# Is honey healthier than corn syrup? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 2, 2011, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-honey-healthier-than-corn-syrup/587624 "2011-07-02T14:44:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-honey-healthier-than-corn-syrup/587624/21 "2011-07-03T17:52:41Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The idea is that small doses of the allergens (pollen) will help your body get ready for the big doses around hay-fever season time. Unlikely but not crazy. That claim never made sense to me. People who are “allergic to pollen” are allergic to airborne pollen from grass and trees. These plants pollinate by dispersing pollen into the air, which is why we breathe it in and trigger an allergic response. These pollen don’t get carried by bees; these plants don’t even attract bees or produce nectar because they don’t depend bees for pollination. So why would there be any of it in honey? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-honey-healthier-than-corn-syrup/587624/22 "2011-07-03T19:35:21Z")
The idea is probably that exposure to a wide variety of substances, in general, would help train the immune system and prevent allergies, in general. I don’t know how well that would work, though. Quoth **Waterman** : > [@](#): > > BTW, I’ve also been told that bees that feed on dandelions produce green honey that is totally yucky in taste! OK, now I want to try some of this, since I love dandelions. ---
**Author:** ![TurboNuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f19dbf/32.png) [@TurboNuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TurboNuke)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-honey-healthier-than-corn-syrup/587624/23 "2011-07-03T20:11:46Z")
> [@sh1bu1](#): > > I’ll bet that under the microscope those processed glucose and fructose molecules must look very different than the natural ones. I just made several posts stating that honey and HFCS are essentially the same except for some trace substances. And here you attempt to imply that I’m some woo woo, who thinks theres a difference between natural and processed molecules. I said that honey is a more natural substance implying that HFCS is natural which of course it is. HFCS is a more processed substance and therefore I would expect it to be more pure with less impurities while you essentially buy honey in its natutal state which is significantly less processed. ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-honey-healthier-than-corn-syrup/587624/24 "2011-07-04T02:58:52Z")
> [@TurboNuke](#): > > I just made several posts stating that honey and HFCS are essentially the same except for some trace substances. And here you attempt to imply that I’m some woo woo, who thinks theres a difference between natural and processed molecules. > > I said that honey is a more natural substance implying that HFCS is natural which of course it is. HFCS is a more processed substance and therefore I would expect it to be more pure with less impurities while you essentially buy honey in its natutal state which is significantly less processed. Sorry, that was kinda dickish. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-honey-healthier-than-corn-syrup/587624.md?page=1)