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.
(Watch this video Sweetener Comparison where I compare stevia, brown
rice syrup, honey, molasses and agave, and discuss the strengths and
weaknesses of each.)
8. Heal
wounds and burns:
External
application of honey has been shown to be as effective as conventional
treatment with silver sulfadiazene. It is speculated that the drying effect of
the simple sugars and honey’s anti-bacterial 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.
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