Hi Allen and All

As a fairly newly (8 months) diagnosed type II diabetic (and beekeeper!) this is 
a topic of great interest.  I had noticed that fructose has a lower GI 
(glycaemic index) than other sugars and therefore that some honeys are better 
(or worse) than others, and many might be better than sucrose or glucose.  So 
perhaps high fructose, low glucose honeys might be healthier.

The one issue that clouds this is the claim that although fructose might be 
better in terms of GI it could have other deleterious effects.  There is one 
study that claims that replacing sucrose with fructose gives a 10% higher LDL 
cholesterol level, something else most diabetics should be trying to bear down 
on.  A separate recent study points to a significant boost in plasma 
triglycerides in men (and not women) on diets where glucose had been replaced by 
fructose.  Triglycerides are now regarded as a separate risk factor to 
LDL-cholesterol in coronary vascular disease, a disease which diabetics need to 
consider a major threat.

Worth remembering that many starchy foods are just as bad as sugar, and often 
consumed in larger amounts.

Review on the evidence base for dietary advice for diabetics:

http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/25/1/148.full.pdf+html

The recent study on fructose and triglycerides in men:

http://www.ajcn.org/content/72/5/1128.full.pdf+html

So this is far from simple.  If there are inhibitors of blood sugar rise in some 
honeys, it would be great to know more.  But the simple partial replacement of 
sucrose and glucose by fructose isn't something mainstream medical opinion would 
turn to yet.

best wishes

Gavin

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