It's commonly accepted that honey is better for us, but is that really the case? The short answer is because it is made of 55 per cent fructose (fruit sugar), eating honey is little more beneficial for our bodies than eating granulated sugar. And here's why.
大家普遍認為蜂蜜對我們的身體更有益。但事實確實如此嗎？簡單來說，由于蜂蜜中含有55%的果糖，所以吃蜂蜜一點也不比吃白砂糖健康到哪里去。

Refined table sugar (sucrose) is processed in our bodies by insulin, which is produced by the pancreas. Honey is about 55 per cent fructose, a fruit sugar that's processed by the liver. Despite the chemical difference, our bodies still react to honey in much same way as it reacts to refined sugar - with a blood-sugar spike.
在我們體內的蔗糖是由胰腺分泌的胰島素來分解的。而蜂蜜中包含的55%的果糖，是通過我們的肝臟來分解的。雖然在體內發生的化學變化不同，但人體對蜂蜜和對糖分的反應是一樣的，都會造成血糖迅速升高。
This encourages the pancreas to produce insulin, which leads the body to store fat and gain weight. When eaten to excess, products containing fructose contribute to obesity, heart problems and liver disease, just like products with granulated sugar. Other research has shown fructose drains minerals from your body.
這會刺激胰腺分泌胰島素，進而導致身體儲備更多脂肪和體重上升。如果過量食用包含果糖的制品，那么就和食用含砂糖的制品一樣，會導致肥胖、心臟病、肝病等問題。還有研究顯示果糖還會消耗體內的礦物質。
'There's an idea that sugar is a pantomime villain and honey is the pantomime hero,' says nutritional therapist Ian Marber. 'It's not accurate. Loading honey onto a bowl of porridge or breakfast cereal isn't much better for our bodies than layering that cereal up with granulated sugar.
“有人認為糖分就像是壞蛋，而蜂蜜像是大英雄。”營養治療師伊恩·馬伯說：“這種觀點是不正確的。早上喝粥或麥片時加入蜂蜜和加白砂糖是一樣不健康的。”
Honey is also high in calories - more than table sugar. A teaspoon of commercial natural honey contains about 22 calories, a teaspoon of sugar around 16 calories. Many people who swapped honey for sugar found they liberally poured it into yoghurts, herbal teas and the like imagining honey to be superior to other sugars. 'When people think something is low fat, they eat more,' says Ian Marber.
另外，蜂蜜的卡路里含量也高于蔗糖。同樣一小茶匙的量，蜂蜜含有22卡路里，而蔗糖含有16卡路里。許多用蜂蜜來替代蔗糖的人會隨意地、不計量地在酸奶、涼茶中加入蜂蜜，認為蜂蜜比蔗糖健康得多。伊恩說：“當人們認為某種食物脂肪含量低就會大量食用。”
'Companies use the word 'honey' instead of saying something is 'sweet' because they know it has an implied health benefit,' says Ian Marber.
伊恩還說：“很多生產商都會用‘蜂蜜’這個詞來代替‘甜’這個詞，因為他們覺得這樣會顯得更健康。”
While raw, unrefined varieties of honey - from farms and health food stores - do contain trace vitamins and minerals; niacin, riboflavin, thiamine and vitamin B6, they only make up about two per cent of honey's total content.
實際上，養蜂場里的和健康食品店中的未經加工的生蜂蜜確實含有多種維生素和礦物質，如煙酸、核黃素、維生素B1、B6等，但它們的總量也只占到2%。
Many big-brand honeys and other 'natural' sweeteners in supermarkets have been processed - heated and filtered - to rid them of pollen and naturally-occurring bacteria in raw, varieties. But it also removes these vitamins and minerals.
而那些超市里售賣的大品牌蜂蜜以及其他號稱“天然”甜味劑的蜂蜜是經過加工的蜂蜜，它們被加熱或被過濾，這樣花粉和細菌被除掉了，但同時同時除掉的還有蜂蜜里的維他命和礦物質。
Dr Mica Engel, aesthetic doctor at London's Waterhouse Young Clinic says glucose, fructose and carbs in honey will cause collagen damage - just like sugar. 'Benefits from the few extra vitamins some honey contains won't help to repair damage done to your collagen.'
倫敦沃特豪斯診所的美學醫生邁卡·恩格爾說，蜂蜜中所含的葡萄糖、果糖以及碳水化合物等會和蔗糖一樣損害皮膚的膠原蛋白。“蜂蜜中所含有的那點微量維生素無法幫你修復損害掉的膠原蛋白。”
Added sugar (refined white sugar or honey) has no nutritional benefit. The NHS says added sugar can safely make up 10 per cent of a daily calorie intake.
另外，添加糖（無論是精制白砂糖還是蜂蜜）都沒有任何營養價值。英國國民保健服務稱添加糖在日常卡路里增加值中占10%。
But earlier this year I spoke to cardiologist Dr Aseem Malhotra, who is also science director of Action On Sugar, a body campaigning to reduce levels of sugar in our foods, who said the World Health Organisation recommends limiting all added sugars (including honey) to six teaspoons a day.
今年年初在同心臟病專家、“對糖分采取行動”（一個旨在減少我們日常食品糖分攝入量的組織）的科學顧問阿西姆·馬爾霍特拉博士交談的時候，他說道，世界衛生組織建議每天攝入添加糖（包括蜂蜜）的量最好不要超過6茶匙（30克）。
'Contrary to what the food industry wants you to believe, the body doesn't need any carbohydrate from added sugar,' he said.
“和食品生產商所希望的不同，我們的身體其實不需要從添加糖中獲取任何糖分。”