Honey contains a treasure chest of hidden nutritional and
medicinal value for centuries. The sweet golden liquid from
the beehive is a popular kitchen staple loaded with
antibacterial and antifungal properties that has been used
since the early days of Egyptian tombs.
Honey’s scientific super powers contribute to its vastly
touted health benefits for the whole body. The healthy
natural sweetener offers many nutritional benefits
depending on its variety. Raw honey is the unpasteurized
version of commonly used honey and only differs in its
filtration, which helps extend its shelf life. A tablespoon of
raw honey contains 64 calories, is fat-free, cholesterol-free,
and sodium-free, says the National Honey Board. Its
composition is roughly 80 percent carbohydrates, 18
percent water, and two percent vitamins, minerals, and
amino acids
Discover the health benefits of one of the oldest
sweeteners on earth, plus some interesting
trivia, some great recipes and a few cautions.
Bees swallow, digest and regurgitate nectar to
make honey; this nectar contains almost 600
compounds. We need our bees, so let’s do
everything we can to save them and keep them
here on this earth.
Honey is so good we have included it in our list
of powerfoods that should be in your kitchen
right now.
“My son, eat thou honey, for it is good” — King
Solomon – Proverbs: 24:13
Health Benefits:
1. Prevent cancer and heart disease:
Honey contains flavonoids, antioxidants which
help reduce the risk of some cancers and heart
disease.
2. Reduce ulcers and other gastrointestinal
disorders.
Recent research shows that honey treatment
may help disorders such as ulcers and bacterial
gastroenteritis. This may be related to the 3rd
benefit…
3. Anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-fungal:
“All honey is antibacterial, because the bees add
an enzyme that makes hydrogen peroxide,” said
Peter Molan, director of the Honey Research Unit
at the University of Waikato in New Zealand.
4. Increase athletic performance.
Ancient Olympic athletes would eat honey and
dried figs to enhance their performance. This has
now been verified with modern studies, showing
that it is superior in maintaining glycogen levels
and improving recovery time than other
sweeteners.
5. Reduce cough and throat irritation:
Honey helps with coughs, particularly buckwheat
honey. In a study of 110 children, a single dose of
buckwheat honey was just as effective as a single
dose of dextromethorphan in relieving nocturnal
cough and allowing proper sleep.
6. Balance the 5 elements:
Honey has been used in ayurvedic medicine in
India for at least 4000 years and is considered to
affect all three of the body’s primitive material
imbalances positively. It is also said to be useful
useful in improving eyesight, weight loss, curing
impotence and premature ejaculation, urinary
tract disorders, bronchial asthma, diarrhea, and
nausea.
Honey is referred as “Yogavahi” since it has a
quality of penetrating the deepest tissues of the
body. When honey is used with other herbal
preparations, it enhances the medicinal qualities
of those preparations and also helps them to
reach the deeper tissues.
7. Blood sugar regulation:
Even though honey contains simple sugars, it is
NOT the same as white sugar or artificial
sweeteners. Its exact combination of fructose
and glucose actually helps the body regulate
blood sugar levels. Some honeys have a low
hypoglycemic index, so they don’t jolt your blood
sugar.
8. Heal wounds and burns:
External application of honey has been shown to
be as effective as conventional treatment with
silver sulfadiazine. It is speculated that the drying
effect of the simple sugars and honey’s
antibacterial nature combine to create this effect.
9. Probiotic:
Some varieties of honey possess large amounts
of friendly bacteria. This includes up to 6 species
of lactobacilli and 4 species of bifidobacteria.
This may explain many of the “mysterious
therapeutic properties of honey.”
10. Beautiful skin:
Its anti-bacterial qualities are particularly useful
for the skin, and, when used with the other
ingredients, can also be moisturizing and
nourishing! For a powerful home beauty
treatment for which you probably have all the
ingredients in your kitchen already, read Carrot
Face Mask.
Different honeys have different flavonoid
profiles, depending on the floral source of the
nectar.
Types of Honey (most popular)
Alfalfa
Blueberry
Buckwheat
Clover
Manuka
Orange Blossom
Wildflower
There are at least 40 types – each one has
distinctive taste and unique properties.
Darker honey tends to have higher antioxidant
levels.
Monofloral honey (honey from a single plant
species) usually has the lowest glycemic index
(GI). For example, locust honey from the Black
Locust tree has a GI of 32. Clover honey, which is
used commercially, has the highest glycemic
index at 69.
Honey Suggestions:
If you want to get the goodness from your honey,
make sure it is pure and raw.
Raw honey contains vitamins, minerals and
enzymes not present in refined honey.
Honey Cautions:
Best not to feed to infants. Spores of
Clostridium botulinum have been found in a
small percentage of honey in North America.
This is not dangerous to adults and older
children, but infants can have a serious
reaction of illness in the first year. Do not add
honey to baby food or use as a soother to
quiet a fussy or colicky baby. Most
Honey is a sugar, so do not eat jars full of it if
you value your good health and want to
maintain a healthy weight. It has a high caloric
value and will put you on a sugar high and low.
To cook with honey or not: There is some
controversy about cooking with honey, although I
cannot substantiate it from all of my research
about honey.
“…when honey is heated above 108 degrees
Fahrenheit, it becomes transformed into a glue-
like substance that is extremely difficult to digest.
This substance is considered a toxin (ama), since
it adheres to the tissues of the body and is very
difficult to remove.” (quote from the Ayurveda
Wellness.
For your original honey in abuja call or whatsapp. Me on 08036659738 or 08053608252