Consuming honey, nature’s sweet gift freely given through the work and movement of honeybees, gets sweeter in light of its wide-ranging health benefits. If you reach for honey for your cup of freshly brewed tea or to sweeten your homemade desserts, you may already know that science favors honey for its wholesome health benefits versus those of various other natural sweeteners. Honey is produced by honeybees from the nectar of flowers as food. For humans, it’s also a whole food source that contains amino acids as well as vitamins and minerals, including thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E. The mix of the nutrients varies based on the plants visited by the bees. It contains abundant active biological constituents, such as polyphenols, which are nutrient-dense phytochemicals that boast antioxidant properties. Honey is made up of approximately 40 percent fructose, compared with the 50 percent fructose found in …