About Honey and its Health Benefits

Honey is a complete food that has a very sweet taste, and not just that, it contains a lot of nutrients including minerals and several plant compounds that provides the body with the vital nutrients it needs to function effectively.

 

The health benefits of Honey which makes it a complete food are discussed below:

1. Restrain Persistent Cough

Honey has been proven as a great remedy to a stubborn cough both in adults and children. It can be taken alone in its raw natural form or mixed with some additives like bitter kola, garlic or ginger to quicken the reactions

A research conducted showed that honey is highly effective in treating night cough and as well as improve sleep quality in children (from 1 year and above) as well as adults. 

Honey also improves sleep far better than some cough medicines. Taking just one tablespoon of honey can help to suppress nocturnal coughs in children and adults as well as reduce irritation in the throat.

 

2. Good for Heart Health

Some persons like honey just because of its sweetness, ignoring some advantages it adds to general health and the total well being of man.

Honey contains some antioxidant properties which are beneficial to heart health. The presence of antioxidant compounds and phenols in honey help to reduce inflammation which is associated with heart diseases.

On an additional note, honey helps improve the flow of blood in the arteries of the human heart and as well to widens the arteries for proper flowing of blood to all parts of the heart to avoid the result of heart failure.

 

3. Control Blood Pressure

Studies have shown that honey is very effective in controlling high blood pressure. Such as the research made by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention on 67 million adults who were diagnosed with hypertension which proved that honey has a beneficial effect in controlling high blood pressure.

Honey has a calming effect on the blood vessel and this effect helps to reduce high blood pressure when consumed moderately or used as part of the daily meal.

 

4. Contains Essential Nutrients

Honey contains a list of important nutrients in the right amounts which are vital for good and healthy living. The science-based nutrition data for honey shows that one spoon of honey contains 17g of sugar which half out of it is fructose, glucose, calories, sucrose in relative quantity and 64 grams of calories.

Also, it contains a trace amount of minerals and vitamins. This composition shows that honey has good nutrition; meaning that the body can get the essential nutrients required to work its best through honey consumption.

 

5. Controls Cholesterol  

Several research works have proved that honey has a good effect on the regulation of blood sugar and other diseases and risk factors associated with the blood.

The result from the studies showed that honey totally reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL- bad cholesterol) in the blood and on the other hand improves the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) which is the good cholesterol.

 

 6. Efficient for Weight Loss

As we all know that honey contains a good amount of sugar but not in any way redefined. Just as consuming white sugar leads to no health benefits with clear definitions except weight loss, honey also contributes when trying to lose weight.

Honey is one of the healthiest foods for weight loss. One of the major benefits of honey mostly applies to weight loss as it helps in activating hormones that restrain the craving for food and prevents weight gain.

Adding two tablespoons of honey to a glass of warm water is one of the simplest and effective weight loss programs some persons may not be aware of. Another way of using honey as a weight loss diet is by mixing it with cinnamon or lemon juice. 

 

7. Effective in Wound Healing

There are some antifungal and antibacterial properties contained in honey that make it effective in healing wounds and burns on the skin.

Also, the antioxidants help antibacterial & antifungal properties in honey to heal partial thickness injuries especially the once infected after surgical operations and other wounds sustained on other parts of the body.

Recent studies reported many successful trials of using honey to heal wounds of diabetic patients, other skin conditions relating to lesions and generally in managing chronic wounds and combating infections.

 

8. Smoothens The Skin & Face

Honey is a natural antibacterial that is also full of antioxidants that helps in smoothening the skin as well as treats acne.

It is used as a face mask to keep the face smooth and soft. To do this; soak a small piece of neat cloth in warm water then dab it onto your face for some seconds then get a little quantity of honey and rub on your face gently. Leave it for 10 minutes before rinsing it off.

It is most effective in the morning and before retiring to bed at night. This method gives the face a beautiful and smooth appearance by opening the pores on the skin and reducing some aging effects drastically.

Honey has amazing benefits not just on the face but on the skin generally. Just as the liquid is viscous and smooth when touched, the same way it beautifies the skin and maintains the moisture level of the skin (moisturizes dry skin) and removes wrinkles.

