Folks have used caffeine, creatine, and protein shakes to energy up athletic performances for many years. However now health influencers and naturopathic docs on TikTok have been doing one thing somewhat completely different recently to spice up their exercises.
They’re gulping down a spoonful of honey sprinkled with sea salt proper earlier than lacing up their sneakers.
They are saying it’s a reasonable, pure pre-workout hack that gives a fast hit of power and helps your physique maintain on to hydration because of the electrolytes in salt. However does it really work? And is it higher or worse than store-bought power drinks?
We requested registered dietitian Daisy Mercer if a spoonful of honey with a sprinkle of salt can actually enhance your exercise.
Well being advantages of honey
Honey accommodates anti-inflammatory compounds, together with flavonoids and polyphenols, in accordance with Mayo Clinic. It additionally has antioxidant properties that fight free radicals and scale back oxidative stress. So, with this sweetener, you’ll get some advantages you don’t discover in sugar or sugar-sweetened power drinks.
You’ll get energy-enhancing carbohydrates from any type of honey, however Mercer says you might get some further perks should you select a neighborhood honey. “Native honey could assist with allergic reactions,” she says.
That’s as a result of native honey is believed to include pollen from vegetation within the surrounding space.
The idea is that by ingesting small quantities of those native pollens via honey, the physique can construct up a tolerance and scale back allergic reactions when uncovered to them throughout allergy season.
This tip is extra anecdotal than science-baked, however there’s no hurt in attempting honey and discovering out if it helps you. TikTok swears by it.
Does it work?
Based on Mercer, this honey hack could add somewhat further one thing to your exercises.
“Honey is made up of easy, easy-to-digest carbohydrates, so it supplies a fast hit of power that may be helpful in train,” she says. “It permits you to really feel higher for longer whereas figuring out.” If you happen to attempt it, you would possibly end up operating somewhat sooner, lifting a number of extra reps, or having a better time mountaineering uphill.
And it’s not simply the carbohydrates. The salt performs a task, too. “It helps keep electrolyte stability,” Mercer says.
Although this salt-honey combo has some potential advantages, Mercer says it’s not precisely an equal swap for a industrial pre-workout drink.
“Evaluating honey with salt to a industrial pre-workout is an unfair and unreasonable comparability,” she says. “These merchandise have components like caffeine, beta-alanine, citrulline, and plenty of different issues which might be proven to extend power and efficiency. Honey won’t provide you with as a lot power as 200mg of caffeine.”
Do I actually need it?
If you happen to eat a balanced food plan with sufficient carbohydrates, protein, and fats on a day-to-day foundation, you don’t actually need honey or any kind of pre-workout power drink in case your exercise is an hour or much less, in accordance with the American School of Sports activities Drugs. For most individuals it is sensible to stay to water.
Apart from, the science so far doesn’t present a transparent payoff for this hack. Researchers have really studied the affect of honey on train. A meta-analysis of 9 research revealed within the journal Vitamins reported that honey isn’t any extra helpful than different sources of carbohydrates.
It’s value remembering that one tablespoon of honey has greater than 17 grams of sugar. A pre-workout banana gives you brisker carbohydrates for across the identical quantity of sugar.
Simply don’t go to the health club hungry. “You will need to eat some kind of power earlier than a exercise so you’ll be able to really feel nice and supply your physique with what it must get you thru the train,” says Mercer.
