>> 1) There is a very simple and well-known process for >> the metabolization of sugar, honey, fructose, and >> other carbohydrates. >> 2) To simplify, your body can't really tell the difference >> between a Life-Saver candy and a spoonful of honey. >> >> 3) To go further, I am glossing over only a few details if >> I say that your body can't tell the difference between >> sugar, honey, HFCS, and a potato. Well tiny, infinitesimal details, smaller and pickier than most people care to think about, is how we managed to hit the moon and come back instead of taking a trip to the sun. Painting quickly, with a wide brush like that, we'll never paint a Mona Lisa. Might get a "Voice of Fire", tho'. I suppose it is a matter of taste. > So, maybe there are people whose makeup allows them to handle one > isomer but not another... etc. Bill gets the point. In a nutshell, regardless of all our sophistry, the plain fact is that we don't know. We don't even know what we don't know. Bears some reflection . The questions are out there. When they come back, the answers they bring could bite us. Also, we are selling, as much as anything, not just honey, but a story. It would be nice if it proves to be completely true. It might, but not if we capitulate, oversimplify and lose all those pesky little details that set us apart from mass-produced refined sweetners -- and potatoes. >> Bottom line, I'm going to feed my bees rather than let them >> starve, and I'm not going to overfeed and perhaps sully my >> crop with sugar If you feed your bees sugar, *some* is guaranteed to wind up in the honey. YMMV. I really don't want to get into all the details of how much brood chamber honey (or feed) has been *proven* to travel upstairs in some cases, but it is more than a thimblefull. Is it bigger than a breadbox? I'll let someone else answer that. > The bottom line is that sugar "allergies" are really not a problem for > the general population, and even those who proclaim a sugar allergy > seem to be able to function well, even if they eat it. That is true, and reassuring. Robin brought up and nursed ths topic, a topic most beekeepers prefer to avoid, or gloss over, and I thank him for it. In the future, this question, and the questions that revolve around it, may prove suddenly be a big deal. A little conscious-raising right now can't help but be a good thing. allen http://www.honeybeeworld.com Bah! Humbug! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and other info --- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::