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Honey: Health Benefits of the Golden Liquid

Written by Krishna Bora, B.Sc. (Microbiology) | Article Reviewed by Dietitian julia samuel, M.Phil on Jan 11, 2019
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Is Honey Healthy?

Honey is a sweet food, which is healthier than table sugars. It is a natural sugar made by honeybees using nectar from the flowers. Cave paintings suggest human beings collected honey from honeycombs roughly 8000 years ago and the goodness of honey has been known and used in food and as medicine for at least 4000 years.

Honey: Health Benefits of the Golden Liquid

Honey is loaded with powerful antioxidants with antiseptic and antibacterial properties. It is not just to spread on bread toasts in the morning breakfast. Apart from its nutritive food value, honey is extensively used for its medicinal properties in alternative medicine. Studies about honey have revealed that honey has powerful anti-bacterial activity on a wide span of bacteria. The low water content and the osmotic property make honey an excellent anti-bacterial natural product.

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The nutritive value of honey is as follows:

ConstituentsNutritional value per 100g
Energy304 kilo Calories
Carbohydrates82.4 grams
Sugars82.12 grams
Dietary fibers0.2 grams
Fat0 grams
Proteins0.3 grams
Riboflavin (Vitamin B2)0.038 milligrams
Niacin (Vitamin B3)0.024 milligram
Folate (Vitamin B9)2 microgram
Vitamin C0.5 milligram

Minerals present in honey are:

MineralsAmount in per 339 grams (1 cup)
Calcium20.3 milligrams
Iron1.4 milligrams
Magnesium6.8 milligrams
Phosphorus13.6 milligrams
Potassium176 milligrams
Sodium13.6 milligrams
Zinc0.7 milligrams
Copper0.1 milligrams
Manganese0.3 milligrams
Selenium2.7 micrograms
Fluoride23.7 micrograms

Health Benefits of Honey

Honey is known for various amazing benefits. It has been widely used in a variety of products from sweet confectioneries to cosmetics.

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Some of the benefits of honey are mentioned below:

Honey and Cinnamon: A Perfect Combination

Honey and cinnamon have been curing many diseases and infections since ancient times. Traditional societies have mixed honey and cinnamon from time immemorial to cure people from common cold, sore throat and skin infections. This practice is still followed by alternative medicine practitioners who use it to cure infertility in men and women. The combination of honey and cinnamon cures arthritis pain, cholesterol, hair fall and gastric problems. It also clears stomach ulcers and helps digest the heaviest meals. The most common use of honey and cinnamon is to cure a cold and sore throat. Studies show that applying honey and cinnamon on your skin can cure pimples and acne.

Honey and Cinnamon Clears Stomach Ulcers

Honey and Immunity

Honey is an excellent remedy for improving your immunity against allergies and asthma. Honey contains floral flavonoids. When honey is ingested, it immediately increases the antioxidant levels within the cells of the body and decreases the capillary permeability and fragility. Honey has also shown anti-cancer and anti-tumor properties preventing the risks of cancer in humans. Research by students at the Xavier University in New Orleans showed a positive result of local honey and its allergy curing properties. The results say that honey acts as a vaccine for those who are allergic to pollen grains. Honey contains the same kind of pollen grains that cause this allergy. By consuming honey, we make the body accustomed to these pollen grains decrease the chance of the immune response to them like the release of histamines. Local honey is said to be the best kind against allergies.

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Honey and Stamina

Honey helps build stamina in athletes. When athletes take honey drinks before and after important athletic events, it replaces all the carbohydrates and minerals spent during the workout or in extreme conditions. While we are going through workouts, our body sweats and we lose minerals. Honey contains a good amount of all the important minerals and replaces them in the body. It is like an energy drink for the sportsmen and athletes and helps them in muscle building.

Honey Helps Build Stamina in Athletes

Honey and Weight Loss

Honey is a natural sweetener that contains 22 amino acids including a variety of minerals, which are important for metabolism and therefore helpful in preventing obesity. Lemon juice with a little honey early morning is believed to be the effective anti-cellulite treatment. This is an effective remedy to speed up shedding pounds from your body. Again, honey and cinnamon is another powerful remedy for effective weight loss. For people who love binge eating, honey can be taken as an effective remedy for digestion later on.

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Honey and Cosmetics

Honey is widely used in many types of cosmetics like lip balm, face creams and shower gels. The reason behind this is because honey does not spoil due to its high sugar content. It has 50% more density than water. The osmotic property of honey attributes to its anti-bacterial property. Honey is a thick liquid that acts as a perfect skin and hair conditioner. It brings smoothness to the skin and hair. Hence, is used in cosmetics and shampoos.

Honey and Antiseptic Properties

Generally in hospitals, doctors prefer hydrogen peroxide to clean wounds so they heal quickly. The same chemical is present in honey in very good amounts. It is released by diluting honey in water or body fluids. When it is applied on the open wounds, especially burn wounds, the glucose present in honey dilutes gradually releasing hydrogen peroxide and due to its viscous constituency, honey prevents wounds from sticking to the dressing and there are little or no scars after healing.

Honey

The nutritional values of "Honey" per 100 grams are:
Nutrition Summary
Total Calories 304
Protein 0.3 g
Fat 0.4 g
Carbohydrate 82.4 g
NutrientsAmount%Daily Value
Calcium, Ca 6 mg 0.6 %
Copper, Cu 0.04 mg 1.8 %
Iron, Fe 0.42  mg 2.33 %
Magnesium, Mg 2 mg 0.5 %
Manganese, Mn 0.08 mg 4 %
Phosphorus, P 4 mg 0.4 %
Potassium, K 52  mg 1.49 %
Selenium, Se 0.8 mcg 1.14 %
Sodium, Na 4 mg 0.17 %
Zinc, Zn 0.22 mg 1.47 %
Vitamin A 0  IU 0 %
Vitamin C 0.5 mg 0.83 %
Vitamin B6 0.02 mg 1.2 %
Vitamin E 0 mg 0 %
Vitamin K 0  mcg 0 %
Riboflavin 0.04  mg 2.24 %
Thiamin 0 mg 0 %
Folate, DFE 2  mcg 0.5 %
Niacin 0.12  mg 0.6 %
Sugars 82.12 g
Fiber 0.2  g 0.8 %
Cholesterol 0 mg 0 %
Water 17.1 g
Carotene, alpha 0 mcg
Carotene, beta 0  mcg
Choline 2.2 mg
Lycopene 0  mcg
View all +
Data source: USDA Nutrient Database, R25
*Percent Daily Values (%DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie reference diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower based on your individual needs.

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Comments should be on the topic and should not be abusive. The editorial team reserves the right to review and moderate the comments posted on the site.

Comments

@Guest

DOES HONEY IMPROVE THE BOWEL MOVEMENT. I ASK THIS BECAUSE SINCE I HAVE BEEN DRINKING HONEY MY BOWEL MOVEMENTS AND STOOL CONSISTENCY ARE AKIN TO WHEN I WAS IN MY YOUNG YEARS. I AM NOW 78 yrs OLD...CAN THIS BE ATTRIBUTED TO MY CURRENT INGESTION OF HONEY ? THANKS

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