Key TakeawaysAdding clover honey to yogurt may help probiotics survive digestion better than other types of honey.The enhanced probiotic survival from honey does not necessarily result in improved digestive health, researchers say.Nutrition experts say adding a small amount of honey to yogurt may improve the flavor for people who don’t enjoy yogurt on its own.

Key Takeaways

Adding clover honey to yogurt may help probiotics survive digestion better than other types of honey.The enhanced probiotic survival from honey does not necessarily result in improved digestive health, researchers say.Nutrition experts say adding a small amount of honey to yogurt may improve the flavor for people who don’t enjoy yogurt on its own.

Yogurt containsprobioticsthat help promote gut health and immune function,and a pair of new studies show that adding honey might help these live bacteria survive longer in the gut.

The first study, published in March, found that clover honey inyogurtbest preserved probiotic survival during a simulated digestive process compared to alfalfa, buckwheat, and orange blossom honey.

“This isn’t a novel food pairing; it’s fairly common. But what I found fascinating was that there may be some functional benefits of putting these foods together,”Hannah Holscher, PhD, RD, an associate professor of nutrition at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and senior author of the studies, told Verywell.

In the second study, researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial with healthy adults to see if consuming clover honey and yogurt provides certain health benefits. However, they didn’t find evidence that this combination supported gastrointestinal health, cognition, or mood.

“By adding honey to yogurt, the number of probiotic bacteria was slightly greater than when the yogurt was consumed without honey. However, the enhancement in probiotic survival did not result in a digestive health benefit,” Holscher said.

Benefits of Eating Greek Yogurt

Digestion Destroys Some Live Bacteria

Healthy gut bacteria help protect the body from certain harmful bacteria such asSalmonella.

“Our digestive enzymes, the acid in our stomach, and the bile secreted from our intestines play a role in helping protect us from having large amounts of those microbes that can bloom in the intestines, create toxins, and result in foodborne illness,” Holscher said.

While digestion also destroys some of the good bacteria found in fermented foods like yogurt, most probiotic bacteria survive the process.Holscher’s study found that adding a tablespoon of clover honey to a serving of yogurt helps boost probiotic survival in the gut. However, you can still get benefits from yogurt without adding honey.

Dolores Woods, RDN, LD, a registered dietitian with UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, said most people who regularly eat fermented foods don’t need to worry about the digestive process destroying the good bacteria.

“If you are eating it every day, or are just making sure you’re incorporating these foods, it’s going to help your gut regardless,” Woods told Verywell.

You May Soon See This Health Benefit Listed on Your Yogurt Container

Use Honey in Moderation

In addition to probiotics, yogurt is also a good source of calcium, protein, phosphorus, and B vitamins.Some studies have shown that consuming yogurt and other fermented milk products can protect against heart disease, osteoporosis, and diabetes.

If you want the health benefits of yogurt but don’t enjoy its taste, adding a small amount of honey along with fruit and nuts may help.

However, Holscher said to keep in mind that honey is an added sugar. TheDietary Guidelines for Americansrecommend limiting added sugars to less than 10% of the total daily caloric intake.

“A tablespoon of honey, which is what we studied, is around 64 calories, and the vast majority of that is sugar,” Holscher said. “Depending on how many calories you need each day, that could easily be at least a third of the added sugars you’d want to have in your diet.”

Woods said it’s better to add the honey yourself instead of buying honey-flavored yogurts, as those products may contain artificial sweeteners.

“I would avoid those and just stick to something that is plain, whether it’s a regular plain yogurt or a plain Greek yogurt, and then add the honey or fruit to flavor it. I think that’s a better way to go,” Woods said.

Study: Raw Honey May Improve Blood Sugar and Cholesterol Levels

What This Means For You

7 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Hadjimbei E, Botsaris G, Chrysostomou S.Beneficial effects of yoghurts and probiotic fermented milks and their functional food potential.Foods. 2022;11(17):2691. doi:10.3390/foods11172691Mysonhimer AR, Brown MD, Alvarado DA, et al.Honey added to yogurt withBifidobacterium animalissubsp.lactisDN-173 010/CNCM I-2494 supports probiotic enrichment but does not reduce intestinal transit time in healthy adults: a randomized, controlled, crossover trial.J Nutr. 2024;154(8):2396-2410. doi:10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.05.028Alvarado DA, Ibarra-Sánchez LA, Mysonhimer AR, et al.Honey varietals differentially impactBifidobacterium animalisssp.lactissurvivability in yogurt through simulated in vitro digestion.J Nutr. 2024;154(3):866-874. doi:10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.01.010Osbelt L, Almási ÉDH, Wende M, et al.Klebsiella oxytocainhibitsSalmonellainfection through multiple microbiota-context-dependent mechanisms.Nat Microbiol. 2024;9(7):1792-1811. doi:10.1038/s41564-024-01710-0Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.Yogurt.Hadjimbei E, Botsaris G, Chrysostomou S.Beneficial effects of yoghurts and probiotic fermented milks and their functional food potential.Foods. 2022;11(17):2691. doi:10.3390/foods11172691Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Get the facts: added sugars.

