The Health Benefits Of Honey
Honey has been recognised for thousands of years as a cure for many common ailments. It is a miracle food with far-reaching merits: at once anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal.
13 Interesting Honey Facts:
- The flavour, colour and texture vary depending on the nectar from which it was made. The less processed the honey, the more nutrients it contains. It can be used in a variety of foods and drinks instead of sugar, but raw honey has the most health benefits.
- Raw honey straight from the comb contains traces of propolis–the substance bees use to seal the hive and protect it from harmful micro-organisms. Other so-called phytonutrients found in raw honey have been shown to help prevent colon cancer, and help internal ulcers to heal.
- A regular intake of honey is known to be beneficial for general well-being, and an aid to digestion.
- Honey has been shown to improve athletic performance, not only as a source of carbohydrate. This secret was even known by the ancient Olympians. It helps maintain blood-sugar, which in turn keeps energy consistent and aids muscle recovery.
- Honey would be quite at home in your medicine cabinet. It has been used as early as 700 BC to aid healing, and was an ingredient in over 900 Ancient Egyptian remedies. Used topically it helps to ward off infection and soothes inflammation. Honey’s healing properties have been shown even to speed up the healing of serious wounds caused by first-degree burns and surgical operations.
- Taken internally its anti-viral properties help support the immune system, warding off colds and flu.
- Its anti-bacterial properties have proven it superior to certain widely-used anti-biotics in treating infection.
- Its anti-fungal properties are even thought to inhibit Candida Albicans, and encourage the growth of healthy flora in the gut.
- Honey, especially dark honey, is rich in antioxidants, helping to combat free-radicals, thus improving cell and organ function.
- Eating honey made nearby may help reduce seasonal allergies, as it contains local pollen.
- Honey is a healthy alternative to sugar. In diabetes patients it has been shown to cause a lower rise in blood sugar than refined sugar. It also reduces cholesterol.
- Honey is a source of vitamin B2 (good for hair and nail growth, eyesight, and processing of food), vitamin B6 (good for skin, nerves and absorption of nutrients), iron (transports oxygen in the blood) and manganese (promotes enzyme function and muscle function).
- Honey should be stored in an air-tight container. If it is kept away from moisture it keeps almost indefinitely, in fact it is possibly the only food that does not spoil. Archaeologists in Egypt tasted honey sealed in the tombs of the ancient pharoahs and found it to be still edible!
This article would not be complete without paying homage to the noble bee, a small but highly civilised creature:
“Bee, my bee,
Your day and night
And your patience-industry
Have no respite.
Hard you endeavour
To bring nectar
From the core of your service-tree.
You always don
The robe of fruitful victory.”
- Sri Chinmoy
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February 20th, 2007 at 11:32 pm
In New Zealand, or “God’s Own” as we prefer to call it, we are very proud of our manuka honey, made from pollen collected from the native manuka bush.
Never shy to call a spade a vertical ground displacement device, scientists have isolated a unique component to manuka honey, called—and no I’m not making this up—“UMF,” or Unique Manuka Factor.
Before you scoff, as I already have, UMF is so called because after 20 years of investigation researchers are still no closer to knowing what exactly it is; however what they can tell is that it causes manuka honey to be uniquely effective against bacteria, fungi and protozoa—in fact nothing has been found among infectious organisms that it doesn’t work upon.
It is also used against antibiotic strains of bacteria, leg ulcers and pressure sores, wounds from radiation therapy, and to help healing in patients after surgery—a power of good from the humble little honey bee.
February 22nd, 2007 at 10:12 pm
Thanks for reminding me. I made a mental note to research this most magical amongst magical substances, but forgot all about it in the end.
I once bought it by mistake in my local health food store when I thought I was just buying a small jar of honey. As I did not think such a small jar would be outside my budget I failed to inspect the price tag, and indeed my weekly bill was somewhat alarming. In New Zealand perhaps it may be found in any common larder, but on a small island as far away as possible from the nearest manuka bush, a small jar costs about 20 times as much as jar of ordinary honey.
Partly because I was too embarrassed to take it back and explain, and partly due to my curiosity, I kept it, and eked it out, half a spoonful a day, with all due medicinal solemnity. Indeed I seemed to remain free from all ’infectious organisms‘.
February 22nd, 2007 at 11:15 pm
The manuka bush may be common in NZ, but munuka honey is priced anything but! Still though, more like 2 or 3 times the price here.
There are probably a bunch of farmers getting wealthy as we speak!