20 Health Benefits of Honey You Might Not Know
Honey, one of the oldest sweeteners available on Earth, comes with so many health benefits that you might not be even aware about all. Honey is the ultimate powerhouse available just right there in your kitchen and can do wonders to improve your lifestyle for good.
Honey is an amalgamation of sugars made by honey bees from nectar, which is made from flowers and plants. Its various properties make it suitable for many natural remedies, accepted worldwide.
You might have heard people or the close ones talking about various benefits of manuka honey. Be it, adding it in food for flavours or applying it on the face for glowing skin. Howbeit, believing the same without concrete results can be difficult.
We are arming you with the 20 health benefits of honey that you might not be aware about in order to make you believe its real worth.
#1 Reducing Ulcers
Honey is blessed with its remedial powers as it helps in curing a lot of health problems in day-to-day life. Presence of glucose oxidase, an enzyme present in honey helps in the production of hydrogen peroxide, which kills the bacteria that help in the development of ulcers.
At times, local honey is used more often to cure ulcers as that are proved to be more effective. For instance, in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Russia, local honey is more preferred.
Starting from two tablespoons, you should reduce the usage to one tablespoon a day, when the ulcers are getting reduced and are providing you with the visible results.
Along with glucose oxidase, honey also has antibacterial floral substances which help in excluding bacteria and reducing the problem of ulcers.
#2 For Curing Throat Infection And Cough Problem
A sore throat or any kind of throat infection becomes a problem for many, irrespective of the weather. It can be really painful and can last for days. However, just having one to two tablespoons of honey can make the nightmare of coughing whole night stow away.
A study has also shown or rather compared the effectiveness of honey with dextromethorphan, a cough suppressant which is used commonly and widely. Howbeit, honey is cheaper than the same and easily available as well. Thus, you should definitely give it a try.
Instead of trying to suppress a cough, which is not a good idea as it helps in clearing mucus from the airway, honey should be tried to cure it naturally.
Along with the mentioned above, there are different variants for reducing the problem. Some of them can be:
- Try adding honey to lemon water, which further soothes the throat.
- Add honey to a glass of milk to make you throat feel relaxed.
- Combination of apple cider vinegar (ACV) and honey in warm water is really helpful. If don’t like to drink it, you can gargle with the same.
- Adding ginger to honey helps in soothing the throat.
So, next time, instead of trying to sleep with a bad cough, try using the favoring natural help, honey.
#3 Regulating Blood Sugar
We might feel dubious thinking if honey can help in regulating blood sugar as honey itself is one of the natural sweeteners. Embracing all the doubts, honey has proven to be suitable for this job as well.
Honey’s power of balancing fructose and glucose helps in regulating blood sugar. When we intake honey, fructose allows glucose to be taken in by liver in order to form glycogen.
Low hypoglycemic index in some types of honey don’t startle blood sugar. Inclusion of a starchy fiber, dextrin in honey helps in further regulating the blood sugar.
Thus, honey comes out to be one of the best natural remedies for keeping the blood sugar level normalized.
#4 For Healing Wounds and Burns
Use of honey to heal wounds and burns is accepted worldwide. See it as a traditional way of curing the same or the scientific research, stating its use up to 5.5% across the world for healing wounds and burns definitely helps us in believing this fact with all faith.
Manuka honey has been accepted as a wound healer since long and it is still considered for the same due to its effectiveness and dependability. Honey has different types and depending upon those, its effectiveness for healing a wound can vary.
For example, in most of the types, activity or ability of being a healer for the wounds is due to the presence of hydrogen peroxide. Manuka, a type of honey, has activated methylglyoxal which makes it suitable for inhibiting the growth of bacteria.
Manuka honey has the ability to be diluted with other wound healers without losing its property of preventing the growth of bacteria. Thus, it is considered to be one of the best types of honey to be used in various benefits.
#5 For Managing Weight
Where sugar only comes with the sweetening effect, honey tags along essential vitamins and minerals as well, making it healthy for individuals. Refined sugar only contains empty calories, thus, comes with no benefit but just the sweetening taste.
Honey, being known as the mobilizing factor of stored fat, makes it a good to use for people who are overweight or need to maintain their body weight.
Now, either add it with the lime or cinnamon, it’s your choice. Added honey in different ways can help you to reduce weight. You can kick start your day with the lemon water squeezed along with some honey in it.
Honey helps in reducing cardiovascular strain and raises the level of good cholesterol in the body. You can have one tablespoon of honey along with warm water as well to see the visible results in your body.
Thus, now kickstart your mornings with lemons squeezed in honey to make you feel refreshed along with the benefit of losing weight. Overall, honey comes out to be one of the best ingredients or say, natural remedies, when it is about losing excess body fat.
#6 Use Against Allergies
It is said that local honey can help you prevent allergies caused from local pollens. Pollen, a powder like substance helps the plants to reproduce and it can cause allergies to many. It happens usually from February to September.
