Ingredient Reference

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Health Benefits of Honey

In addition to its reputation as Nature's nutritive sweetener, research also indicates that honey's unique composition makes it useful as an antimicrobial agent and antioxidant.

Raw Honey - An Anti-Bacterial, Anti-Viral, Anti-Fungal Substance

The health benefits of honey - like all foods - depend on the quality of the honey. But in this case, the situation is even more extreme, because the pollen that collects on the bees' legs as they move from plant to plant is only as healthful and as diverse as those plants. In addition, the processing of honey often removes many of the phytonutrients found in raw honey as it exists in the hive. Raw honey, for example, contains small amounts of the same resins found in propolis. Propolis, sometimes called "bee glue," is actually a complex mixture of resins and other substances that honeybees use to seal the hive and make it safe from bacteria and other micro-organisms. Honeybees make propolis by combining plant resins with their own secretions. However, substances like road tar have also been found in propolis. Bee keepers sometimes use special screens around the inside of the hive boxes to trap propolis, since bees will spread this substance around the honeycomb and seal cracks with the anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal resins. The resins found in propolis only represent a small part of the phytonutrients found in propolis and honey, however. Other phytonutrients found both in honey and propolis have been shown to posssess cancer-preventing and anti-tumor properties. These substances include caffeic acid methyl caffeate, phenylethyl caffeate, and phenylethyl dimethylcaffeate. Researchers have discovered that these substances prevent colon cancer in animals by shutting down activity of two enzymes, phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C and lipoxygenase. When raw honey is extensively processed and heated, the benefits of these phytonutrients are largely eliminated.

Natural honey has been used by mankind since the past 2,500 years, all over the world. While the numerous health benefits of honey have made it an important aspect of traditional medicines such as Ayurveda, scientists are also researching the benefits of honey in modern medicine, especially in healing wounds.

More About Honey

Known as Honig in German, Miele in Italian, Shahad in Hindi, Miel in French, Miel in Spanish, Mel in Portuguese, мед in Russian, Honing in Dutch, and μελι in Greek, there is hardly any region in the world where honey is not cherished.

What makes honey so popular? It is the ease with which it can be consumed. One can eat honey directly, put it on bread like a jam, mix it with juice or any drink instead of sugar, or mix it with warm water, lime juice, cinnamon and other herbs to make a medicine. It is savored by all due to its taste as well as health benefits.

The health benefits of honey include the following:

Sweetener: Sugar can be substituted with honey in many food and drinks. Honey contains about 69% glucose and fructose enabling it to be used as a sweetener.

Energy Source: Honey is also used by many as a source of energy as it provides about 64 calories per tablespoon. One tablespoon of sugar will give you about 50 calories. Further the sugars in honey can be easily converted into glucose by even the most sensitive stomachs. Hence it is very easy to digest honey.

Weight Loss: Though honey has more calories than sugar, honey when consumed with warm water helps in digesting the fat stored in your body. Similarly honey and lemon juice and honey and cinnamon help in reducing weight.

Many people ask: Isn't honey a type of sugar? Does it not add any weight? Won't the calories in honey negate your weight loss efforts?

You are right - honey contains sugar. But unlike refined sugar, honey contains vitamins and minerals too. Normally, to digest sugar, the vitamins and minerals stored in body are utilized, rendering the body devoid of these nutrients. These nutrients are essential to dissolve fats and cholesterol. Thus when you eat too much sugar, you tend to increase weight not just because of the calories, but due to lack of vitamins and minerals. On the contrary, honey being a good source of nutrients, helps you in reducing weight.

Honey and warm water: Normally fat remains as an un-used resource in your body adding bulk and weight. It is believed that honey mobilizes this stored fat. When this fat is burnt to provide energy for your daily activities, you see a gradual decrease in your weight and obesity levels. It is suggested that you drink this honey (about one tablespoon daily), with equal amount of warm water.

Honey and lemon juice: Honey can also help in weight loss, when consumed with warm water and lemon juice. Many people drink this formula, first thing in the morning to reduce their weight.

