THE AMAZING HONEY

                               

My son, eat thou honey, for it is good” — King Solomon – Proverbs: 24:13

 
Bees swallow, digest and regurgitate nectar to make honey; this nectar contains almost 600 compounds.
 Honey contains a treasure chest of hidden nutritional and medicinal value for centuries. The sweet golden liquid from the beehive is a popular kitchen staple loaded with antibacterial and antifungal properties that has been used since the early days of Egyptian tombs.
 Honey is of one of the oldest sweeteners on earth. It is a power food  that should be in your kitchen right now. Honey’s scientific super powers contribute to its vastly touted health benefits for the whole body. The healthy natural sweetener offers many nutritional benefits depending on its variety.

 Raw honey is the unpasteurized version of commonly used honey and only differs in its filtration, which helps extend its shelf life. A tablespoon of raw honey contains 64 calories, is fat-free, cholesterol-free, and sodium-free, says the National Honey Board . Its composition is roughly 80 percent carbohydrates, 18 percent water, and two percent vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. Typically, honey is sweet but can be cruel to infants. Spores of
Clostridium botulinum bacteria — found in dirt and dust, which can contaminate honey — may lead to infant botulism and produce a toxin inside the body that can cause muscle weakness and breathing problems. The Mayo Clinic recommends waiting until after 12 months of age to give infants honey; consumption is safe for older adults and kids, since they have a mature digestive system that can handle the spores. Consume honey responsibly and reap the numerous health benefits of this liquid gold.
 POPULAR HONEY TYPES.
There are at least 40 types – each one has distinctive taste and unique properties.
Darker honey tends to have higher antioxidant levels.
Monofloral honey (honey from a single plant species) usually has the lowest.
 Clover honey, which is used commercially, has the highest glycemic.
a. Alfalfa
b. Blueberry
c. Buckwheat
d. Clover e.
e. Minooka
f. Orange Blossom
g. Wildflower
 Clover honey, which is used commercially, has the highest glycemic.
Honey Suggestions:
If you want to get the goodness from your honey, make sure it is pure and raw.
Raw honey contains vitamins, minerals and enzymes not present in refined honey.
BENEFITS OF HONEY
1. NATURAL ENERGY DRINK
Honey is an excellent source of all-natural energy at just 17 grams of carbohydrates per tablespoon. This natural unprocessed sugar — fructose and glucose — directly enter the bloodstream and can deliver a quick boost of energy. The rise in blood sugar acts as a short-term energy source for your workout, especially in longer endurance exercises.
2. ALLEVIATES ALLERGIES
"A common theory is that honey acts like a natural vaccine." It contains small amounts of pollen, which if the body is exposed to small amounts of it, it can trigger an immune response that produces antibodies to the pollen. "After repeated exposure, you should build up these antibodies and the body should become accustomed to their presence so that less histamine is released, resulting in a lesser allergic response."
Honey has an anti-inflammatory effects and its ability to soothe coughs has led to the belief that it can also reduce seasonal allergy.
 3. COUGH SUPPRESSANT
Honey can be the all-natural cure when it comes to pesky colds. A persistent cough that won’t go away can easily be remedied with two teaspoons of honey.
The golden liquid’s thick consistency helps coat the throat while the sweet taste is believed to trigger nerve endings that protect the throat from incessant coughing. Honey is believed to be as effective as the common cough suppressant ingredient dextromethorphan. It can be used in treating upper respiratory tract infections.
4. TREATS WOUNDS AND BURNS: Honey is a natural antibiotic that can act both internally and externally. It can be used as a conventional treatment for wounds and burns by disinfecting wounds and sores from major species of bacteria such as methicillin resist.
5.BOOSTS MEMORY: The sweet nectar is loaded with antioxidants that may help prevent cellular damage and loss within the brain ability to help the body absorb calcium, according to Brennecke, helps aid brain health.
 The brain needs calcium in order to process thought and make decisions.
 6.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! Use Honey for a face mask. It is a . Heal wounds and burns:
External application of honey has been shown to be as effective as conventional treatment with silver sulfadiazine. It is speculated that the drying effect of the simple sugars and honey’s antibacterial 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 bifid bacteria. This may explain many of the “mysterious therapeutic properties of honey.”
7. SLEEP AID
Honey can be a health aid for sleepless nights. Similar to sugar, honey can cause a rise in insulin and release serotonin — a neurotransmitter that improves mood and happiness. “The body converts serotonin into melatonin, a chemical compound that regulates the length and the quality of sleep,” Rene Ficek, registered dietitian and lead dietitian nutritionist at Seattle Sutton's Healthy Eating in Chicago, Ill., told Medical Daily in an email.
Moreover, honey also contains several amino acids, including tryptophan that is commonly associated with turkey. Honey’s steady rise in insulin, according to, causes the tryptophan in honey to enter the brain, where it’s then converted into serotonin and then into melatonin, which is a sleep aid. This hormone is responsible for regulating sleep and wake cycles.
 8.TREATS DANDRUFF
 A 2001 study published in the European Journal of Medical Research found applying honey diluted with 10 percent warm water to problem areas and leaving it on for three hours before rinsing led to itch relief and no scaling within a week. Skin lesions healed within two weeks and patients even showed an improvement in hair loss. The patients did not relapse even after six months of use.
 Honey can bring relief to the scalp by targeting dandruff. The antibacterial and antifungal properties in honey, can also treat seborrheic dermatitis and dandruff, which are often caused by an overgrowth of fungus. 9.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 sulfadiazine. It is speculated that the drying effect of the simple sugars and honey’s antibacterial 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.
Different honeys have different flavonoid profiles, depending on the floral source of the nectar.
Honey Suggestions:
If you want to get the goodness from your honey, make sure it is pure and raw.
Raw honey contains vitamins, minerals and enzymes not present in refined honey.
Honey Cautions:
Best not to feed to infants. Spores of
Clostridium botulinum have been found in a small percentage of honey in North America. This is not dangerous to adults and older children, but infants can have a serious reaction of illness in the  year. Do not add honey to baby food or use as a soother
Honey is a sugar, so do not eat jars full of it if you value your good health and want to  weight. It has a high caloric value and will put you on a sugar high and low.

Eating honey is a more healthy choice than white sugar even at that moderation should be your watch word.