- A report released by WHO dubbed: Sugar Factsheet recommends the reduction of intake of free sugars throughout life course, in both adults and children.
- "Excessive intake of free sugars threatens the nutrient quality of the diet by providing significant energy with little other nutritional benefits."
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Tea, Kenya's favourite beverage and could be President William Ruto's go-to drink as he has on many occasions welcomed people who visited State House, Nairobi for a cup.
First Lady Mama Rachel Ruto also served her United States counterpart Jill Biden a cup of tea during her visit in February.
In an undated video that has circulated online, the head of state is seen adding honey into a white cup, possibly as a sweetener to his tea.
He carefully adds one teaspoon and stirs the content.
This has sparked debate online on what sweetener is good for people's health, with divided opinions on Sugar and honey.
The comments were triggered by former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko who posted the video saying the President was looking after his health by using honey instead of sugar.
"Wakenya munafaa muangalie munachokula. Hebu oneni vile Prezzo anachunga afya yake, he’s using honey instead of sugar," he said in an X post.
This is loosely translated to: Kenyans are supposed to mind what they consume in their bodies. Just see how the president is looking after his health, he is using honey instead of sugar.
X user by the name Omondi alleged that the body does not know the difference between sugar and honey, as the only distinction is the 'utamu'
Ken said: If not for the low glycemic index and other nutrients such as vitamins, antioxidants, etc., what is the difference? In short, they are all sugars.
"Even the fruits and the favourite Kenyan staple food (ugali) are made of sugar. If your goal was to ask people to avoid sugar, you haven't made much progress," Ken added.
On the other hand, Dominic Walubengo, an X user claimed the body does not care if sugar is from sugarcane, fruits, beetroot or honey.
"It is just sugar to the body. Very simple."
Henry Ngethe, a nutritionist who spoke to The Star says honey is better than sugar as it has healthier components.
"In fact, sugar has components that carry cancerous cells, I would advise people to stay away from it and opt for the honey," he said.
He however says that some honey consumers do so following instructions from their nutritionists and wouldn't tell the whole nation to stay away from sugar.
"Taking sugar is a personal choice and so does honey. If you ask most honey on tea users, they'll tell you they have been advised by their doctors to stay away from sugar," he added.
Ngether added that it is advisable for Kenyans to only use honey that is pure, and purchase from certified vendors.
"There is this challenge of honey being sold to Kenyans, there have been complaints that some are not pure and are sold with unhealthy substances, Kenyans who opt to use honey as their sweetener should do their due diligence."
A report released by the World Health Organization dubbed: Sugar Factsheet recommends the reduction of intake of free sugars throughout life course, in both adults and children.
"WHO recommends reducing the intake of free sugars to less than 10 per cent of total energy intake, which means that the effects following the recommendation clearly outweigh any desired outcomes," the report stated.
It further noted that the excessive intake of free sugars threatens the nutrient quality of the diet by providing significant energy with little other nutritional benefits.
This, the report added leads to unhealthy weight gain and increased risk of overweight and obesity and other NCDs.