Health Benefits of Honey...
Natural honey has been used by mankind since the past 2,500 years, all over the world. While the numerous health benefits of honey have made it an important aspect of traditional medicines such as Ayurveda, scientists are also researching the benefits of honey in modern medicine, especially in healing wounds.
Known as Honig in German, Miele in Italian, Shahad in Hindi, Miel in French, Miel in Spanish, Mel in Portuguese, мед in Russian, Honing in Dutch, and μελι in Greek, there is hardly any region in the world where honey is not cherished.
What makes honey so popular? It is the ease with which it can be consumed. One can eat honey directly, put it on bread like a jam, mix it with juice or any drink instead of sugar, or mix it with warm water, lime juice, cinnamon and other herbs to make a medicine. It is savored by all due to its taste as well as health benefits.
The health benefits of honey include the following:
Sweetener: Sugar can be substituted with honey in many food and drinks. Honey contains about 69% glucose and fructose enabling it to be used as a sweetener.
Energy Source: Honey is also used by many as a source of energy as it provides about 64 calories per tablespoon. One tablespoon of sugar will give you about 50 calories. Further the sugars in honey can be easily converted into glucose by even the most sensitive stomachs. Hence it is very easy to digest honey.
Weight Loss: Though honey has more calories than sugar, honey when consumed with warm water helps in digesting the fat stored in your body. Similarly honey and lemon juice and honey and cinnamon help in reducing weight.
Improving Athletic Performance: Recent research has shown that honey is an excellent ergogenic aid and helps in boosting the performance of athletes. Honey facilitates in maintaining blood sugar levels, muscle recuperation and glycogen restoration after a workout.
Source of Vitamins and Minerals: Honey contains a variety of vitamins and minerals. The vitamin and mineral content of honey depends on the type of flowers used for apiculture.
Antibacterial and Antifungal Properties: Honey has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties and hence it can be used as a natural antiseptic.
Antioxidants: Honey contains nutraceuticals, which are effective in removing free radicals from our body. As a result, our body immunity is improved.
Skin Care with Milk and Honey: Milk and honey are often served together as both these ingredients help in getting a smooth soothing skin. Hence consuming milk and honey daily in the morning is a common practice in many countries.
Honey in Wound Management
Significant research is being carried out to study the benefits of honey in treating wounds. Nursing Standard provides some of these benefits in the document - The benefits of honey in wound management. These have been given below:
Honey possesses antimicrobial properties.
It helps in promoting autolytic debridement.
It deodorizes malodorous wounds.
It speeds up the healing process by stimulating wound tissues.
It helps in initiating the healing process in dormant wounds.
Honey also helps in promoting moist wound healing.
The healing powers of honey are not hyped. The Waikato Honey Research Unit provides details about the world-wide research that is being carried out on the benefits of honey in medicine. Further, BBC reported in July, 2006 that doctors at the Christie Hospital in Didsbury, Manchester are planning to use honey for faster recovery of cancer patients after surgery. Such research will provide scientific evidence to the so-called beliefs held by honey lovers all over the world and help in propagating benefits of honey to more people.
Honey benefits for Children
To avoid bed wetting in children, a teaspoon of honey aids water retention, and calms fears in children.
Honey to help you sleep
A mug of hot milk with a dessert spoon of honey acts as a mild sedative (minerals, vitamins amino acids) aiding sleep
Honey to clear nasal congestion
To clear nasal congestion, mix a dessert spoon or two of honey in basin of hot water. Bend over the basin, covering your head and the basin with a large towel and inhale the fumes.
Honey to heal wounds
Wounds such as cuts, grazes, scrape when covered with honey and bandage is an excellent healer
Benefits of honey: Digestion
Mix honey and apple cider vinegar in equal proportion, dilute with water. This wonder drink aids digestion and eases joint inflammation
Honey to cool your throat after pungent food
Trickle down a teaspoon of honey down the throat for inflamed raw tissues for sore throat. If you have eaten any thing pungent, spicy and feel your tongue burning after downing glasses of water. Eat a spoonful of honey to appease your taste buds.
