Honey - Nature’s Golden Gift
I have recently developed a very strong interest in honey and its acclaimed health and beauty benefits along with its variety of uses. I wanted to do some research into honey and why it is so potent with benefits in the first place and how can we diversify its uses in our life.
I believe we can all benefit from eating some honey, which is why I wanted to include various information on honey, starting from the basics - How its made.
I hope you enjoy this article on the topic of honey, which is part of a series I am doing on superfoods where I focus on a particular food or ingredient and discuss its health implications and other benefits it offers.
Happy reading <3
HOW IS HONEY MADE?
Almost of us know, honey is produced by honey bees which travel from flower to flower collecting sweet nectar from them with their long tube shaped tongue. Afterwards the nectar is stored inside their extra stomach during when it mixes with necessary enzymes which transform the nectars composition and pH that makes it more suitable fo long term storage.
Upon returning to the bee hive, the nectar is passed from one bee to another after which the nectar is finally deposited into a honeycomb for storage.
During this stage, the nectar is still more of a liquid than normal honey is, so in order to get additional water out of the nectar, the bees fan it with the flapping of their wings which causes water to start evaporating from it.
Once most of the water has been removed, the nectar is much thicker now and the bees can finally seal the honey comb by using a substance secreted from their abdomen, which eventually hardens into what we know as beeswax.
In this way honey can be stored as a food source for bees for months and even years. Other bee product include bee pollen, bee venom and royal jelly, which are not to be confused with honey
NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION
In terms of what honey is made of, it is mainly sugars (fructose and glucose) and water.
Apart form that, honey is also known to contain several different kinds of vitamins (B vitamins) and minerals (Sodium, potassium and magnesium).
Alongside that you can also find amino acids, antibiotic rich complexes, antioxidants and other micronutrients in smaller amounts.
PROPERTIES OF HONEY
Antioxidant:
This property is due to honey containing compounds called inhibins which together with glucose oxidase found in honey, give it its antioxidant effects that fight against free radicals. Int this way honey can have anti-aging effects.
Antibacterial
Raw honey is able to fight off bacteria due to the following two properties. First, honey is hydroscopic meaning that is attracts water which means that when it comes in contact with bacteria it attracts all of the water and dehydrates the bacteria. Secondly, honey is slightly acidic, making it unsuitable for some bacteria to survive.
Antiseptic and anti-inflammatory
Honey has been used to centuries to heal infected wounds and small burns on the skin, by topical (skin) application
Hydrating
This can help with moisturizing our skin, body and hair, as is often the case with beauty products that contain honey.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF HONEY
Effective treatment for colds:
Although colds itself are causes by viral infections, honey itself will not be able to cure the actual cold, however it can certainly help with treating some of the symptoms of a sore throat, coughs and any stuffiness that comes with having a cold.
The way in which honey functions in helping to soothe a sore throat is by coating our mucous membranes with a thick and sticky covering which prevents dryness.
Mixing honey with lemon juice or cinnamon, or just putting honey into your tea can also help with mitigating the negative symptoms.
Stronger immunity
Honey is known to strengthen your immune system because of its high antioxidant amount, with which it is able to reduce oxidative stress in our bodies (a condition that results when your antioxidant levels are low) by neutralizing free radicals, which are species that are unstable and accept electrons from antioxidant species to become stable again.
In this way we prevent too high levels of oxidative stress to occur which overtime damage out cells and DNA.
As a side note, the darker the color of the honey, the higher the antioxidant amount.
Apart from that, consumption of honey also stimulates the production of white blood cells (specifically T-Lymphocytes and B-Lymphocytes) that helps strength our immune response
You can read more about how to strengthen your immune system here
Faster wound healing
Raw honey is known to contain small amounts of the enzyme glucose oxidase which under the right circumstances is able to convert into hydrogen peroxide which is a disinfectant. In order for glucose oxidase to be converted into hydrogen peroxide, water and sodium need to be present, which are naturally found in our bodily fluids.
So when we apply honey onto a wound, the glucose oxidase is converted into hydrogen peroxide which disinfects the wound, as long as water and sodium are present in the surroundings
Improved digestion:
There is more a more research coming out that is showing that honey has a positive affect on our digestion and in the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases.
A possible explanation for this is that honey may act as a prebiotic (not probiotic), where prebiotics are plant fibres that nourish the growth of good bacteria in our gut. In this way, the more diverse our gut flora is, the better our digestion and wellbeing.
If you are interested, you can find more information about your gut health in this article
Helps with better sleep:
There is some evidence that suggests that eating a spoon of honey before bed can actually calm you down more and improve your sleep quality.
One explanation is that honey helps your body with releasing the sleep hormone melatonin. Another explanation is that our brain needs a steady supply of glycogen (made of glucose molecules) as fuel, where glycogen is produced by our liver when we have some excess glucose in our blood stream. In this way, a spoon of honey can stimulate our liver into synthesizing glycogen and making sure we sleep in one sold piece during the night.
Brain benefits
There has been some evidence suggesting that honey could act as a antidepressant while also offering anti anxiety affects.
Furthermore, some studies showed a link between honey consumption and improvement of memory disorders, especially in menopausal women.
USES OF HONEY
Here is a list of some of the diseases that honey can help with curing:
Eye diseases
Throat infections
Bronchial asthma
Tuberculosis
Dizziness
Fatigue
Hepatitis
Constipation
Eczema
Wound healing
On the other hand, honey has started to be incorporated more and more commonly into cosmetic products such as skincare and hair care products, where honey provides essential nutrients, moisture and calming properties to the skin.
Honey is also being researched fro its potential effects of slowing down aging through its high antioxidant content, which is once again interesting for cosmetics brands.
PRESERVATION AND CONSERVATION OF HONEY
Don't store in the fridge
Honey does not go bad
Look for natural and “raw” honeys and stores
It is natural for honey to crystalize over time
Overall, a spoon or so of raw honey per day can be an amazing addition to your diet and for your general health. We have discussed everything from the initial stages of how honey is made and all the way to its amazing health prospering properties and the benefits it can gift us with.
I hope this inspired you to include a little bit more of this natures golden gift into your overall diet and give your life a little bit of extra sweetness.
Thanks for reading.
