Oddly enough, I run into this common phrase whenever I tell people I have bad allergies. “Do you take honey?” I have always wondered about the benefits of honey, other than it being delicious, and surprisingly there are so many wonderful properties honey contains to benefit our overall well-being.
Beneficial Elements
Honey tends to be rich in antioxidants and aids in eye health, heart attacks, strokes, and in lowering blood pressure. Organic acids and phenolic compounds like flavonoids, are commonly found within good quality honey and aid as anticancer, antibacterial, cardioprotective, anti-inflammation, immune system promoting, and protectors of the skin from UV radiation.Nih.gov states “these phytochemical substances are presented in nutrients and herbal medicines” which is a huge truth as many natural herbal recipes contain organic honey as a sweetener since it also presents benefits to our bodies.
According to Healthline.com even for small respiratory infections such as the ones commonly found amongst children, honey can do wonders for acting in replacement of medications – as certain medications contain difficult side effects and honey is a naturally produced substance. Studies show that it improves sleep, and has been proven to be more effective than two different types of common cough syrups.
Going Back In Time
Webmd.com states that back in ancient times, Egyptians would use honey as an “embalming fluid and a dressing for wounds”. So how is this honey truly made? Everydayhealth.com gives a great description of how honey is created within the bees nests. They say:
“Honeybees make honey from sweet flower nectar that they gather in their travels and bring back to their hive. The nectar is transferred from the collector bee to the worker bees back at the hive, who process the sweet liquid into a thick syrup and store it in honeycomb.
The Honey
The honeycomb itself is made of wax produced by younger bees and molded into hexagonal-shaped cells strong enough to hold the honey. As the worker bees unload the nectar into the cells, they fan it with their wings to help evaporate moisture so it becomes even thicker, stickier, and more resistant to spoilage. The bees then seal the honeycomb cells with more wax to protect the honey during storage.
Beekeepers use various methods to squeeze or otherwise extract honey from the honeycomb. Some methods drain the honey while preserving the wax comb so it can be used again, while others melt or otherwise manipulate the wax to remove and separate out the raw honey. Small-scale beekeepers usually stop here and sell honey in its raw state, but most mass producers of honey sold in supermarkets take the process a step further, buying up big batches of honey, and then diluting, heating, and filtering the raw product to remove pollen and other naturally occurring substances”.
With so many healing properties this is why honey is thought to also treat allergies. It is overall based on a concept that has not been fully proven, but still, people think that since honey is collected and created from the very plants and flowers all around us, taking a spoonful of organic rich honey every day, could actually cause your body to become accustomed to the pollen – this concept is called immunotherapy. While immunotherapy does make sense, more studies and research show it may not actually be the best in aiding in seasonal allergies. Therefore, the next time someone asks if you take honey for allergy relief, you can just let them know that despite the wonderful effects honey has on your immune system, allergies is not one of them. Might as well stick to Claritin!
A Happy You Is A Healthy You!
