Nezam El-Tayebat Fact CheckA scientific assessment of the “نظام الطيبات” nutrition system
Choose country
Choose language: English

False Scientifically refuted Certainty of evidence: high provisional C-SUG-03

A spoon of honey contains five times more sugar than a spoon of white sugar.

In short: This claim is false. Per gram, honey contains less sugar than white sugar (82% vs almost 100%); per level spoon it contains about 1.4 times as much because honey is denser, which is far from five times.
Conclusion: False: a spoon of honey contains about 1.4 times the sugar of a level spoon of white sugar (and less per gram), not five times.
  1. Original statement
  2. Scientific assessment
  3. Scientific evidence in detail
  4. In plain language
  5. Studies on this claim
  6. Regional context
  7. What applies in my country?
  8. References

Original statement

العسل فيه كميه سكر اعلى من السكر خمس مرات يعني لو اخدت معلقه عسل ابيض فيها سكريات مختلفه قد السكر الابيض خمس مرات

verbatim according to source. Translation by the project; the Arabic wording is authoritative.

Translation

A spoon of honey contains five times more sugar than a spoon of white sugar.

Origin

Source status
Video transcript (own words)
Attribution
Elawady (machine transcript)
Video
Dr Diaa Al Awady د ضياء العوضي is live! مقاومة أنسولين (Open source)
Published
29 June 2025
Timestamp
0:03:48 (location in the original video’s automatic YouTube caption track; confirms where the words occur, not who speaks)
Attribution uncertainty
Machine/CC transcript; wording may contain transcription errors.
Claimed mechanism

Not applicable.

Claimed health effect

Not applicable.

Population concerned

Everyone

Geographic restriction by Elawady

none found

Scientific assessment

False – The statement contradicts the robust evidence.

Certainty of evidence: high – Further research is very unlikely to change the assessment.

1. What was claimed?

Honey has fivefold the sugar of white sugar.

2. What is demonstrably correct?

Honey is a concentrated sugar source. Because honey is denser than granulated sugar, a level spoon of honey contains somewhat more sugar (about 1.4 times) than a level spoon of white sugar.

3. What is wrong or exaggerated?

The factor of five is wrong. Per gram, honey contains less sugar than white sugar (82.1 vs 99.8 g/100 g) because it contains about 17% water; per spoon it contains about 1.4 times as much because it is heavier. No measurement makes honey contain five times more sugar.

4. What remains unclear?

None.

5. Which studies support it?

None.

6. Which studies contradict it?

I-SUG-06.

7. What applies to Germany and Europe?

Not region-specific.

8. What is known about Egypt?

Not region-specific.

9. What practical conclusion is appropriate?

Both honey and sugar are concentrated free-sugar sources.

Assessment details

Rationale for certainty of evidence

Food composition and portion data (USDA FoodData Central, I-SUG-06): per 100 g, honey 82.1 g sugars vs granulated sugar 99.8 g; 1 tablespoon of honey weighs 21 g (17.2 g sugars), while a level tablespoon of sugar weighs about 12.5 g (12.5 g sugars). Per gram honey has 0.82 times, per spoon about 1.4 times the sugar of white sugar (stats/C-SUG-03_honey_spoon.py).

Source quality

Own words (machine transcript).

Regional transferability

Universal.

Individual exceptions

None.

Regional scope of the claim
general (biological/medical)
Last reviewed
26 October 2026 provisional

Scientific evidence in detail

Scientifically refuted – High-quality evidence shows the opposite, or the claim contradicts well-established physiology.

Research question: Does a spoon of honey contain five times more sugar than a spoon of white sugar?

Research question in detail (PECO)
Population
Not applicable
Intervention or exposure
Honey
Comparison
White sugar
Geographic scope
universal
Outcomes
  • Sugar per gram
  • Sugar per spoon (volume)

Study results as reported by the authors. Our assessment follows below.

What speaks for the claim?

No high-quality evidence supporting the claim was found.

What speaks against the claim?

  • How much sugar is in honey vs white sugar?

    US Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central (database) SR Legacy Measurement / residue studyfull text checked

    USDA composition and portion data: honey 82.1 g sugars/100 g, 1 tbsp = 21 g; sugar 99.8 g/100 g, 1 tsp = 4.2 g, 1 cup = 200 g.

    Actual result
    Per gram honey has 0.82 times the sugar; per level tablespoon about 17.2 g vs 12.5 g (1.4 times) because honey is denser.
    Methodological quality
    high
    Relevance
    direct
    Limitations
    Average values; spoon fill varies.

    Original publication

What does the overall evidence say?

Editorial assessment based on the studies above – not itself a study result.

