Honey: Sweet Health Benefits

Honey is made by bees. Well everyone knows that!  But what you might not have known is that there are about 60,000 bees in a beehive, and they travel about 55,000 miles visiting more than two million flowers to gather enough nectar to make just a pound of honey!  How cool!  Those little creatures that we sometimes fear and are annoyed by, are venturing out into the great unknown to gather ingredients for one of nature’s sweetest health compounds!

People today are always talking about how bad white sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and artificial sweeteners are for your health.  But people keep forgetting about honey.  Not only is it a great sweetener, but honey has so many health benefits.

Antioxidants:

Honey contains tons of vitamins and minerals.  But it also has a unique, substance called Pinostrobin.  In 2002, Fahey and Stephenson showed that Pinostrobin is a flavonoid inducer of chemoprotective and antioxidant enzymes.  In other words it supports and promotes healthy enzyme activity and cancer fighting cells.

Immune Health:

Honey contains anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties through an enzyme in it which makes hydrogen peroxide.  It has also been shown to help in some cases with ulcers but the data on this is unclear. 

Sore Throat Remedies:

Honey is a great alternative to cough syrup.  Honey is thick and viscous leaving a sort of ‘sticky’ coating on your throat which helps sooth sore throats and stop coughing. 

These are just a few of the benefits of Honey.  It is also to remember when shopping for honey that there are different grades and colors of honey.  Some are lighter, others are darker.  A general rule of thumb is that the darker the better its antibacterial and antioxidant power.  Also organic Raw honey will be the best because they have been processed less and most likely have stronger health benefits.  

for more information on Honey check out The National Honey Board's website!