Honey contains local pollens. Thus, the intake of honey makes you feel less sensitive to allergies and is just like taking allergy shots. It is also said that honey intake in a heavy dose or for longer time can help in reducing allergy symptoms.
Having said the above, it is also recommended to consume honey in some specific amount as it does not guarantee the amount of pollen in it. Along with that, it is not advisable to give honey to children who are under 1 to 2 years of age.
So, embracing all, it is definitely a worth try to reduce the problem.
#7 Honey As An Energy Source
Stored carbohydrates are very crucial for athletes to keep going. Carbohydrates found in diet help in maintaining muscle glycogen. Honey being a good source of carbohydrates, becomes one of the important food items to boost up the energy level.
Honey taken before the work out provides a continuous flow of carbohydrates and hence promises energy throughout the work out time. Also, the intake of honey during work outs help in nourishing the muscles and reducing fatigue.
One of the benefits of honey also talks about reducing muscle soreness after workout. You can combine honey with post workout supplements as well as it is beneficial in muscle recuperation.
Thus, honey being rich in carbohydrates due to the amount of fructose and glucose content makes it a powerful natural energy snack.
#8 A Powerful Antioxidant
Enriched with good amount of polyphenols, honey is considered to be one of the most powerful antioxidants. Polyphenols are also found in veggies, tea and olive oil and are considered to be beneficial for human body.
Free radicals, the reactive compounds formed during metabolic functions are reduced by this sweetest dose of antioxidants, honey. Antioxidants stop the formation of free radicals and hence, antioxidants are proved to be necessary for human body.
A research has also compared the use of honey as an antioxidant with fruits and vegetables. Along with that, a type of honey: Manuka is considered to have high antibacterial strength. Thus, overall, considering all the facts, honey excels in this zone as well.
#9 For Preventing Cancer
These days, there are numerous studies which focus on the natural ways to prevent cancer and cancer-causing agents. Honey has been considered as one of the best natural cure for cancer and the extensive research is still on for the same.
Honey involves various favorable sugars, phenolic acids, amino acids, proteins, flavonoids and other beneficial compounds which add on to the antioxidant properties of honey. Honey, carrying these antioxidants, is considered to prevent cancer as the free radicals and oxidative stress help in preventing the formation of cancer.
Thus, overall, honey is useful in preventing different types of cancer and comes out as a beneficial natural remedy to many diseases.
#10 For Curing Heart Diseases
Manuka is known for curing heart diseases in a natural way. Being a natural antioxidant, honey helps in improving the level of antioxidants in the human blood. It also lowers the oxidation of bad LDL cholesterol.
Bad LDL cholesterols cause heart attacks and strokes. Honey is known as their enemy and prevents the strokes. Thus, a teaspoon of this honeybee nectar can be really beneficial for the human body to prevent diseases, even the diseases like heart attacks and different kind of cancer can be prevented.
#11 Curing Digestion Problems
Use of honey might be one of the commonly known tricks of curing digestion problems. Honey when added in lemon and tea can help in good digestion and can help in curing digestion problems.
Honey and lemon when combined together, perform a wonderful job, especially when it comes to digestion. Honey is beneficial for gastrointestinal system and can prevent digestion problems.
Digestion problems can lead to abdominal pain or irritable bowels and can result in ulcers as well. Howbeit, honey helps to reduce such problems and helps the digestive tract as whole.
#12 For a Good RBC and WBC count
Be it a skin problem or an internal human body deficiency, a spoonful of honey every day can do wonders with your body. Another benefit of honey is the increase in RBC and WBC count.
That does not mean that it will leave you with side-effects. Honey is used to balance the RBC and WBC count and provides immunity from various diseases.
Along with that, honey is also useful in reducing blood cholesterol. It is said that if a person takes 100g of raw honey in a month, the blood cholesterol can be reduced adequately.
Honey normalizes the number of white blood cells (leukocytes) and helps in increasing the number of red blood cells and Hemoglobin in blood. Thus, overall, honey is helpful in balancing the number of RBC and WBC instead of increasing above the required or decreasing below the threshold, making it suitable for daily intake.
#13 For Glowing Skin
You must be aware about this renowned benefit of honey. Honey is really helpful when it comes to providing the best to your skin. Be it sensitive skin or dry, honey has many antiseptic aspects, which are best for glowing skin.https://www.youtube.com/embed/0EeNfHT8FxE?rel=1&modestbranding=0&controls=1&showinfo=1&fs=1&wmode=transparent
Honey helps in locking in the moisture of the skin and firms the skin as well. Patchy or dry skin can be healed by using honey in various ways. There are different ways in which honey can be used to get you glowing skin.
It is you who has to decide the way of using honey in your daily beauty skin regime depending upon the skin type. Honey used in various fruits can help in providing instant glow, whereas, honey mixed in milk and its products can provide a lot of moisture and can act as a bless for people with dry skin.
