Is Honey Good for You and Your Health?

Honey is known to man from the pre-historic ages. Bees collect nectar from flowers and convert it to honey. They store it in their hives. Honey is tasty but is it good for you or your health? The answer is a loud “yes”. Honey is good for your health and the benefits of consuming it are numerous. Use of natural honey will be great for anybody’s health. Before going to market to buy truck loads of honey from the departmental store, you need to gain some knowledge about it. So, read the following words ASAP.

Honey is mainly based on Carbohydrates. There are almost 82% carbohydrates in honey. Fructose is the main carbohydrate element in honey along with Glucose, Sucrose, Maltose, Isomoltose etc.

Honey containes many enzymes like invertase, amylase, catalase, phosphorylase etc. There are also eighteen free amino acids in honey.

There are a number of organic acids in honey like Acetic acid, Butanoic acid, Lactic, Citric, Malic, and Gluconic acids etc.

The minerals present in honey are calcium, iron, magnesium, selenium, zinc, potassium, phosphorous, chromium. and manganese.

Honey should be stored in sealed air-tight containers. The air tight jars are needed because of a chemical process named hygroscopy, that is, absorbing moisture from air. Honey is a very dry thing which will soon become wet by sucking more water juice from air. The moisture will start the process of fermentation which will spoil the honey soon.

1) Honey is easy to digest. It is because of the two sugar elements of honey named dextrose and laevulose: both of which has simple glucose based molecules which need simple metabolism process to be digested. Thus, honey gives you quick boost and energy.

2) Honey has some antioxidants like Vitamin C, chrysin, pinobanksin, catalase, and pinocembrin: which clears the free radicals from blood to protect cell damages. That is why consuming honey regularly is very good for health.

3) Honey kills many germs and bacteria. Sometimes, it works better than some antibiotics.

4) Honey is very beneficial during coughs and common colds. Honey mixed with ginger gives relief from sore throat and coughs. There are various other combinations too.

5) Honey can be used as preservatives. It can kill germs. It is a natural anti bacterial cream. That is why it can preserve things for days.

6) It reduces the blood pressure of the people affected by high B.P.

7) It is also very good for keeping one’s beauty intact for years. It helps to have you maintain bright healthy skin and hair.

8) During constipation, take honey with hot milk during night.

9) If taken with lemon and water, honey helps to reduce fat and weight.

10) Honey has various essential nutrients like Vitamins (B6, riboflavin, thiamin etc), minerals like Zinc, Sodium, Potassium, Phosphorous etc and many types of amino acids. Those nutrients are essential for various internal processes inside our body.

11) From the ancient ages, honey is being used as medicines. It has many such qualities. Honey can be used as topical antibacterial. It is very good for ulcers and burns.

12) Honey contains some potassium salts. These salts make honey a very good moisture absorber. Honey is thus good for oily skins.

Different types of honey may have different qualities. Some of these are rich in nutrients but some have very little. The quality depends on the area where the bee hives are situated. It is the type of flowers which determines the quality. The quality of honey can be judged from its color. If the color is darker then the honey is better. Light colored honey is not that good and contains fewer nutrients. The density and viscosity of it is also important factors. The original content is sometimes mixed with outside fructose or like such elements to increase the sweetness or enhance the taste. Honey with such artificial elements is not good for health.

We all know that bears are voracious eaters of honey. Who can forget the honey eating cute Winnie the Pooh? In Russian Bear is called "Medved". The term "medved" actually means "the honey eater". But the fact is that Bears actually loves bee larvae more that honey! They attacked the bee hives in search of bee larvae. Don’t be disappointed, it is possible that Winnie really loved honey, not the bee larvae.