Honey contains a few percent of "misformed" — not joined by the usual 1,4-saccharide linkage — disaccharides and oligosaccharides such as nigerose, kojibiose, etc. These likely persist into the large intestine and affect the balance of intestinal flora. Another significant (0.5-1%) component is gluconic acid, which supports mineral absorption. But translating these into anti-diabetic activities still requires some, er, creative thinking. There are also very small amounts of polyphenols — "antioxidants" — which are believed to affect insulin signaling, but these are present in other foods as well and no particularly strong candidate has been found to show an effect.

More obviously, honey is buffered at pH 4 (maybe due to 0.05% potassium content), which is roughly optimal for human tastes, and sweeter than sugar on a dry-weight basis (due to fructose). So, use less, etc.

> it's entirely possible that natural honey contains some organic chemical that increases metabolism in humans.

Not sure about honey, but this is true for figs. Since humans co-evolved with figs and our ancestors have likely been eating them for tens of millions of years, they don't spike your blood sugar as much as their sugar content would suggest on its own. (The book Gods, Wasps and Stranglers talks extensively about how humans likely co-evolved with figs.)

Honey is acidic. I think that the main problem in the western diet is that we don't balance sugar and starch with enough spices, hot stuff or acid.