Sugar, being known for its power of removing dead skin, when mixed with honey can do wonders in removing the dead skin in the best possible way. You should apply the mixture on the lips as well to remove the dry and dead skin and to leave them soft and smooth.
- Lemon and honey mask
- Honey and papaya mask
- Sugar and honey scrub
- Honey and rose water
- Honey and milk cream
Thus, you can opt for any of these mixtures to help your skin get a lasting glow.
#14 For Scalp Infections
If you are looking for a permanent solution for curing embarrassing scalp condition, then honey is a must-go for you. Where most of the products just talk about the cure, but do not provide you with the same, honey shows the results after few applications only.
Seborrheic dermatitis is a skin problem which directly infects the scalp. In Seborrheic dermatitis, the scalp generally gets itchy and the skin gets red with never ending dandruff. As per the researchers, crude honey is a bless to cure this disorder.
In a research program, it was found that after application of honey for few weeks, it did wonders and helped the patients to get rid of the infection. Where skin lesions were cured in 2 weeks, the itching was cured within the period of 1 week only.
Overall, honey is really helpful when it comes to curing scalp infections or if your scalp is itchy or full of dandruff.
#15 For a Good Sleep
Honey and a relaxed sleep may sound like synonyms to many, who have personally experienced the benefits of honey in their day to day life. You might think that sleep for hours will make you feel refreshed, howbeit, it all depends on the quality of sleep.
All you need is to mix honey and Himalayan salt and take it before sleeping to wake up after a sound sleep.
When you intake honey before sleeping, it helps in supply of glycogen to the liver, which further helps in detoxification of liver. Along with that, honey also helps in hormone regulation during sleep. Thus, altogether, when you wake up, you feel more relaxed and refreshed.
#16 Help In Strengthening Immune System
You might not be aware about this miraculous benefit of honey intake, when it comes to creating immunity from various diseases. As discussed earlier, it provides immunity against various major diseases like cancer. Not only this, honey helps in fighting against many other chronic diseases.
Overall, honey comes out as a strong immune system booster because of its various antibacterial and antioxidant properties. Drinking honey mixed with lemon water in the morning can help you in witnessing the health benefits of honey.
#17 Balances 5 Elements
The belief, from ancient times, says that the world is divided into five elements, which are: water, fire, wood, metal and Earth and in body, the most important 5 parts are: heart, lungs, kidneys, liver and stomach.
It is important to keep a balance between all the vital parts and honey helps in this aspect as well. Honey is helpful in curing eyesight, weight loss, curing impotence, curing diarrhoea or other urinary problems.
Honey has also been considered as ‘YOGAVAHI’ due its property of reaching deepest tissue of the body. It has also been used in Ayurvedic medicines since 4000 years due to its balancing and remedial properties.
#18 Honey: A Prebiotic
Probiotic substances incorporate micro-organisms that help in raising the levels of bacteria in the intestines. However, honey is not a probiotic, but a prebiotic substance, which helps in digestion by affecting the bacteria present in gastrointestinal system.
Your intestines have noninfectious bacteria, which help in regulating the immune system and eventually help in digestion. Having said that, honey acts as an ultimate prebiotic and provides a lot of help to your digestive system.
#19 Honey As A Syrup in Cooking
From promoting surface browning to enhancing sweet flavour in the food, honey comes out as a delicious ingredient in variety of cuisines.
Honey is considered to be twice as sweet as sugar, thus, it is considered as a good alternative for sugar in many cuisines.
You can also neutralize honey’s acidity by mixing it with baking soda. For example, if you take one cup of honey, then 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda is enough to neutralize the acidity.
Along with that, honey batter becomes more crisp in less span of time than sugar batter. Also, it gives browning effect quite easily and quickly without spoiling the taste in any way.
#20 For Stress Relief
Stress and strain are the factors that induce skin ageing. You can reduce the stress on your face by using a stress mask. Honey provides instant relief from stress.
You can prepare a skin mask yourself while using honey as a natural mask. It is the main ingredient of the mask.
The great thing about this mask is that it is very inexpensive. It calms the person down and reduces nervousness.
The nutrients present in honey produce a calming effect and so, make it an essential part of your breakfast and the beverage right before you sleep. Instead of intaking soft drinks, incorporate honey-water mixture in your diet.
To reduce stress by using honey mask, apply a layer of honey on your face and lie down comfortably. Relax and keep the honey mask on your skin for about 15 minutes. Remove the mask with luke warm water.
The glucose present in the honey is a stimulator for bloodstream. This in turn helps in reducing tiredness.
The Final Say
Embracing all the points mentioned above, honey comes out as an ultimate help to not only the internal, but also the external parts of the human body. From its ability to heal wounds to its delicious use in cooking, honey is one of the best found which is used in every house these days.
Just keeping this powerful product in your kitchen and using it on daily basis can do wonders and in the best possible way.
