Honey contains fructose, glucose, enzymes, proteins, vitamins, and various minerals. Regular consumption can help prevent and treat anemia, heart disease, gastrointestinal diseases, and can improve the body's immunity. Although honey is beneficial, it is not suitable for everyone.
1. Diabetics should not consume it.
Every 100 grams of honey contains approximately 35 grams of glucose, 40 grams of fructose, about 2 grams of sucrose, and about 1 gram of dextrin.
Both glucose and fructose are monosaccharides, which can be directly absorbed into the bloodstream without digestion after entering the intestine, causing blood sugar levels to rise. Sucrose and dextrin are absorbed after slight hydrolysis. Therefore, honey has a particularly significant effect on raising blood sugar. From this perspective, diabetics should not consume honey.
2. Infants under one year of age should not eat it.
Honey is nutritious and a popular food. Many new mothers also add honey to their infants' complementary foods to improve taste and nutritional value. However, experts point out that infants under one year old are not suitable for eating honey.
Experts explain that during the brewing and transportation process, honey is easily contaminated by *Clostridium botulinum*. This is because bees may bring pollen and honey contaminated with *Clostridium botulinum* back to the hive during the process of collecting nectar. The spores of *Clostridium botulinum* are highly adaptable and can still survive at high temperatures of 100°C.
Due to the weak gastrointestinal function and poor liver detoxification ability of infants, especially those under six months old, *Clostridium botulinum* can easily multiply in the intestines and produce toxins, leading to poisoning.
Poisoning symptoms usually occur 8 to 36 hours after consuming honey or foods containing honey, and often include constipation, fatigue, and loss of appetite. Although the risk of *Clostridium botulinum* infection in infants is low, doctors still advise not to give honey or its products to children before they turn one year old.
In addition, experts also remind that children over one year old should also consume honey with caution, and the amount should be appropriately reduced compared to adults.
3. Patients with cirrhosis should not drink it.
Generally, patients with hepatitis B are very suitable for drinking honey because the monosaccharides provided by honey do not need to be decomposed and synthesized by the liver, which can reduce the burden on the liver. However, patients with cirrhosis cannot drink honey because it can worsen liver fibrosis.
It is clear that not everyone can eat honey. Some people are not suitable for consuming it, otherwise it may cause illness.