The Benefits Of Honey

THE BENEFITS OF HONEY

Honey is far better than what most people perceive. This natural product has some very big potential benefits for health in addition to its often-desired flavor; honey also offers incredible antiseptic, antioxidant and cleansing properties for our body and health, beauty and skin care, and amazing healing properties as a head-to-toe remedy, from eye conjunctivitis toathlete foot. Its powerful healing attributes have long been used thousands of years ago and are known to promote healing for cuts, cure ailments and diseases, and correct health disorders for generations after generations.

Bees create honey during their daily routine of gathering nectar from plants. When this nectar is stored in a hive and special enzymes are added the nectar eventually becomeshoney. This is then harvested for use by humans or stored by the bees themselves for their own enjoyment. When humans harvest honey, they typically either process it for resale or present it in the raw form. The benefits of honey in its raw form or processed, are useful for consumption and even for health reasons.

One of the most touted benefits of honey involves its natural antioxidantproperties. According to the University of California, the consumption of honey tends to raise the body's level of antioxidants in the blood. In one study 25 people were asked to eat about four to 10 tablespoons of buckwheat honey a day for an entire month. They were not allowed to bake or dissolve the honey, but any other consumption method was allowed. At the end of the study, researchers found thatantioxidant levels had risen in participants' bloodstreams. This is a big benefit of honey because antioxidants are known to keep free radicals, which damage cells. This has potential implications for staving off cancer and many other dread diseases.

The University of Waikato Honey Research Unit points to studies that show that honey can be rather beneficial when used as a wound dressing. This use,however, does date back to ancient times. The university points out, "In recent times this has been re-discovered, and honey is in fairly widespread use as a topical antibacterial agent for the treatment of wounds, burns, skin ulcers, fungal and viral infections there being many reports of its effectiveness."

According to EbeeHoney.com, the benefits of honey also extend tofighting high cholesterol levels. When consumed on a daily basis, the levels of LDL, or bad, cholesterol seem to go down. It is also thought that honey offers diabetics a better option over refined sugars. The use of honey seems to cause a lower rise in overall blood sugar levels than dextrose and sucrose. Diabetics, however, are still advised to check with their doctors or nutritionists before addingsweetened foods to their diets on a regular basis.

This substance is considered a great source of energy that contains no fat, cholesterol or sodium. Honey is commonly used by athletes to provide quick energy boosts without concern for adding fat to a diet. In addition, the University of Virginia's Dr. Paul Gold is noted for correlating the consumption of honey with an increase in memoryretention due to its ability to provide an energy boost.
Some evidence suggests that the benefits of raw honey can extend to cancer prevention and even treatment. Researchers at the University of Zagreb in Croatia conducted studies that showed some cancer tumors stopped growing and spreading when bee products were introduced. Research about honey and cancer remains ongoing, but many find the resultsencouraging.

The health benefits of honey are noted in many circles, drinking it in tea or simply consuming a spoonful to assist when sore throats are present. Reaping these benefits requires nothing more than adding this natural energy source to our diet, which can be through food, drink or as a sweetener to replace sugar. Some precautions require mention despite the benefits of raw...