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Review · Nutrients · 2023Conflicts declared

Honey and human health across 48 clinical trials

Palma-Morales M, Huertas JR, Rodríguez-Pérez C · Free full text

What it found

Across 48 clinical trials in people, honey often improved heart and metabolic risk factors, glucose tolerance, mouth sores from cancer treatment, children's cough and wound healing.

The authors say the studies are too varied to compare.

What they found

Studies in people

Heart and metabolic risk

In several trials, honey improved cholesterol and triglyceride levels in healthy, overweight, diabetic and hyperlipidaemic people. Doses of 70 g/day helped healthy and hyperlipidaemic subjects, while 20 g/day and above helped diabetic subjects.

Glucose tolerance

Blood glucose rose less after eating honey than after other sugar solutions in both healthy and diabetic people. Insulin and C-peptide responses also differed.

Mouth sores in cancer care

Mouth rinses or swallowing honey reduced the severity of mucositis in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Forest, thyme, clover and tea tree honeys helped, but Manuka honey did not and was not well tolerated.

Cough in children

Several types of honey reduced the frequency and severity of nighttime cough and improved sleep in children with upper respiratory infections. One study with acacia honey found no difference from placebo.

Wound healing

Honey creams or dressings improved healing of episiotomy wounds, pyomyositis abscesses in children and diabetic foot ulcers in some trials. Honey was not better than chlorhexidine, clotrimazole or povidone-iodine.

Appetite and food intake

Clover honey led to lower energy and sugar intake than sucrose in healthy people and increased satiety scores. No significant differences in energy intake were seen in diabetic patients.

What the authors conclude

“However, despite being halfway between consideration as a functional food or a harmful food due to its high sugar content, more beneficial effects of honey intake have been observed than no or negative effects, especially when its intake replaces the intake of other sweeteners.”
Palma-Morales M, Huertas JR, Rodríguez-Pérez C, 2023

Also in their conclusions

  • They say more beneficial effects of honey intake have been observed than no or negative effects, especially when honey replaces other sweeteners.
  • They conclude that honey could be a safe adjuvant to be given to people over 1 year old alongside drugs used for certain diseases.
  • They advise that honey is a high sugar food and should be consumed occasionally and in moderation, and that more studies are needed to make specific recommendations.

How it was done

Most studies supporting honey's traditional health properties had been done in lab tests or animals, so the authors wanted to look at the evidence in people.

They analysed 48 clinical trials published between 1985 and 2022, with a total of 3655 subjects. The studies covered healthy people, people who were overweight or obese, people with diabetes, cancer patients, children and others, and used more than 30 types of honey.

What it can’t tell you

  • The studies used different types of honey, doses, durations and groups of people, so the results are hard to compare.
  • The authors say a real cause and effect link between honey and the health effects cannot be established from these studies.
  • Most studies were small, so the findings may not apply to everyone.

The paper

Title
A Comprehensive Review of the Effect of Honey on Human Health
Type
ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
Evidence
Studies in people
Summarised from
Full text
Cite
Palma-Morales M, Huertas JR, Rodríguez-Pérez C (2023). A Comprehensive Review of the Effect of Honey on Human Health. Nutrients. doi:10.3390/nu15133056Free full textPubMed 37447382DOI

Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error