Honey is a delicious nectar that honeybees extract from flowering plants. In terms of flavour, colour, and odour, there are around 320 different types of honey. You might think that honey is just a sweet substance to consume but there are many scientifically proven health benefits of honey that are quite impressive.
Honey is best known for being a natural sweetener since ancient times and today, honey is also used as a nutritional food and complementary medicine for a variety of clinical illnesses, from cancer treatment to wound healing, and is also extensively used in many home remedies. Honey is as sweet as table sugar when compared because it consists of both glucose and fructose. Honey also has a mix of amino acids, minerals, vitamins, zinc, and antioxidants that helps in healing and is also better for your blood sugar and heart health.
A study published by UIC Today says that antimicrobial resistance could be reduced with the use of honey and according to another study published by WHO (World Health Organization), honey may relieve URI (Upper Respiratory Infections) symptoms. Along with them, here are some amazing health benefits of honey you must know.
Honey for heart health
Honey can improve your heart function and health by lowering blood pressure, improving blood fat levels, regulating your heartbeat and preventing the death of healthy cells. According to studies, the polyphenols in honey, especially raw natural honey, may help to avoid heart disease. Improved lipid metabolism, antioxidant activity, blood pressure control, heartbeat restoration, decreased myocardial infarct area, anti-aging qualities, and reduced cell apoptosis are all ways that honey protects the heart.
Researchers at the University of Toronto, Canada conducted a meta-analysis and found that honey in a healthy diet can reduce several CMR (cardiometabolic risks) factors including reducing bad cholesterol and improving good cholesterol. Generally, high-sugar foods improve CMR levels which eventually lead to having heart diseases and diabetes but in the case of honey, it is a complex composition of rare sugars, proteins, and organic acids that are very likely to have healthy heart benefits. Honey also improves your insulin sensitivity and normalises glucose metabolism despite its carbohydrate content.
Natural honey includes antioxidant substances called flavonoids that help to keep your arteries from narrowing and also help in unclogging your blocked arteries gradually. Therefore, frequent honey consumption can help to protect against cardiac failure and strengthen your heart.
Honey for wounds and burns
You might be surprised to hear this but honey has been used in multiple medicinal treatments, especially in healing wounds, infections, injuries and burns for thousands of years since ancient India. While we are comfortable applying topical creams for our wounds, honey is still a good alternative to consider because honey has a unique pH balance that is rich in healing compounds to quickly heal wounds and infections.
Honey possesses antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. It can be used for wounds as a dressing to encourage quick and better healing. Using honey promotes faster acute wound healing, pain alleviation for burn victims, and a reduced inflammatory response in these patients. It has, however, been shown to be useless for treating persistent leg ulcers.
According to the study, honey heals partial thickness burns around 4 to 5 days faster than traditional treatments. Also, research shows that honey is superior to antiseptic and gauze in treating infected surgical wounds. The study also concluded that honey has a rapid diabetic wound and infection healing properties. Remember we are talking about pure, organic honey and not about commercially available honey with added sugar or additives.
Honey for skin, face, and hair
Honey is an excellent moisturiser and hydrates the skin. Honey’s natural humectant properties make it an effective moisturiser to treat the skin. Honey’s enzyme activity allows it to hydrate the deeper layers of the skin by penetrating there. As a result, the skin becomes softer, plumper, and more luminous.
You might have heard about using honey to treat dry skin spots but it can also be used to soften the knees and chapped lips. Apply honey to your face and wash it off after 30 minutes to find out smoothen skin. Also, it can be used as a hydrating scrub when you mix it up with sugar.
Honey is a fantastic hair moisturiser since it possesses emollient and humectant qualities. Emollients make the hair follicles smoother, giving drab hair more shine and humectant bonds with water molecules, adding moisture to dry hair follicles. This naturally straightens the hair shaft and gives frizzy, dry, curly, or dull hair its sheen and lustre back. Moreover, Honey is one of the significant dandruff cures and it also prevents severe hair fall.
For silk-smooth hair, add a teaspoon of honey to your shampoo or combine it with olive oil and apply it to your scalp before shampooing. To prevent hair loss, combine honey with an equal amount of vegetable oil or combine honey and lavender with green tea and use it as a hair mask for 10-15 minutes.
Honey for cough suppression in children
Researchers at the Oxford University published a journal that honey is effective in relieving URI (upper respiratory infection) symptoms and according to WHO (world health organisation), honey consists of natural antibiotics that fight against viruses, fungi, and bacteria. Another review published by the National library of medicine states that Honey reduces the severity and frequency of cough in children and improves the quality of their sleep cycle.
Cough is a common problem in children and along with other URI infections. These infections can affect the quality of sleep and life in both children and adults. As common modern medications are not always effective and also aids to have several side effects in children, honey can be the best alternative to this. However, studies also suggest that honey shouldn’t be given to infants because of the risk of Botulism.
Honey for diabetes and weight-loss
The two types of diabetes that are common among humans are type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Both types of diabetes have multiple, diverse aetiologies and are metabolic illnesses. A result of research conducted by the National Library of Medicine concluded that long-term honey consumption by replacing sugar can have beneficial effects on body weight and blood lipids in both types of diabetic patients.
Honey has anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that might reduce diabetic complications and because of its modest amounts of fructose, it may balance your blood sugar level. You can replace honey as a natural sweetener in all your morning diet breaks along with tea and coffee. But people with type 2 diabetes must be cautious as both sugar and honey may spike the blood sugar level if over-consumed, which may cause type 2 diabetes to progress at a faster rate.
Refined sugar is regarded as “empty calories,” which means that consuming it has no nutritional value. As a result, eating too much sugar tends to make you gain weight both from the calories and from the lack of vitamins and minerals. On the other side, honey counteracts this impact because, when ingested in moderation, it is a good source of nutrients that aid people in their efforts to lose weight. According to a study that was published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition in 2010, Honey helps with appetite management and it also burns more fat during the early stages of sleep if consumed before bed.
Purity Prayag’s Organic Honey
From treating infections to supporting a healthy gut, honey has indeed many surprising health benefits and it also consists of many nutrients that are beneficial to your daily diet. However, the ordinary honey you buy in a regular grocery store or in a supermarket has a higher chance of adulteration unknown to you. Direct adulteration of honey is frequently accomplished by mixing a certain amount of sucrose syrup directly into the honey. Some other impurities include glucose, dextrose, corn syrup, and more.
Purity Prayag assures you with 100% indigenous and organic honey is sourced from Chambal Valley and packed without any added sugars or any other impurities. Our organic honey consists of all the natural nutrition and flavours for you to savour it to the fullest and also has a rich amount of antioxidants that keep you away from diseases. Purity Prayag’s stores also offer 1000+l healthy groceries and household essentials so you can live a healthy life that is chemical residue free. Visit a Purity Prayag store near you to make the healthy transition.
