Monday, June 28, 2010

Health Benefits of Honey

Honey is an excellent natural sweetener that has been used by mankind for thousands of years.
Honey is a golden colored fluid naturally produced by honeybees from the nectar of flowers.
It is a casket of nutritional values and medicinal remedies that made it an important ingredient of traditional medicines such as Ayurveda.Honey is healthier choice over refined sugar as it is rich in minerals and vitamins and contains fewer calories and carbohydrates than sugar.The sugar resides into honey in the form of glucose and fructose that give its natural sweetness.

Organic Honey:-
Organic honey is honey produced, processed, and packaged according to certain standards.
The beekeepers follow set rules and methods for honey production, the bees are protected for their natural life cycle, natural habitat, and nourishment as well.
In conventional or non-organic method, beekeepers generally use many chemicals or synthetic products for example sulfa compounds and antibiotics are used to control bee diseases, carbolic acid to remove honey from the hive and calcium cyanide to kill colonies before extracting the honey.These artificial chemicals make the honey impure and contaminated also. In natural method too, honeybees gather nectar from plants that have been sprayed with pesticides, the honey made from this nectar also contains residues of those pesticides.

Thus the natural honey is also not free from adverse effects of harmful chemicals. The organic honey offers a healthy solution to these problems.As no artificial drugs, chemicals are used in the production and processing of this honey, it is safe to eat, and keep our planet healthy, too.

The Health Benefits of Honey :-

Sweetener:-
Honey is natural sweetener; it contains about 69% glucose and fructose that provide it natural sweetness. It can be used as substitute for sugar because it contains fewer calories and carbohydrates than sugar.

Energy Source:-
Honey is a good source of energy as it provides more calories per tablespoon than sugar. The sugar presents in honey easily converted into glucose by even the most sensitive stomachs, hence it is very easy to digest.

Improves Athletic Performance:-
Some recent researches have revealed that honey is an excellent ergogenic aid and helpful in boosting the performance of athletes. It helps in maintaining blood sugar levels, muscle healing and glycogen restoration after a workout.

Source of Vitamins and Minerals:-
Honey is rich source of variety of vitamins and minerals. It contains many important Vitamins like B1, B2, B5, B6, and C and some essential minerals like Calcium and Iron, depending on the flowers from which the nectar is obtained.

Antibacterial and Anti fungal Properties:-
Honey also comprises anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties which make it a natural antiseptic.

Antioxidants:-
Honey contains antioxidants such as nutraceuticals, which are effective in removing free radicals from our body. They help to improve the immunity of our body and restore youthfulness.

Skin Care:-
Honey is widely used in skin care products as it helps to make the skin soothing and lustrous. Honey is commonly consumed with milk in many countries for improving skin health.

Wound Management:-
The use of honey in wound treatment is being researched. Some of the known benefits of honey in wound management are:-

(1) Honey possesses antimicrobial properties.
(2) It is helpful in promoting autolytic debridement.
(3) It deodorizes stinking wounds.
(4) It speeds up the healing process by stimulating wound tissues.
(5) It helps in promoting moist wound healing.