The world of sugars is complex and diverse, as is the world of sweeteners. The sugar most commonly referred to as such is sucrose, a disaccharide made up of glucose and fructose. Like other sweeteners, sucrose has its benefits and associated risks, including negative effects on dental health and complications related to diabetes.
Recently, researchers may have discovered a new type of sugar that addresses some of the shortcomings of sucrose. It’s all thanks to bees.
Approved in Australia. In July, Food Standards Australia New Zealand, or FSANZ, the food regulatory authority in Australia, approved the sale and purchase of a new type of honey in the country.
This honey is quite different from the honey we typically consume. Chemically, its main component isn’t the sucrose found in conventional honey. Additionally, its production method is distinct because it comes from a very different type of bee.
Stingless honey bees. While people often associate bees with honeycombs, honey, and painful stings, not all bees live in honeycombs and produce honey. In fact, around 600 known species of honey bees lack the sophisticated stinging mechanism seen in other types of bees.
The recently approved honey in Australia stands out because it’s produced by unique species, such as the native Tetragonula carbonaria and Tetragonula hockingsi. It also includes the Brazilian Tetragonisca angustula and Malaysian species like Geniotrigona thoracica and Heterotrigona itama.
Legal loophole. In Australia, the production of stingless honey has been a traditional practice among Indigenous populations. However, until recently, its sale and purchase existed in a “gray area,” according to the Australian ABC network. The issue was primarily the significant difference between stingless honey and conventional honey.
This distinction is so pronounced that stingless honey isn’t classified as honey by international standards. Nonetheless, the sale and purchase of this product have now been fully validated by FSANZ.
A “new” sugar. It’s important to note that stingless honey differs chemically from conventional honey. Regular honey typically contains three sugars: glucose, fructose, and (to a lesser extent) sucrose.
In contrast, honey from stingless bees primarily contains trehalulose, a sugar that resembles sucrose but has distinct differences. Trehalulose is also quite rare in other foods.
Both trehalulose and sucrose are disaccharides, which means they’re composed of two monosaccharides. Both include glucose and fructose, but the chemical bond connecting these two simple sugars is the key difference.
A healthier alternative. According to researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia, trehalulose could be a healthier option compared to other sugars. The key factor lies in the bond connecting the monosaccharides in the molecule.
This bond is more stable than the one found in sucrose, which means the human body takes longer to break down this complex sugar. As a result, trehalulose has a lower glycemic index, leading to a gradual increase in glucose levels in our bloodstream rather than a sudden spike.
Trehalulose may also offer an additional benefit for oral health. In this case, the bacteria responsible for issues like tooth decay don’t find this sugar appealing as a food source.
Considerations. There are several considerations to take into account before experts can confidently say that stingless bee honey is a good product for your health and recommend its consumption. Honey from stingless bees has been consumed in Australia and other countries, including the U.S., for a long time, which suggests that it’s safe for consumption. However, analyzing the long-term effects of a food compound is inherently challenging.
What does it taste like? Trehalulose has a lower sweetening effect than sucrose. This might explain why stingless bee honey tends to have a flavor profile that’s more of a mix between sour and sweet, according to those who have tasted it.
Image | Christoph
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