Honey in Your Coffee? The Health Benefits of This Tasty Combo

Coffee is consumed all over the world, making it one of the most loved and popular beverages. People seem to not get enough of this drink and in the modern world, coffee isn’t only restricted to certain drinks.

It’s used in making various fusion drinks and desserts making it useful in various ways.

Though having coffee in its simplest black version reaps the best health benefits, many people don’t like the bland-bold flavor of it. Thus, they add sweeteners to adjust the flavor of the coffee and balance according to their preferred sweet spot.

Did you know you can use honey to sweeten your regular brew? It might come with ample health benefits.

Short answer: You can put honey in the coffee as a sweetener. Ensure proper amounts be added to adjust with coffee’s flavor and your taste. Try not to keep pouring the honey over piping hot liquid to avoid chemical changes of the components in it.

Let’s dig a little further with the following sections about drinking coffee with honey!

Is Honey Toxic in Hot Coffee?

Putting honey does not make your coffee toxic. If I am talking honestly, then there is still no concrete evidence to support the front. However, you need to accept that putting honey in warm liquids can have potential side effects since the overall benefits may be offset.

You may have drunk honey with warm water at least once in this lifetime. It is believed that drinking warm water with lemon and honey helps in flushing the toxins out of the body.

Studies have found that a temperature of 140 degrees or beyond, turns the honey into a toxic substance. Honey also contains natural sugar. Heating anything that has sugar aid in producing carcinogenic substances for the body.

It’s has been used as an age-old combination for years and suddenly a piece of study can’t freak out people.

However, it turns out that the honey added to your warm drink goes through some chemical changes that reduce its benefits. The boiling water can change the enzymes and this is how the honey has been pasteurized in the first place.

Hot water does not kill the bacteria during pasteurization but also boils off extra antioxidants. So, you might not get the best benefits from the honey when putting it inside your coffee.

Next time some article confuses you, do your research and come to realistic possibilities. Honey and coffee can be a perfect power couple for your daily diet if you’re choosing good eating habits. Keeping it nearest to the raw form is appreciated but heating it won’t cause any harm to your body.

Keeping it close to raw is great for your body, but heating it isn’t going to kill you.

When Should You Add Honey to the Coffee?

Add honey to your coffee when it gets to about 104 degrees Fahrenheit. If you don’t want to bother with measuring the temperature. Let your cup of coffee cool down a little and make sure the liquid is not burning.

Though adding honey won’t necessarily harm you, you still need to be mindful of a couple of details regarding its usage.

Never add honey to piping hot coffee. As already mentioned, the coffee isn’t the problem here. Very high temperature destroys the benefits of honey. When the honey gets heated past the specific temperature, it loses most of its enzymes and vitamins.

Also, it’s better to have your coffee or tea once it sits down a bit. Don’t try to gulp on the piping hot drinks since it not only depletes the nutritional value but also hurts your digestive system.

What are the Benefits of Adding Honey to Coffee?

As long as the coffee in which you’re pouring the honey isn’t too hot, the honey will give its potential benefits to your drink.

There are several benefits of adding honey to coffee. Let me put some here for you to understand better.

First of all, honey contains pollen that helps your body in fighting sicknesses and allergies. A regular habit of having honey may help you in tackling your seasonal runny nose.

It is packed with antioxidants. As you already might know, how much important antioxidants are for our body.

Adding a larger amount of honey will strengthen the chance of possible benefits for the honey. However, if you’re on your weight loss journey, then too much honey will exaggerate your sugar intake.

The following table shows the potential benefits of adding honey to coffee:

How Many Calories does Honey add to the Coffee?

Adding 2-3 teaspoons of honey provides a calorie intake of over 40 calories and 12 grams of sugar. For multiple cups, the calorie count and sugar intake may surpass the healthy limit.

Honey is a popular sweetener and many people prefer it over other sugary contents. Though it contains nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and health-boosting compounds, it also got sugar.

To protect your health, you have to limit the quantity of added sugar used in your foods and drinks. High added sugar has been associated with type 2 diabetes, obesity, and heart diseases.

Can Honey in your Coffee Promote Weight Loss?

Coffee already helps in the fast metabolism of the body and ultimately aids in weight loss. When you add honey, then the effect is enhanced as both of these boosts the weight loss process of the body.

Although more conclusive researcher is needed to put the concrete answer, adding a moderate quantity of honey helps in boosting the metabolism.

The honey in your coffee helps through:

• Activating body fat
• Increasing metabolism
• Reducing triglycerides
• Boosting calorie burning

The nutrients, minerals, and vitamins in honey are effective in boosting the calorie-burning rate and quickening the weight loss process.

It also helps in removing the triglycerides that aids in removing extra fats from obese people.

Can You Use Honey as a Coffee Sweetener?

Of course, you can put honey in your coffee. It has got both cons and prons for such. In fact, honey is one of my top picks for coffee sweeteners! Read about that here.

Technically, honey has more calories but is a better choice than regular sugar. Honey consists of both glucose and fructose. On the other hand, table sugar contains disaccharides that are complex forms of sugar. Your body takes a longer time to break down this complex carbohydrate into glucose and fructose.

Table sugar has none of the additional benefits such as antibacterial properties, antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, etc like honey.

However, for habitual drinkers, health might not be the only concern while chucking on their favorite cup of joe. Taste is a major consideration since otherwise, you would have just drunk it black.

The taste of sugar is more clean and soft compared to honey’s bold flavor. The strong flavor of honey doesn’t go well with most of the varieties of coffee.

Try different combinations of honey to your coffee to see how the taste works for you. If the taste isn’t your main priority, then honey is undoubtedly the better sweetener for your coffee.

This video will tell you more about why honey is better for your coffee than sugar:

Can You Put Honey in an Iced Coffee?

Honey in iced coffee varieties is much better than putting it in hot varieties. This is because you don’t need to worry about the temperature issue while adding honey.

Cold-brew iced coffee with honey is a wonderful combination. It is refined-sugar-free and strong. It also won’t taste bitter later on since it doesn’t need to get heated.

The bold flavor of honey might be noticeable while tasting, however, the cold state of the drink may tone down the bold sweetness and offer a much subtle flavor.

Does Adding Honey to Coffee Alter the Flavor?

Honey changes the flavor of your coffee depending upon how much you’re putting into it.

The flavor of honey depends on the pollen it’s composed of. Some might have a stronger taste compared to other varieties.

However, even mild-flavored honey will alter the taste of the coffee.

While honey is the best substitute for crane sugars, you might also look for a good-tasting coffee. The flavor from honey might not be liked by many and as such the drink may turn into a bland-tasting one for some.

It isn’t a coincidence that sugar is so popular even after having zero nutritional value. Owing to differences in personal preference, many may find the taste of honey typical and opt for the better tasting substitute.

When you’re thinking of adding honey to your coffee, add smaller portions and adjust slowly. See how much the taste is altered and add until you get your desired sweetness.

The Bottom Line

You can put honey in your coffee. It provides trace amounts of vitamins, minerals, and other micronutrients, unlike the refined sugar you use.

Though adding honey counts up to your calorie intake, it still is a healthier option over table sugar if the taste isn’t your major concern.

While a few may like the strong flavor of honey, many may find it displeasing. Choose the sweetener depending upon your preference between health and taste.

I’d personally recommend trying sweetening your coffee with honey. Find your sweet spot and add just the amount required. It’s a healthier choice in the long run.

There might be a combination you like so search for different ways to adjust the flavors in your coffee with honey. Also, add the honey after cooling the drink a bit to avoid concerns regarding the chemical change.

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