Why Honey is Great for Health and Wellness

Many people have already adopted honey as a part of their daily diet and healthy lifestyle. Honey is undoubtedly nature's health gift to the mankind. Honey has been used since ancient times for its health and curing properties. Two types of honey are primarily found in nature, based on the physical properties. One is light colored and the other is dark colored honey. The interesting thing is that regardless of the difference in physical characteristics the chemical constituents remain almost the same in all types of honey.

Honey Bees with honey stored

Honey is produced when honey bees ingest the sweet nectar from the flowers of different plants and trees, the extract is processed in the gut of the honey bee, these honey bees then store this honey in the bee hive or nest as a food to consume in flowering off season. In cities, we find a lot of packed brands selling honey; we should select natural, organic and filtered honey from a reliable source. Filtered honey is preferred because raw honey may contain endospores that may cause bacterial infection especially in children or people suffering from weak immune system.

Mainly honey contains two types of sugars that are fructose and glucose that are the agents responsible for the taste and sweetness of honey. Other sugars found include maltose and sucrose. Honey contains many vitamins and minerals in trace amounts. Major Vitamins include vitamin A; vitamin B-complex and vitamin E. Major minerals found in honey include potassium, zinc, calcium, sodium, iron, magnesium and phosphorus. These constituents are vital for human health. The health benefits of honey are thought to be due to these therapeutically active components.

Honey’s pharmacological effects are thought to be due to the strong antioxidant activity which may be due to the presence of vital vitamins and minerals. Honey can be taken alone as a food or prepared with other useful herbal agents to produce potent formulation to cure or heal specific ailments. The antioxidant activity of honey is the most beneficial for health; it works by repairing the cell damage that is caused by the oxidation of the cells. This antioxidant property of honey is the core potent characteristic that is responsible for all the health benefits of honey.

Some of the primary health uses of honey include; anti-aging, if you want to reduce the effects of aging and want to stay fit, healthy and young for long time Honey is the answer. Honey is thought to be useful against cancer and against cell damage as it tends to repair cell damage. Honey is healthy and provides strength to people with general body weakness, improves muscle health and is considered as a body tonic. Lotus honey that is produced in Kashmir and Bengal is used in the ailments of the eye. It is used as a mucolytic, to expel the thick mucous material out of head, nose and lungs. Honey is also useful in common cold, allergies and cough. Honey is said to be aphrodiasiac, so useful in sexual weakness, thereby increases desire and libido. Honey is also considered to be a blood purifier and good for heart health as well.

After knowing all these positive health effects of honey do not forget to add honey in your daily diet. You can simple take one teaspoon of organic honey daily or spread it on bread and eat daily. Some people like to mix honey with many food items, some use it as a sweetening agent instead of the table sugar. So honey is a great food which should be a must part of everyday diet.

I hope all the information about honey you find here is interesting for all of you and added to your knowledge about this super food. In coming days, I plan to write about different formulations of honey that are very effective to achieve different health benefits and treat many disorders. Do bookmark this blog and check back often. Have a great day.

Dr. Hassan Mahmood