8 Surprising Health Benefits of Honey

Honey

Since ancient times, honey has been used as both a food and a medicine. It has incredibly positive effects on the human body. It's very high in beneficial plant compounds and offers several health benefits. Honey is particularly healthy when used instead of refined sugar, which is 100% empty calories. There are at least 40 types of Honey; each one has a distinctive taste and unique properties. Darker ones tend to have higher antioxidant levels.

Here are the top 8 health benefits of honey that are supported by science: 

1.     PREVENT CANCER AND HEART DISEASE:

It 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.

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.     REDUCES A COUGH AND THROAT IRRITATION:

It helps with coughs, particularly buckwheat honey. According to the study which has been conducted on 105 children, “ the single dose of buckwheat honey was just as effective as a single dose of dextromethorphan in relieving nocturnal cough and allowing proper sleep.”

6.     BLOOD SUGAR REGULATION:

Even though it 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 kinds of honey do have a low hypoglycemic index, so they don’t jolt your blood sugar. 

7.     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. Studies have shown it to be very successful in healing wounds.

8.     STRENGTHEN THE IMMUNE SYSTEM:

According to the study at the School of Medicine, Cardiff University, UK. “Manuka Honey has been found to stimulate the production of immune cells.”