Honey and Health ~ In an earlier blog, we discussed the health benefits of Manuka Honey from New Zealand. However, all honey has health benefits! And some of the best honey for you will be the honey coming from right next door.
Honey has been a healing tool since ancient times. Aristotle even wrote about the health benefits of honey in 300’s B.C. The ancient Egyptians used honey to treat wounds and the ancient Greeks believed honey could make the consumer live longer. Today modern scientists and healers have studied and continued to use honey as an anti-septic and anti-inflammatory instrument. Although more research is always being done, some of the following benefits of honey have been theorized:
- Honey is anti-bacterial, which makes it an especially good tool for wound care. Put honey on a cut or a burn to help stave off infection!
- Because of the soothing texture of honey, it can help to reduce cough and throat irritation. If you have a cough, take a spoonful of honey before bed to help relieve symptoms while you sleep.
- Some honeys do not spike the hypoglycemic index, making it a better sweetener alternative, especially for diabetics. Specifically tupelo and acacia honey.
- Honey is denser and sweeter than sugar, which means you need less of it to get the same amount of sweetness.
- Honey may reduce ulcers and help with other gastrointestinal disorders because of its anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties
- Honey has antioxidants which help to reduce heart disease
The number one health benefit people talk about when discussing honey is allergy reduction. Honey can help to reduce allergies, but there are a few important things to remember:
- Honey must be raw! This means that the honey is unpasteurized, and all the good stuff for you is still in there: vitamins, minerals, and most importantly pollen
- It’s gotta be local! In order to get allergy relief where you live, you need to make sure the honey is coming from near by. This is so the honey will expose you to the sources of your allergens.
- The honey should be seasonal, a spring honey for spring allergies, a fall honey for fall allergies.
- Wildflower is going to be the best bet for reducing allergies because it is going to expose you to the largest source of allergens.
It is also important to talk about the health benefits of pollen. Pollen, just like honey, helps to reduce allergies by introducing the source of allergies to your system until you build up a tolerance. But pollen is also a great source of protein! It can even give you an energy boost, making it great for a morning smoothie or yogurt.
So while scientific studies about honey may not be conclusive, we can safely conclude that honey not only tastes good, but it’s good for you too!
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