Honey as a energy booster
A spoon of honey is an instant pick-me-up, giving you the much needed boost of energy. Alternatively 25% of honey with water is a good stabilizer to calm highs and raise lows.
Calcium utilization
A teaspoon of honey per day aids calcium utilization and prevents osteoporosis
Good for your heart
Heart patients are advised to replace white sugar with honey that has natural fructose and glucose.
Honey to help Asthma patients
Chewing the tops of honey combs for 20 minutes a teaspoon of bee capping; five to six times a day stimulates the immune system. It?s effective for asthma patients.
Honey for Longevity
Regular users of honey are most long lived people. Beekeepers are known to suffer less from cancer, arthritis than any other working group worldwide.
Effective use of honey during migraine attacks
For people who have frequent migraine attacks, should sip a dessert spoon of honey dissolved in half a glass of warm water at the start of the attack. Repeat after 20 minutes if needed. Its effective as migraine is stress related.
Honey during conjunctivitis
Honey dissolved in equal quantity of warm water is good lotion or eyebath for the conjunctivitis (pus in the eye).
Benefits of honey: Curing coughs
Mix 6 oz. of liquid honey, 2 oz. of glycerin and juice of two lemons. Mix well, store it bottle with a tight screw cap and use when required. An instant home made remedy for cough.
Honey as a food preservative
Honey is good food preservative. While baking cakes by replacing sugar with honey, they will stay fresher longer due to natural antibiotics as honey retains moisture.
Honey as a multi-vitamin
Few teaspoons of honey say four; to a baby?s bottle of water is an excellent pacifier and multivitamin additive. Zaharah
Link:
http://www.organicfacts.net/organic-animal-products/organic-honey/health-benefits-of-honey.html
http://www.home-remedies-for-you.com/articles/Health-benefits-of-honey.html
Natural honey has been used by mankind since the past 2,500 years, all over the world. While the numerous health benefits of honey have made it an important aspect of traditional medicines such as Ayurveda, scientists are also researching the benefits of honey in modern medicine, especially in healing wounds.
Known as Honig in German, Miele in Italian, Shahad in Hindi, Miel in French, Miel in Spanish, Mel in Portuguese, мед in Russian, Honing in Dutch, and μελι in Greek, there is hardly any region in the world where honey is not cherished.
What makes honey so popular? It is the ease with which it can be consumed. One can eat honey directly, put it on bread like a jam, mix it with juice or any drink instead of sugar, or mix it with warm water, lime juice, cinnamon and other herbs to make a medicine. It is savored by all due to its taste as well as health benefits.
The health benefits of honey include the following:
Sweetener: Sugar can be substituted with honey in many food and drinks. Honey contains about 69% glucose and fructose enabling it to be used as a sweetener.
Energy Source: Honey is also used by many as a source of energy as it provides about 64 calories per tablespoon. One tablespoon of sugar will give you about 50 calories. Further the sugars in honey can be easily converted into glucose by even the most sensitive stomachs. Hence it is very easy to digest honey.
Weight Loss: Though honey has more calories than sugar, honey when consumed with warm water helps in digesting the fat stored in your body. Similarly honey and lemon juice and honey and cinnamon help in reducing weight.
Improving Athletic Performance: Recent research has shown that honey is an excellent ergogenic aid and helps in boosting the performance of athletes. Honey facilitates in maintaining blood sugar levels, muscle recuperation and glycogen restoration after a workout.
Source of Vitamins and Minerals: Honey contains a variety of vitamins and minerals. The vitamin and mineral content of honey depends on the type of flowers used for apiculture.
Antibacterial and Antifungal Properties: Honey has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties and hence it can be used as a natural antiseptic.
Antioxidants: Honey contains nutraceuticals, which are effective in removing free radicals from our body. As a result, our body immunity is improved.