Honey and cinnamon: Another useful recipe is cinnamon powder with honey and warm water. Take one tablespoon of cinnamon power, one tablespoon of honey and one cup of warm water, mix the ingredients properly and drink this mixture empty stomach. It is not clear how this mixture helps in weight loss; however, many people claim to have derived benefits from its regular consumption.

Improving Athletic Performance: Recent research has shown that honey is an excellent ergogenic aid and helps in boosting the performance of athletes. Honey facilitates in maintaining blood sugar levels, muscle recuperation and glycogen restoration after a workout.

Source of Vitamins and Minerals: Honey contains a variety of vitamins and minerals. The vitamin and mineral content of honey depends on the type of flowers used for apiculture.

Antibacterial and Antifungal Properties: Honey has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties and hence it can be used as a natural antiseptic.

Antioxidants: Honey contains nutraceuticals, which are effective in removing free radicals from our body. As a result, our body immunity is improved.

Skin Care with Milk and Honey: Milk and honey are often served together as both these ingredients help in getting a smooth soothing skin. Hence consuming milk and honey daily in the morning is a common practice in many countries.

Honey in Wound Management

Significant research is being carried out to study the benefits of honey in treating wounds. Nursing Standard provides some of these benefits in the document - The benefits of honey in wound management. These have been given below:

• Honey possesses antimicrobial properties.
• It helps in promoting autolytic debridement.
• It deodorizes malodorous wounds.
• It speeds up the healing process by stimulating wound tissues.
• It helps in initiating the healing process in dormant wounds.
• Honey also helps in promoting moist wound healing.

The healing powers of honey are not hyped. The Waikato Honey Research Unit provides details about the world-wide research that is being carried out on the benefits of honey in medicine. Further, BBC reported in July, 2006 that doctors at the Christie Hospital in Didsbury, Manchester are planning to use honey for faster recovery of cancer patients after surgery. Such research will provide scientific evidence to the so-called beliefs held by honey lovers all over the world and help in propagating benefits of honey to more people.

And More About Honey

There are numerous health benefits of honey; it can be used as an antioxidant, has antimicrobial, antibacterial and antifungal properties, boosts athletic performance, and is a rich source of vitamins and minerals. Milk and honey are used by many due to its skin care benefits. However, the benefits of honey that we get greatly depend on its quality. Honey available in different honey jars are not of same quality and hence do not provide same benefits.

The high dependence of the health benefits of honey and its price on its quality have made it important for both honey manufacturers and consumers understand the various factors that affect the quality of honey. Some of these factors include the type of flowers used, the blending process, storage conditions, temperature of heating, etc. These factors have been explained in detail below:

• Type of flowers: According to the Honey Research Center at the University of Waikato, New Zealand, there is not enough evidence to draw conclusion on the properties of honey especially the antimicrobial properties based on the type of flowers used for honey production. However, extensive research has been carried out on honeydew honey obtained from the conifer forests in central European mountains and manuka honey obtained from New Zealand. The above mentioned honeydew honey has been found to have high microbial activity while manika honey has been found to have high non-peroxide activity.

• Blending: It is also believed that polyfloral honey (honey obtained from more than one flower) provides more benefits than monofloral honey. Hence many companies sell blended honey. Blended honey offers benefits of variety of honeys and hence is considered to be healthier than non-blended honey.

• Storage: Honey when stored for a long duration becomes dark in color. It loses some of its properties and may also ferment if the water content is high. Hence prolonged storage of honey should be avoided and newly harvested honey should be preferred.

• Heating: Heating honey leads to drastic changes in its chemical composition. As a result, heating to high temperatures reduces the benefits of honey. No wonder many people prefer raw honey or organic honey or raw organic honey. While raw honey by definition signifies less process (and no heating), organic honey is prepared using stringent organic honey production and processing standards, in which heating to high temperatures is not allowed.

• Water content: Honey can also udergo fermentation occasionally. If the water content of honey is high (above 19%), the chances of it getting fermented are high. You can find the water content of honey using a refractometer. Further, freely flowing honey either contains higher water content or has been heated to disturb the natural crystallization process.

• Color of honey: Color of honey is a very useful tool to judge its quality. Light colored honey is more valued than dark colored honey as the former has a delicate flavor. Honey becomes dark upon storage and heating.

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