Health

5 Health Benefits of Honey

For thousands of years, honey has been used as something that people can eat, but also use as medicine. It is a substance that has a very beneficial number of plant-based compounds that can aid our health, as well as other benefits to health. When you use honey instead of refined sugar, for example, then it is a much healthier option, as although sweet, honey has other benefits that refined sugar doesn’t. So why should we all be eating honey in our diets? 

Not only does honey taste good, and it can be used in a number of recipes, from a baklava recipe to a granola recipe, it is such a versatile product. It can be consumed by nearly all members of the family (other than babies) and it is affordable and tasty. There are health benefits to it too. Here are some of the benefits and reasons why you should include it in moderation in your diet.

 

Honey contains nutrients

Honey as we know it, is thick and sweet sticky liquid, made from honeybees. The taste of the honey, as well as the smell, will depend on the kind of flowers that the bees used. It is a good thing to include in your diet as it has virtually no fat, although no fiber or protein either. However, a spoonful does have around 1% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamins and minerals that you need. The main seller for honey is that it has a high level of content of active plant compounds and antioxidants. If you’ve heard of people having a spoonful of honey each day to keep the doctor away, then there is some truth to it.

A good option for diabetics

If you or a family member are diabetic, then honey is often considered a more natural sugar or ‘less bad’ sweetener to have when compared with white sugar. In fact, there have been some studies into this that have found that honey helps to improve risk factors for heart disease in many people with diabetes. It can raise blood sugar levels, just like other sugars, though, so if you are diabetic, it shouldn’t be considered a food that you should have a lot of. If you’re looking for something sweet, though, it will be a better option than others.

Honey’s antioxidants can lower blood pressure

When looking at overall health, something like blood pressure is a big factor in good health and indicators for heart disease. If you have high blood pressure, then it can lead to other health problems. However, it has been found that consuming honey can help to lower blood pressure. The reason behind this is that the antioxidants, mentioned above, are linked to lowering blood pressure when found in other foods.

Helps to improve coughs and sore throats

Coughing and sore throats is something that can happen quite naturally at different points throughout the year. In children especially, something like that can impact sleep, as well as quality of life for children and their parents. However, a lot of standard medications for a cough are not always that effective, and naturally, due to their nature, can have some negative side effects. It has been found, though, that honey can be a good choice to help, as it has been shown to be very effective. Of course, due to the risk of botulism, honey shouldn’t be given to children under the age of one. For everyone else it can be a good help when the cough and cold season is upon us.

Honey can help with hay fever

When the time comes, in the spring and summer, for hayfever, it can be a real pain for those people who suffer with it. Hay fever is something that comes as a result from pollen and grass, so there is a connection with honey. Sourcing some local honey to consume when hay fever season is here, can help to build up an internal immunity to it. The key is sourcing local honey from a local beekeeper, as that is what will help you to fight the local pollen in the air.

At the end of the day, honey is a delicious alternative to sugar, and is healthier as there are some other benefits that it has. Just make sure that you choose the best one that you can afford, because pure honey is going to have more benefit to you than one mixed with syrup. As with most things, consume in moderation, although you don’t need to have too much of this to feel the benefit. 

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