Skin Care with Milk and Honey: Milk and honey are often served together as both these ingredients help in getting a smooth soothing skin. Hence consuming milk and honey daily in the morning is a common practice in many countries.
Honey in Wound Management
Significant research is being carried out to study the benefits of honey in treating wounds. Nursing Standard provides some of these benefits in the document - The benefits of honey in wound management. These have been given below:
Honey possesses antimicrobial properties.
It helps in promoting autolytic debridement.
It deodorizes malodorous wounds.
It speeds up the healing process by stimulating wound tissues.
It helps in initiating the healing process in dormant wounds.
Honey also helps in promoting moist wound healing.
The healing powers of honey are not hyped. The Waikato Honey Research Unit provides details about the world-wide research that is being carried out on the benefits of honey in medicine. Further, BBC reported in July, 2006 that doctors at the Christie Hospital in Didsbury, Manchester are planning to use honey for faster recovery of cancer patients after surgery. Such research will provide scientific evidence to the so-called beliefs held by honey lovers all over the world and help in propagating benefits of honey to more people.
Honey benefits for Children
To avoid bed wetting in children, a teaspoon of honey aids water retention, and calms fears in children.
Honey to help you sleep
A mug of hot milk with a dessert spoon of honey acts as a mild sedative (minerals, vitamins amino acids) aiding sleep
Honey to clear nasal congestion
To clear nasal congestion, mix a dessert spoon or two of honey in basin of hot water. Bend over the basin, covering your head and the basin with a large towel and inhale the fumes.
Honey to heal wounds
Wounds such as cuts, grazes, scrape when covered with honey and bandage is an excellent healer
Benefits of honey: Digestion
Mix honey and apple cider vinegar in equal proportion, dilute with water. This wonder drink aids digestion and eases joint inflammation
Honey to cool your throat after pungent food
Trickle down a teaspoon of honey down the throat for inflamed raw tissues for sore throat. If you have eaten any thing pungent, spicy and feel your tongue burning after downing glasses of water. Eat a spoonful of honey to appease your taste buds.
Honey as a energy booster
A spoon of honey is an instant pick-me-up, giving you the much needed boost of energy. Alternatively 25% of honey with water is a good stabilizer to calm highs and raise lows.
Calcium utilization
A teaspoon of honey per day aids calcium utilization and prevents osteoporosis
Good for your heart
Heart patients are advised to replace white sugar with honey that has natural fructose and glucose.
Honey to help Asthma patients
Chewing the tops of honey combs for 20 minutes a teaspoon of bee capping; five to six times a day stimulates the immune system. It?s effective for asthma patients.
Honey for Longevity
Regular users of honey are most long lived people. Beekeepers are known to suffer less from cancer, arthritis than any other working group worldwide.
Effective use of honey during migraine attacks
For people who have frequent migraine attacks, should sip a dessert spoon of honey dissolved in half a glass of warm water at the start of the attack. Repeat after 20 minutes if needed. Its effective as migraine is stress related.
Honey during conjunctivitis
Honey dissolved in equal quantity of warm water is good lotion or eyebath for the conjunctivitis (pus in the eye).
Benefits of honey: Curing coughs
Mix 6 oz. of liquid honey, 2 oz. of glycerin and juice of two lemons. Mix well, store it bottle with a tight screw cap and use when required. An instant home made remedy for cough.
Honey as a food preservative
Honey is good food preservative. While baking cakes by replacing sugar with honey, they will stay fresher longer due to natural antibiotics as honey retains moisture.
Honey as a multi-vitamin
Few teaspoons of honey say four; to a baby?s bottle of water is an excellent pacifier and multivitamin additive. Zaharah
Link:
http://www.organicfacts.net/organic-animal-products/organic-honey/health-benefits-of-honey.html
http://www.home-remedies-for-you.com/articles/Health-benefits-of-honey.html