Honey is delicious, added to tea, drizzled over oatmeal, added to a salad dressing, or used to glaze roasted vegetables. If you love adding this sweet golden syrup to your favorite recipes but also like to eat clean, healthy ingredients, you might be wondering: is honey good for you? Short answer: Yes!
Honey has been used as a culinary ingredient and in herbal/traditional medicines for centuries. Healthier than refined sugars and better for the -environment, too, the reasons to keep a jar of honey on your shelf at all times are plenty! In this guide, you’ll learn the facts about honey, its nutritional value, and how you can use it as a natural way to boost health.
Honey Benefits
Honey is a fascinating ingredient, especially when you take a closer look at how it is produced. Worker honey bees collect bellies full of sweet nectar from flowering plants in the area surrounding their hive. In the stomach, the nectar mixes with digestive enzymes, which dilutes the long-chain complex sugars that make up the liquid. Once the bees return to the hive, they regurgitate the combined nectar and enzymes into the comb’s cells. To thicken the honey’s mixture and finish, bees flap their wings over the filled cells and evaporate residual water from the nectar, then seal the cells with a layer of wax.
Beekeepers carefully collect the filled honeycomb from the hives, leaving more than enough for the bees, who will continue to produce honey from Spring through late Summer. Impossible to recreate synthetically, honey is both nutritious and delicious and can help support health, wellness, and wellbeing. Why should you be eating honey?
Here are just some of its many benefits.
Beneficial Nutrients
Sugar has a reputation for being unhealthy, but that isn’t necessarily the case. Table sugar (made from beets or sugar cane) doesn’t have much nutritional value, doing little more than giving the body a quick boost of energy. Honey, which also contains sugars, also includes various beneficial nutrients derived from the plant nectar used in its production.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Nutrition Database, 100 grams of honey contains 17 g of water, 0.3 g of protein, 82.12 g of sugar, 6 mg of calcium, 2 mg of magnesium, 52 mg of potassium, 0.22 mg of zinc, 0 .03 mg vitamin B-2, 0.024 mg vitamin B-6, 304 calories, 82.4 g carbohydrates, 0.2 g fiber, 0.42 mg iron, 4 mg phosphorus, 4 mg sodium, 0.5 mg vitamin C, 0.12 mg vitamin B-3, 2 ug folate.
Honey contains essential minerals like calcium, iron, and zinc, vital vitamins like B complex and K, and can even infuse with nutrients from local plants. Hemp honey, for example, contains CBD, which can boost honey’s anti-inflammatory and soothing properties.
Healthy Antioxidants
The body uses antioxidants to fight off diseases, protect the body from free radicals, and treat inflammation. Raw honey contains copious amounts of vitamin C, an essential antioxidant preventing heart disease and degenerative conditions, among other critical natural antioxidants. In some cases, honey’s antioxidant properties have even shown promise in the prevention or treatment of certain cancers.
Boost Wound Healing
Raw honey is naturally antimicrobial, meaning it can inhibit the growth of certain types of bacteria. When applied to a wound, honey can help protect the area from infection and increase the rate at which it begins to heal. A method used since ancient times, honey can be incredibly effective on burns, cuts, bruises, and sore muscles.
If you’ve ever wondered why a mug of hot tea with honey helps to ease a sore throat, wonder no more! Because honey fights off bacterial infections, drinking tea with honey can help cleanse and protect sore and irritated tonsils, tongues, and throats.
Healthy Sugar Alternative
Table sugar is pure sucrose with zero nutritional value. Sugar is burned by the body extremely quickly, so any energy derived from the carbohydrates wears off as soon as it begins. Honey, on the other hand, is burned slowly by the body, providing longer-lasting energy support than sugar. Additionally, honey is packed with important digestive enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients to support overall health and wellbeing.
Some people like to say that honey isn’t healthy because it is slightly higher in calories than sugar. While this is true, honey is also slightly sweeter than table sugar so that you can use less for the same delicious effects.
Honey is in the category of so-called. “Free” sugars, and according to the definition of the World Health Organization, they are “monosaccharides (glucose and fructose) and monosaccharides (sucrose) which are added to food and beverages in various forms, such as honey, fruit syrups, fruit concentrates and other sweet types According to the recommendations of the World Health Organization for the needs of preserving health and preventing obesity in young and old people, no more than 10% of the energy value of food for any type of “free” sugars, including honey, should be consumed on a daily basis. This is an intake of about 50g of sugar intake per day, including all foods that contain some types of “free” sugars.
According to the recommendations of the World Health Organization for creating healthy diets, the WHO additionally recommends reducing the daily amount of intake of all types of sugar to 5% of the total energy value of food.
Environmental Sustainability
Sadly, global honey bee populations are critically endangered due to overuse of pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic fertilizers, deforestation, and the loss of vital ecosystems. Bees aren’t just important for their honey. As bees produce honey, they also pollinate the surrounding -environment, making the rest of our food more nutritious and delicious.
Purchasing raw honey from trusted beekeepers is a great way to support the protection of honey bees since your purchase contributes directly to the people working to help bees thrive.
Final Thoughts
Honey is a fantastic ingredient that tastes delicious, supports health and wellness, and is suitable for the -environment! Diverse enough to be used in every type of recipe, from sweet desserts to savory dinners, honey should be a staple in everyone’s pantry. Eating honey can reduce inflammation, deliver vital nutrients, and even help the body ward off infection. Not to mention, you can also infuse honey with CBD and other natural supplements to provide an extra potent dose of health support.
