Tag: Honey for athletes

According to studies, honey can be just as effective as commercial sports gels in boosting endurance and maintaining blood sugar during prolonged exercise. Understanding what is the best honey for athletes involves looking beyond sweetness to its unique nutritional properties and GI profile, which vary significantly by floral source.

Over a decade ago, it was revealed that U.S. Olympians were carrying bears filled with honey to the London Olympics. The immediate assumption was for a quick energy boost, but the truth is often much stickier. While honey can provide athletic fuel, gymnasts primarily use honey as a gripping agent to improve their hold on apparatus like the parallel and horizontal bars, mixing it with chalk for extra traction.

While refined sugars cause a rapid spike and crash, the natural sugars in honey offer a more balanced release of energy. So, how long does honey take to provide energy? The answer lies in its unique composition and how your body processes it, providing both an immediate boost and prolonged fuel.

According to research comparing honey to other carbohydrate sources, studies have shown it can improve athletic performance similarly to commercial energy gels, which is a primary reason why do runners have honey before a run. This readily available and natural fuel source offers a simple way for athletes to top up glycogen stores and maintain energy levels for endurance training and competition.

Research in the *International Journal of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources* indicates that consuming honey can provide similar or even superior benefits compared to typical sports gels for endurance athletes. Can you eat honey during a workout? Yes, for certain activities, honey can be an effective and natural fuel source, but the timing and amount are key.

Composed of natural sugars like glucose and fructose, honey has been used for centuries as a natural energy source. So, does taking honey give you energy? Yes, but unlike refined sugars, it provides both a quick boost and a more sustained release, making it a powerful and natural source of fuel.