar is sugar,” she adds.
The American Heart Association recommends that added sugars should account for less than 6% of your total daily calorie intake. That includes the sugars you get from natural sweeteners like honey and agave nectar. So if you’re regularly consuming too much sugar, just replacing it with a natural sweetener won’t solve that problem. Instead, Balzuweit recommends trying to prevent sugar cravings by opting for healthy alternatives like fresh fruit. “I know an orange is very different from a chocolate chip cookie,” she admits. “But for people who really crave sugar, it really repels the desire for it… It’s loaded with micronutrients and antioxidants that are beneficial to your health, and it’s still kind of satisfying that need to have something sweet.”
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