 

 9. Lowers Blood Fat

Honey contributes to lowering a high level of blood fat known as triglycerides. Triglycerides are calories not needed by the body which it then converts as fat in the blood that helps to supply energy in the body. When the body has an excess of this fat than required, it is stored in several places until when the body needs them.

These fatty acids can cause heart diseases when they are used to replace sugar and stored in large quantities in the body. Honey consumption does well in lowering the excessive storage of triglycerides in the body to avoid the risk of heart-related illnesses.

 

10. Treat Sleepless Night

Taking raw honey help people who always find it difficult to sleep well at night to sleep better and awesome. Honey is a very good remedy for insomnia but many people have no clue about this.

Two tablespoons of honey at night taken in its natural raw form can treat sleepless night and help you sleep like a newborn baby.

Another way you can use it is by adding it to your hot tea or similarly, taking honey-made recipes or beverage drinks that have good content of honey can go a long way to perform the same action on sleep as raw honey itself.

 

11. Improves Mental health

Some physical stress such as metabolic stress is known to affect the brain health of humans. Honey has proven its effect on preventing metabolic stress and calming the brain due to the presence of some therapeutic properties contained in it.

Honey has since the ancient been working to boost the brain function and helps fight depressions which causes brain psychological stress.

 

 12. Strengthens the Immune System

Original quality honey is considered the power source of antioxidants which helps terminate free radicals in the human body.

These properties of antioxidants and antibacterial contribute to the enhancement of the digestive system as well as strengthen the immune system.

 

13. Source of Natural Energy

High-quality tropical honey is a very good and natural source of energy because it contains high calories and sugar in unprocessed form.

This unprocessed sugar enters directly into the bloodstream when honey is been consumed in moderate quantity to boost your energy.

Honey is produced from sugar secretion from bees and other related insects. It does not pass through any radiation treatment such as pasteurization. Always raw in its natural form, safe for consumption while maintaining its nutrients that offer varieties of benefits to health.

 

Medicinal Benefits

Generally, honey is used in many food products and as medicine that can be used to treat several health issues such as diarrhea and vomiting in children when added to a solution.

Dating back to the olden days, honey has been used as medicine and in making healthy recipes as well it is used in foods. Honey is 100% healthy when used either in food or consumed alone in its raw form because its sugar & calories contents are natural

 

How to Identify Original Honey

You may wonder why I emphasized, "original honey" or "high quality" in this write-up.

Yes, there is fake honey in the market mixed with syrup and processed sugar. So always be careful when buying your honey.

Original or high-quality honey is believed to attract bees wherever it is left open. While buying your honey from anywhere, open to test the viscosity and then drop some quantity on the ground to see if it attracts some honey bees.

Another effective method is to drop a small amount of honey in a glass of water, if it settles on the bottom that it is original but if it dissolves, then it is adulterated.

 

Is honey good for you?

Honey is generally good for everyone, the sweetness of honey alone added to the nutritional contents that provide some benefits to health and lifestyle make it one of the foods not to be missed in yoour daily diet. 

 

Is it good to take honey on a daily basis?

It is good but the quantity should not exceed six table spoons full. But if you have already consumed sugar in other forms such as in carbohydrate foods or processed sugar the quantity should not be up to 6 spoons.

 

Uses of Honey

Honey has versatile uses. Among the ones that are already mentioned above, honey can be added to cereals and hot tea for breakfast. It serves as a sweetener in many food recipes, foods and drinks also used in making some energy beverages.

Many people prefer honey in its raw form that when used in recipes or drinks because, in a raw form, honey contains antioxidants known as a phenolic compound, phytonutrients, antifungal and antibacterial properties which are beneficial to overall health.

 

Nutritional Values of Honey

Honey has many nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, sugar, glucose, fructose, various antioxidants which the value are composed as shown in the table below: 

 

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)                                                                                                                              

 

Side Effect

Just as anything good can turn to bad when abused so is honey. When honey is consumed in excess, it can cause weakness which may result in a prolonged sleep. Aside from this, there is no other proven side effect associated with excess honey.

 

Conclusion

Its health benefits are not limited to helping to restrain persistent cough, improves heart health, controls the body cholesterol, helps in healing burns and wounds, lowering blood fats (triglycerides), helps to take care of sleepless night, improves mental health, strengthens the immune system and serves as a natural energy source of energy.