Which position is better supported?

A spoon of honey contains about 1.4 times the sugar of a level spoon of white sugar (honey is denser), and per gram less sugar; never five times.

Why some studies weigh more

Reference composition data.

Is a causal relationship established? Not applicable Arithmetic.

Remaining uncertainty

Spoon size and filling.

Justified conclusion

This claim is false.

Does this depend on the country?
General biological effects
Universal.

A regional difference that changes the conclusion is not supported by robust data.

Statistical re-check
  • Sugar per tablespoon, honey vs white sugar – Honey 17.25 g vs sugar 12.5-12.6 g per level tbsp: ratio 1.37-1.38; per cup 1.39; per gram 0.82 recalculated
Certainty of the overall evidence (GRADE, simplified)
Main outcome
Sugar content comparison
Starting level
high (randomised trials)
Result
high

Simplified assessment by a single reviewer, following the GRADE approach; not a formal GRADE panel. GRADE rates the body of evidence for one outcome, not individual studies.

Search strategy

Documented literature searches for this review (search strings in the original database syntax).

DatabaseDateSearchLooking forHitsIncluded
USDA FoodData Central API26 October 2026https://api.nal.usda.gov/fdc/v1/food/169640 and /169655 (portions and total sugars)both directions1

Open questions

None.

How deeply was this checked?

1 linked studies: 1 checked in full text (0 of them with a structured risk-of-bias assessment), 0 on the basis of the abstract, 0 bibliographically only. No formal assessment with two independent reviewers and no independent human expert review has taken place yet.

Last scientific review: 26 October 2026

History of the verdict
  1. 25 October 2026 · Phase 1 · Initial assessment: False (high)
  2. 26 October 2026 · Phase 4 (systematic evidence review) · Re-examined with extended evidence; verdict unchanged: False (high)
    Verdict unchanged; wording corrected because the claim is about a spoon (volume), where honey contains about 1.4 times more sugar, not less.

In plain language

Dr. Diaa said a spoon of honey has five times more sugar than a spoon of white sugar. Food tables show that 100 g of honey contains about 82 g of sugar, while 100 g of white sugar is almost entirely sugar. Because honey is heavier, a spoonful of honey holds about 17 g of sugar compared with about 12.5 g in a level spoon of sugar - about 1.4 times as much, not five times. Both are concentrated sugars.

Studies on this claim

Studies supporting the claim (0)

No studies in this group.

Studies contradicting or limiting the claim (1)

  • How much sugar is in honey vs white sugar?

    US Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central (database) SR Legacy
    Measurement / residue studyindependent cross-checkfull text checked

    Honey is about 82% sugar and 17% water; white sugar is almost 100% sugar.

    Does the study support the specific claim? No · Methodological quality: high · Certainty of evidence: see overall assessment of the claim

    Original publication · Scientific details

    Study explained simply
    What did the researchers want to find out?

    Sugar content of honey vs white sugar.

    How was the study done?

    Food composition database entries (official).

    How many people, animals or samples were studied?

    Not applicable; Not applicable

    What was actually found?

    Honey per 100 g: total sugars 82.1 g (fructose 40.9 g, glucose 35.8 g, sucrose 0.89 g), water 17.1 g, energy 304 kcal. Granulated sugar per 100 g: sucrose 99.8 g, total sugars 99.8 g, energy 387 kcal.

    How large was the observed effect?

    82.1 vs 99.8 g/100 g

    What do the results mean in everyday life?

    Honey has slightly less sugar per gram than white sugar.

    What are the study's limitations?

    US samples; honey composition varies by origin

    What does it say about Elawady's specific claim?

    Contradicts C-SUG-03; supports C-SUG-02.

    Do the results apply to Germany and Europe?

    Composition is similar for honey sold in EU.

    What can explicitly not be concluded from this study?

    Health effects.

    Scientific details →

Studies with mixed or unclear results (0)

No studies in this group.

Regional context

Germany / EU

Not region-specific.

Egypt

Not region-specific.

What applies in my country?

General scientific assessment

False False: a spoon of honey contains about 1.4 times the sugar of a level spoon of white sugar (and less per gram), not five times.

The following areas of food safety are relevant to this statement:

  • Additives and processing

Honey, sugar, sweets

Choose a country to see the checked information for it.

Limits: legal rules describe what is allowed, not what every single food contains. Measurement data come from samples and are meaningful only together with their method details.

Country of residence or purchase Compare with another country

References

  1. USDA FoodData Central: Honey (FDC 169640) and Sugars, granulated (FDC 169655), SR Legacy. US Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central (database) SR Legacy

← Back to overview