Honey as a nutrient
<h2 >Nutrition</h2>
<table class="infobox" >
<caption >Honey</caption>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" >Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)</th>
</tr>
<tr >
<th ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_energy" title="Food energy" >Energy</a></th>
<td >1,272 kJ (304 kcal)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrate" title="Carbohydrate" >Carbohydrates</a></th>
<td >82.4 g</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th >- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar" title="Sugar" >Sugars</a></th>
<td >82.12 g</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th >- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietary_fiber" title="Dietary fiber" >Dietary fiber</a></th>
<td >0.2 g</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat" title="Fat" >Fat</a></th>
<td >0 g</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_(nutrient)" title="Protein (nutrient)" >Protein</a></th>
<td >0.3 g</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water" title="Water" >Water</a></th>
<td >17.10 g</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riboflavin" title="Riboflavin" >Riboflavin (vit. B<sub >2</sub>)</a></td>
<td >0.038 mg (3%)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niacin" title="Niacin" >Niacin (vit. B<sub >3</sub>)</a></td>
<td >0.121 mg (1%)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantothenic_acid" title="Pantothenic acid" >Pantothenic acid</a> (B<sub >5</sub>)</td>
<td >0.068 mg (1%)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B6" title="Vitamin B6" >Vitamin B<sub >6</sub></a></td>
<td >0.024 mg (2%)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folate" title="Folate" class="mw-redirect" >Folate</a> (vit. B<sub >9</sub>)</td>
<td >2 μg (1%)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_C" title="Vitamin C" >Vitamin C</a></td>
<td >0.5 mg (1%)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium#Nutrition" title="Calcium" >Calcium</a></td>
<td >6 mg (1%)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron#Biological_role" title="Iron" >Iron</a></td>
<td >0.42 mg (3%)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnesium_in_biology" title="Magnesium in biology" >Magnesium</a></td>
<td >2 mg (1%)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphorus#Biological_role" title="Phosphorus" >Phosphorus</a></td>
<td >4 mg (1%)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium#Potassium_in_the_diet_and_by_supplement" title="Potassium" >Potassium</a></td>
<td >52 mg (1%)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium#Biological_role" title="Sodium" >Sodium</a></td>
<td >4 mg (0%)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinc#Biological_role" title="Zinc" >Zinc</a></td>
<td >0.22 mg (2%)</td>
</tr>
<tr >
<td colspan="2" >Shown is for 100 g, roughly 5 tbsp.
Percentages are relative to
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietary_Reference_Intake" title="Dietary Reference Intake" >US recommendations</a> for adults.
<small>Source: <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/" >USDA Nutrient Database</a></small></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p >
Honey is a mixture of sugars and other compounds. With respect to carbohydrates, honey is mainly <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructose" title="Fructose" >fructose</a> (about 38.5%) and<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucose" title="Glucose" >glucose</a> (about 31.0%),<sup id="cite_ref-NHB_carbs_0-2" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#cite_note-NHB_carbs-0" >[1]</a></sup> making it similar to the synthetically produced <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_sugar_syrup" title="Inverted sugar syrup" >inverted sugar syrup</a>, which is approximately 48% fructose, 47% glucose, and 5% <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sucrose" title="Sucrose" >sucrose</a>. Honey's remaining carbohydrates include <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltose" title="Maltose" >maltose</a>, sucrose, and other <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_carbohydrates" title="Complex carbohydrates" >complex carbohydrates</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-NHB_carbs_0-3" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#cite_note-NHB_carbs-0" >[1]</a></sup> As with all nutritive sweeteners, honey is mostly sugars and contains only trace amounts of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin" title="Vitamin" >vitamins</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietary_mineral" title="Dietary mineral" >minerals</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-sugaralliance_40-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#cite_note-sugaralliance-40" >[41]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Nutrient_Data_41-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#cite_note-Nutrient_Data-41" >[42]</a></sup> Honey also contains tiny amounts of several compounds thought to function as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antioxidant" title="Antioxidant" >antioxidants</a>, including <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysin" title="Chrysin" >chrysin</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinobanksin" title="Pinobanksin" >pinobanksin</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_C" title="Vitamin C" >vitamin C</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalase" title="Catalase" >catalase</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinocembrin" title="Pinocembrin" >pinocembrin</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-42" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#cite_note-42" >[43]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-43" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#cite_note-43" >[44]</a></sup><sup class="noprint Inline-Template" >[<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Vagueness" title="Wikipedia:Vagueness" >vague</a></i>]</sup> The specific composition of any batch of honey depends on the flowers available to the bees that produced the honey.<sup id="cite_ref-sugaralliance_40-1" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#cite_note-sugaralliance-40" >[41]</a></sup></p>
<p>
Typical honey analysis:<sup id="cite_ref-Comp_44-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#cite_note-Comp-44" >[45]</a></sup></p>
<ul >
<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructose" title="Fructose" >Fructose</a>: 38.2%</li>
<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucose" title="Glucose" >Glucose</a>: 31.3%</li>
<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltose" title="Maltose" >Maltose</a>: 7.1%</li>
<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sucrose" title="Sucrose" >Sucrose</a>: 1.3%</li>
<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water" title="Water" >Water</a>: 17.2%</li>
<li >Higher <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar" title="Sugar" >sugars</a>: 1.5%</li>
<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_(analytical_chemistry)" title="Ash (analytical chemistry)" >Ash</a>: 0.2%</li>
<li >Other/undetermined: 3.2%</li>
</ul>
<p >
Its <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycemic_index" title="Glycemic index" >glycemic index</a> ranges from 31 to 78, depending on the variety.<sup id="cite_ref-45" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#cite_note-45" >[46]</a></sup>
Honey has a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Density" title="Density" >density</a> of about 1.36 kilograms per litre (36% denser than water).<sup id="cite_ref-46" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#cite_note-46" >[47]</a></sup>
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotope_ratio_mass_spectrometry" title="Isotope ratio mass spectrometry" class="mw-redirect" >Isotope ratio mass spectrometry</a> can be used to detect addition of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_syrup" title="Corn syrup" >corn syrup</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_cane" title="Sugar cane" class="mw-redirect" >sugar cane</a> sugars by the carbon <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotopic_signature" title="Isotopic signature" >isotopic signature</a>. Addition of sugars originating from corn or sugar cane (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C4_carbon_fixation" title="C4 carbon fixation" >C4 plants</a>, unlike the plants used by bees, which are predominantly <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C3_carbon_fixation" title="C3 carbon fixation" >C3 plants</a>) skews the isotopic ratio of sugars present in honey, but does not influence the isotopic ratio of proteins; in an unadulterated honey, the carbon isotopic ratios of sugars and proteins should match. As low as 7% level of addition can be detected.<sup id="cite_ref-47" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#cite_note-47" >[48]</a></sup></p>