Honey has potential health benefits and plays a role in many home remedies and alternative medicine treatments. It contains small amounts of some nutrients, but most people typically don’t consume enough honey for it to be a significant dietary source of vitamins and minerals.

One tablespoon (20 grams) of honey contains (1Trusted Source):

• Calories: 61
• Fat: 0 grams
• Protein: 0 grams
• Carbs: 17 grams
• Fiber: 0 grams
• Riboflavin: 1% of the Daily Value (DV)
• Copper: 1% of the DV

Honey is essentially pure sugar, with no fat and only trace amounts of protein and fiber. It contains small amounts of some nutrients, but most people typically don’t consume enough honey for it to be a significant dietary source of vitamins and minerals.

Still, it’s worth noting that honey is rich in health-promoting plant compounds known as polyphenols.

2. Rich in antioxidants

High quality honey — which is minimally processed, unheated, and fresh — contains many important bioactive plant compounds and antioxidants, such as flavonoids and phenolic acids. Darker varieties tend to offer more antioxidants than lighter varieties (2Trusted Source).

Antioxidants help neutralize reactive oxygen species (ROS) in your body, which can build up in cells and cause damage. This damage can contribute to conditions like premature aging, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease (2Trusted Source).

As such, many of honey’s health benefits are attributed to its antioxidant content

3. Better for blood sugar levels than regular sugar

When it comes to blood sugar management, honey may offer some slight benefits over regular sugar.

Although honey raises your blood sugar level just like other types of sugar do, the antioxidants it contains may help protect against metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.

Researchers have found that honey may increase levels of adiponectin, a hormone that reduces inflammation and improves blood sugar regulation (3Trusted Source).

There’s also some evidence that daily honey intake may improve fasting blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes (3Trusted Source)

However, while honey may be slightly better than refined sugar for people with diabetes, it should still be consumed in moderation (4Trusted Source).

It’s also important to know that certain types of honey could be diluted with plain syrup. Although honey adulteration is illegal in most countries, it remains a widespread problem 

4. May improve heart health

Honey may also help prevent heart disease.

According to one review, honey may help lower blood pressure, improve blood fat levels, regulate your heartbeat, and prevent the death of healthy cells — all factors that can improve your heart function and health (6Trusted Source).

One observational study including over 4,500 people over age 40 associated a moderate honey intake with a lower risk of high blood pressure among women (7Trusted Source).

Plus, a study in rats promisingly showed that honey helped protect the heart from oxidative stress (8Trusted Source).

Additionally, raw honey typically contains propolis, a type of resin that bees produce from sap-producing trees and similar plants. Propolis may improve cholesterol and triglyceride levels (9Trusted Source).

All told, there’s no long-term human study available on honey and heart health. More research is needed to better understand honey’s effects on heart health

5. Promotes burn and wound healing

Topical honey treatment has been used to heal wounds and burns since ancient Egypt. The practice is still common today.

A review of 26 studies on honey and wound care found it most effective at healing partial-thickness burns and wounds that have become infected after surgery (10Trusted Source).

Honey is also an effective treatment for diabetes-related foot ulcers, which are serious complications that can lead to amputation.

One study including people with diabetes-related foot ulcers reported a 43.3% success rate with honey as a wound treatment. In another study, topical honey healed an impressive 97% of participants’ diabetes-related ulcers (11Trusted Source).

Researchers theorize that honey’s healing powers come from its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects (12Trusted Source).

What’s more, it may help treat other skin conditions including psoriasis and herpes lesions (13Trusted Source, 14Trusted Source).

Manuka honey is considered especially effective at treating burns. However, if you have a severe burn, you should seek medical attention immediately (15Trusted Source)