30 Research-based Health Benefits of Honey!

Honey is a sweet food made by bees by collecting nectar from flowers. The variety of honey produced by honey bees is collected by most of the beekeepers and consumed by people. Nectar is converted into honey by honeybees. It is done by process of regurgitation and evaporation and then it is stored as a primary food source in wax honeycombs inside the beehive.

Honey tastes sweet due to the presence of fructose and glucose in it. It tastes the same as granulated sugar. Its distinctive flavor and chemical properties make it more preferable than sugar.

Raw honey is being consumed from ancient times for its distinctive medicinal properties.

It contains natural antioxidants, vitamins, minerals that include vitamin B6, thiamin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, niacin, zinc, phosphorus, iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium.

Furthermore, honey also contains nutraceuticals that help neutralize damaging free radical activity.

Honey helps to maintain blood sugar levels, heals wounds, removes free radicals from the body, gives you beautiful skin, acts as an energy booster, aids in losing weight, a good substitute to sugar, immune booster, fights allergies and many more.

Nutritional Value of Honey

100 g of Organic/Raw Honey contains:

Health Benefits of Honey

1. Honey can be a great substitute for normal white sugar, which is better for your health in many drinks and foods. It contains approx. 69% of glucose and fructose. It can be used as a substitute for sugar in many food and drinks
2. Honey consumed with warm water helps in digesting the fat stored in the body. Though it has more calories than sugar, honey with lemon juice or cinnamon also helps in reducing weight. Want to Lose weight Naturally? Here is how Adele did it.
3. Studies show that honey acts as an excellent ergogenic aid and helps boost athletic performance. It helps to maintain blood sugar levels, muscle recovery, and glycogen restoration after a heavy workout. Moreover, it also regulates the amount of insulin in the body, as well as energy consumption.
4. Honey can attract water. This property makes honey beneficial for dry skin allowing to retain moisture. It is also safe for sensitive skin.
5. Consuming honey regularly in the morning can help improve your eyesight. Drinking honey mixed with the carrot juice is good for eyesight.
6. Honey due to its anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties has been used as a natural antiseptic from ancient times. There is a vital component in honey, glucose oxidase, enzyme that produces hydrogen peroxide. The production of hydrogen peroxide helps to kill bacteria and heal wounds.
7. The nutraceuticals in honey, are very effective in removing free radicals from the body. As a result, body immunity is improved and also decreases the risk of cancer or heart disease. Antioxidants encourage new tissue growth, helps to heal damaged tissue, and also makes skin look younger and radiant.
8. Honey helps to prevent hair loss and promote hair growth.
9. It is good for digestion. The anti-bacterial and anti-oxidant properties of honey help to food to get digested properly.
10. Honey is also good in treating chapped lips. Apply honey on your lips before sleeping and enjoy pink smooth lips.
11. It also works well for acne problems because of its antibacterial properties.
12. Honey is also rich in vitamins, minerals, which are wonderful beauty aids that help to nourish the skin.
13. Ringworm problems can be cured with honey. Apply or consume honey with turmeric to treat ringworms.
14. Honey also serves as a lotion for eyes. Honey with an equal quantity of warm water is a good lotion for conjunctivitis.
15. Honey is also a good food preservative. Replacing sugar with honey in cakes, help them stay fresh for long. This is due to the natural antibiotic property of honey that retains moisture.
16. Consuming honey daily aid calcium utilization and also prevents osteoporosis.
17. In Ayurveda honey has been used as a medication for problems of infertility. Drinking warm milk with honey is believed to increase the sperm count from level zero to fertility level.
18. Pure honey acts as a mild sexual stimulant since it contains substances such as zinc, Vitamin E, etc., which promotes reproductive health. Consuming a mixture of honey and garlic regularly at bed increases sexual stamina and pleasure.
19. Drinking lemon juice with a spoonful of honey is an effective anti-cellulite treatment. It helps to increase body metabolism. It is best to be consumed early morning.
20. Researches show that consuming the mixture of honey and cinnamon regularly in the morning on empty stomach is best suited for arthritic patients.
21. Honey is an excellent natural energy booster. It contains about 64 calories per tablespoon. Therefore, it is used by many people as a source of energy. The carbohydrates in it can be easily converted into glucose very easy for the body to digest this natural substance.
22. It also works to treat chronic bad breath. Honey mixed with cinnamon or vinegar serves best to eradicate bad breath.
23. Honey also helps to prevent acidity. The pH of honey is between 3.2 and 4.5. This relatively acidic pH level does not allow the bacteria to grow.
24. Honey is also a good remedy for toothaches. Drinking honey and vinegar or applying honey and cinnamon paste on the affected tooth may help in relieving pain.
25. Honey is also effective in treating stomach ulcers.
26. Honey also treats insomnia. Drink hot milk with a teaspoonful of honey added before sleep. It induces a calming effect and gives a night of better sleep.
27. Honey also improves intelligence. It has a calming effect on the brain which helps concentrate more and retain what studied.
28. The anti-inflammatory effect of honey, help to heal the wounds more quickly. Researches reveal that it also has different photochemical chemicals found in plants that kill bacteria and fungus, making it a natural wound healer.
29. Honey rehydrates the body and is effective in treating diarrhea, vomiting conditions.
30. Drinking honey with ginger lemon tea helps to get rid of colds and flu and builds a strong immune.

Tips to add honey in your daily diet

You can consume honey daily along with your green tea, lemon tea. You can also use it in any food dish where you want to discard sugar. Here are some tips where you can include it in your food recipes.

• An elegant dessert, adding honey to custard, making a honey flang. Let the custard cups stand in 1 inch of warm water for 3 to 5 minutes before unmolding. This gives you a perfect honey flang.
• You can add honey to your roasted spicy carrots. Adding honey to your salad makes it tastier than before.
• You can add honey to your cake to give it a lift. Fresh pineapple slices work perfectly here.
• Grilled salty spicy chicken does need garnishing of honey to be more delicious.
• Drinks, may it be mint lemonade, strawberry lemonade, ice tea, etc., honey fits perfect to enhance their taste.

Precautions

 Eating anything in excess always causes problems.

• Consuming honey more than 10 tbsp. daily can cause gastric problems
• Honey’s high fructose content, might interfere with your small intestine’s ability to absorb nutrients.
• Some people are allergic to honey or the pollen particles found inside it. This may cause those rashes, swelling, or may pose a problem in breathing.
• Always take advice from your doctor if you are under medication.