We all grew up falling in love with honey probably because it's the sweetest food substance known to us as little children.
Honey has been used in many expression to indicate not only sweetness but also absent of suffering.
Also, it has been used as a special word for folks who are in love, calling themselves 'honey'.
Some expressions made with honey include
1. In the land of milk and honey.
2. The world is plentiful with honey but only a humble bee can collect it.
3. As sweet as honey.
4. Life is a flower of which love is honey.
What is honey?
Honey is a sweet thick brown liquid produced by bee. It's sugary in taste and rich in nutrients such as glucose, fructose, flavonoids among others.
Many microorganisms do not thrive in honey, hence it can last for a longtime if properly packaged and stored.
Honey has been used since ancient days in treatment of wide range of ailments. Most people regard honey as natural medicine given to us by God.
Benefits of honey of eating honey
1. Honey provides rich antioxidants properties
These are substances which chelate or remove free radicals from the body.
They act as soldiers defending a particular territory from dangerous intruders.
Antioxidant may not be well understood without knowing the meaning of free radicals.
Free radicals are the byproducts of physiological metabolism which are toxic to the health.
They gradually and slowly damage the body cells, this results to chronic diseases after a long period of time.
Free radicals give rise to such diseases as cardiovascular, cancer and other terminal diseases.
However, the antioxidant is the body way of counteracting the effects of free radicals.
These soothing chemical substances are usually gotten from variety of foods.
Taking antioxidants laden foods is one of the major ways to stay healthy, and honey happens to be one of such foods.
Honey contains numerous antioxidants such as flavonoids, carotenoids, vitamin C, polyphenols compounds. Thus making honey to have high antioxidant properties.
Polyphenols in honey such as Quarantine, Acecetin and Chrysin have been shown to be potent against cancer.
2. Honey acts as an antifungal agents
Research has shown that honey has antifungal properties which is effective against Aspergillus spp, Penicillium app and Candida species, but this is more efficient in clinical settings.
The hydrogen peroxide and glucose content of honey make this possible.
3. Medical grade honey is used in treating wounds
Sanitized / clean honey can be applied directly on the surface of cleaned wound to achieve the expected result. Honey has been reported to be one of the best home remedy for treating wounds from cut, surgery, and injuries.
It usually brings about healing by eliminating odour from the wound, reducing the surface size, and inhibiting microbial contamination on the wound.
But it must be noted that the wound size and depth must be put into consideration.
For a very deep wound, ensure you see your doctor first but for mild or small wounds honey can be used as a home remedy.
Please note that applying honey in a deep wound may slow down the healing of such wound.
4. Honey cures psoriasis
Psoriasis is the redness of the skin often accompanied with blisters and itching. Study involving psoriasis patients who were fed with honey showed the reduced redness and itching of the skin.
5. Pill / hemorrhoid treatment
This is a bloated or enlarged vein in the anus often causing pain during excretion and when sitting. Pill condition is commonly seen in pregnant women and obese.
Honey has been reported to be specially effective in treatment of pill.
This is done by simply mixing equal volume of honey, beewax and olive oil.
Then applying a spoonful of the mixture on the anal region.
The patient is required to be in one spot for at least 15 minutes.
6. Honey can cure diabetes
Honey has a low glycemic index, as such, it's the best option for for diabetic patients who can't stop sugar consumption.
Honey is sweeter than sugar (sucrose) yet it does not raise the blood sugar the way sugar does.
Hence, honey is the top substitute for sugar because it's nice to the blood sugar.
Therefore, to maintain a constant blood sugar; honey should be used in place of sugar when preparing foods for diabetic patients.
References:
Anyanwu, C.U. (2012).Investigation of in vitro antifungal activity of honey. Journal of Medicinal Plants Research, 6 (18), pp. 3512-3516. DOI:10.5897/JMPR12.5770.5897/JMPR12.577
Photo Credit:
https://www.pexels.com/photo/honey-on-white-bowl-33260/
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