The health benefits of honey

Honey is a sweet syrup produced by bees collecting flower nectar. It is a common ingredient in many dishes and is available in many forms. Honey is famous as one of the world's best healing and nutritious food products.

Honey is made up of fructose, sucrose, glucose, water, minerals, and trace elements. In addition to its role as a natural sweetener, honey is useful because of its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties.

Honey has some specific and unique health benefits but is still practically liquid sugar, so it needs to be consumed moderately. Honey shouldn’t be given to children under the age of one year because it can cause a rare but severe disease, botulism.

The specific health benefits of honey will depend on the exact procedure used to process the particular product. Raw honey is unpasteurized, unpurified, unheated, or filtered in any way. It usually contains more nutrients that benefit health and are generally lost in standard processing procedures.

Honey contains many essential plant compounds and antioxidants; the darker the honey, the more antioxidants it contains. Antioxidants help neutralize free radicals in the body, which can accumulate in cells and worsen problems like cardiovascular diseases, premature aging, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and autoimmune diseases.

One study has shown that honey can help lower blood pressure, regulate cholesterol, regulate improper heart rate, and prevent the death of healthy cells. All these factors are important for heart health.

Honey has anti-inflammatory properties. Inflammation is part of the body's natural process of recovery and wound healing. It helps fight off viruses and bacteria. Sometimes, inflammation lasts too long and can become chronic, which causes more harm than good. Diet is essential when it comes to inflammation in the body.

It is believed that honey speeds up the healing of smaller surface-level wounds and burns. Because it contains mainly fructose and glucose, two sugars that bind water in the body, honey manages to absorb the water in the wound, and thus, it dries up, which slows down the reproduction of harmful yeast infections and bacteria.

Honey can be a reliable source of help with coughs and upper respiratory infections. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends honey as a natural cough medicine to help remove irritation.

Research suggests that honey has a positive influence on the healthy functioning of the digestive system and can help relieve symptoms of diseases such as diarrhea associated with gastroenteritis.

Some studies suggest that honey might have anti-depressive, anticonvulsant, and anti-anxiety health benefits. Results also suggest positive effects on memory loss.

This text is intended for informational purposes only. If you experience any symptoms, it is recommended that you seek advice from your doctor or a qualified healthcare professional.

Clinic, C. (2024, May 10). 5 Health benefits of honey. Cleveland Clinic. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/the-benefits-of-honey-how-to-incorporate-it-into-your-diet

Samarghandian, S., Farkhondeh, T., & Samini, F. (2017). Honey and Health: A review of recent clinical research. PubMed, 9(2), 121–127. https://doi.org/10.4103/0974-8490.204647