7 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Hadjimbei E, Botsaris G, Chrysostomou S.Beneficial effects of yoghurts and probiotic fermented milks and their functional food potential.Foods. 2022;11(17):2691. doi:10.3390/foods11172691Mysonhimer AR, Brown MD, Alvarado DA, et al.Honey added to yogurt withBifidobacterium animalissubsp.lactisDN-173 010/CNCM I-2494 supports probiotic enrichment but does not reduce intestinal transit time in healthy adults: a randomized, controlled, crossover trial.J Nutr. 2024;154(8):2396-2410. doi:10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.05.028Alvarado DA, Ibarra-Sánchez LA, Mysonhimer AR, et al.Honey varietals differentially impactBifidobacterium animalisssp.lactissurvivability in yogurt through simulated in vitro digestion.J Nutr. 2024;154(3):866-874. doi:10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.01.010Osbelt L, Almási ÉDH, Wende M, et al.Klebsiella oxytocainhibitsSalmonellainfection through multiple microbiota-context-dependent mechanisms.Nat Microbiol. 2024;9(7):1792-1811. doi:10.1038/s41564-024-01710-0Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.Yogurt.Hadjimbei E, Botsaris G, Chrysostomou S.Beneficial effects of yoghurts and probiotic fermented milks and their functional food potential.Foods. 2022;11(17):2691. doi:10.3390/foods11172691Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Get the facts: added sugars.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Hadjimbei E, Botsaris G, Chrysostomou S.Beneficial effects of yoghurts and probiotic fermented milks and their functional food potential.Foods. 2022;11(17):2691. doi:10.3390/foods11172691Mysonhimer AR, Brown MD, Alvarado DA, et al.Honey added to yogurt withBifidobacterium animalissubsp.lactisDN-173 010/CNCM I-2494 supports probiotic enrichment but does not reduce intestinal transit time in healthy adults: a randomized, controlled, crossover trial.J Nutr. 2024;154(8):2396-2410. doi:10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.05.028Alvarado DA, Ibarra-Sánchez LA, Mysonhimer AR, et al.Honey varietals differentially impactBifidobacterium animalisssp.lactissurvivability in yogurt through simulated in vitro digestion.J Nutr. 2024;154(3):866-874. doi:10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.01.010Osbelt L, Almási ÉDH, Wende M, et al.Klebsiella oxytocainhibitsSalmonellainfection through multiple microbiota-context-dependent mechanisms.Nat Microbiol. 2024;9(7):1792-1811. doi:10.1038/s41564-024-01710-0Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.Yogurt.Hadjimbei E, Botsaris G, Chrysostomou S.Beneficial effects of yoghurts and probiotic fermented milks and their functional food potential.Foods. 2022;11(17):2691. doi:10.3390/foods11172691Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Get the facts: added sugars.

Hadjimbei E, Botsaris G, Chrysostomou S.Beneficial effects of yoghurts and probiotic fermented milks and their functional food potential.Foods. 2022;11(17):2691. doi:10.3390/foods11172691

Mysonhimer AR, Brown MD, Alvarado DA, et al.Honey added to yogurt withBifidobacterium animalissubsp.lactisDN-173 010/CNCM I-2494 supports probiotic enrichment but does not reduce intestinal transit time in healthy adults: a randomized, controlled, crossover trial.J Nutr. 2024;154(8):2396-2410. doi:10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.05.028

Alvarado DA, Ibarra-Sánchez LA, Mysonhimer AR, et al.Honey varietals differentially impactBifidobacterium animalisssp.lactissurvivability in yogurt through simulated in vitro digestion.J Nutr. 2024;154(3):866-874. doi:10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.01.010

Osbelt L, Almási ÉDH, Wende M, et al.Klebsiella oxytocainhibitsSalmonellainfection through multiple microbiota-context-dependent mechanisms.Nat Microbiol. 2024;9(7):1792-1811. doi:10.1038/s41564-024-01710-0

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.Yogurt.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Get the facts: added sugars.

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