Raw Honey Benefits

Raw honey is a natural sweetener that has been used for thousands of years. It has some fantastic health benefits and uses, including some great recipes and side effects.

Every year, the typical American eats more than 150 pounds of refined sugar and an extra 62 pounds of high fructose corn syrup, according to Dr. Ron Fessenden, MD, MPH. In contrast, the typical American consumes just around 1.3 pounds of honey each year. According to a recent study, switching from refined sugar to pure raw honey may have substantial health advantages.

What exactly is raw honey? It’s a natural sweetener produced by bees from floral nectar that’s unfiltered and unpasteurized. The majority of honey eaten now has been cooked and filtered since it was collected from the hive. As a result, raw honey retains its nutritional content and health benefits, unlike processed honey.

What are the advantages of raw honey? It may assist with various issues, including poor energy, sleep issues, and seasonal allergies. Compared to diets rich in sugar or high fructose corn syrup, switching to raw honey may even reduce weight.

Health Benefits

1. Maintaining a Healthy Weight

Honey intake has been related to weight reduction in studies. However, according to research conducted by San Diego State University, substituting honey for sugar may help prevent weight gain while also lowering blood sugar levels. In addition, honey, in contrast to sugar, may decrease blood triglycerides, according to the findings.

Raw honey, according to another research from the University of Wyoming, may trigger appetite-suppressing hormones. A double-blind, randomly assigned study evaluated appetite hormones and glycemic responses in 14 healthy non-obese women after eating a breakfast containing either honey or sugar. Overall, the researchers found that honey intake may have anti-obesity benefits.

2. Pollen Allergies are Reduced

Raw honey includes bee pollen, which has been shown to help prevent infections, relieve allergies, and improve general health. Honey’s anti-allergy properties are based on a concept known as immunotherapy. What do you mean by that? Bees in your area gather pollen that makes you sick, yet when you eat local raw honey, you eat the same pollen that makes you sick. An allergy sufferer’s sensitivity to pollen that previously caused difficulties may decrease with time, resulting in fewer seasonal allergy symptoms. In addition, many allergy patients have discovered that local, raw honey relieves their symptoms by desensitizing them to the flora that triggers their allergic response.

A 2013 research showed that consuming high dosage of honey (one gram per kilogram of body weight of honey daily) for eight weeks may help with allergy symptoms. Honey intake improved overall and individual allergic rhinitis symptoms, according to researchers. Allergic rhinitis is a kind of allergic rhinitis characterized by itchy, watery eyes, sneezing, and other symptoms.

A daily spoonful of honey, according to some, may function as an allergy shot. However, pasteurized honey does not contain pollen. Therefore the kind of honey is essential. Raw pollen honey should be consumed for potential allergy relief throughout the season.

3. Source of Natural Energy

Raw honey is composed mainly of natural sugars (80%), water (18%), minerals, vitamins, pollen, and protein (2 percent). Honey has been dubbed “the ideal running fuel” for a good reason. It offers a quickly absorbed energy source in the form of liver glycogen, making it perfect for a quick start in the morning and as a pre-and post-workout energy source.

Honey is one of the most excellent carbohydrate options to take immediately before exercising in studies conducted at the University of Memphis Exercise and Sports Nutrition Laboratory. Furthermore, studies have shown that honey performs similarly to glucose, the sugar utilized in most commercial energy gels, as a sports fuel.

When using raw honey for athletic pursuits, I strongly suggest using it for both fuelling and recovery. Raw honey is used in some of the finest pre-workout snacks and post-workout meals for this reason.

4. Antioxidant Superhero

A daily intake of raw honey has been proven in studies to increase health-promoting antioxidants in the body. Antioxidants protect the body from disease-causing free radicals. It also strengthens the immune system, making it more resistant to a variety of illnesses. For example, polyphenols, potent antioxidants found in honey, have a lower risk of heart disease and cancer.

In one research, 25 volunteers were given four tablespoons of honey each day in addition to their regular meals for 29 days. As a result, researchers discovered a clear, direct connection between honey intake and an elevated amount of disease-fighting polyphenols in the blood when blood samples were collected at the beginning and conclusion of the trial.

According to research, honey includes the disease-fighting antioxidant flavonoids pinocembrin, pinostrobin, and chrysin. Pinocembrin promotes enzyme activity and has been proven in many studies to cause apoptosis (programmed cell death) in various cancer cells. While laboratory research indicates that chrysin may raise testosterone levels in men and improve bodybuilding outcomes, human study has shown no impact.

5. Sleep Enhancer

Raw honey helps you get a good night’s sleep in two ways. First, honey before sleep replenishes the liver’s glycogen store and stops the brain from launching a panic hunt for fuel, which may cause you to wake up. Second, raw honey promotes the release of melatonin in the brain by causing a modest rise in insulin levels, which stimulates the release of tryptophan. Serotonin is formed from tryptophan, which is subsequently transformed into melatonin.

Melatonin also improves immunity and aids tissue regeneration during sleep. On the other hand, sleep deprivation has been linked to hypertension, obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and arthritis. Honey, as a proven natural sleep aid, reduces the risk of all of these health issues.

6. Healer of Wounds and Ulcers

Honey-infused bandages have been proven to help in the healing process. Honey is a natural antimicrobial with wound-healing properties, according to Peter Charles Molan of the University of Waikato in New Zealand. However, he also discovered that honey produces hydrogen peroxide when it interacts with bodily fluids, making microorganisms unwelcome. Furthermore, “the concentrations of hydrogen peroxide produced are deficient in contrast to those usually given to a wound, resulting in very little cytotoxic damage from hydrogen peroxide.”

Honey is usually administered directly to the problem area or as a bandage that is changed every 24 to 48 hours to heal burns and wounds. The dressing is sometimes kept on for up to 25 days. Since 1991, four Mumbai hospitals have recommended and utilized a honey-ghee mixture to treat infected wounds.

Honey has also been researched for its efficacy in healing different kinds of ulcers. Honey may help to decrease the size, discomfort, and odor of skin ulcers.

7. Diabetes Support

Raw honey may assist with diabetes treatment by lowering the risk of acquiring diabetes and enhancing the effectiveness of diabetic medications. In addition, raw honey and cinnamon are beneficial for healthy blood sugar control and various other health issues like gingivitis and acne.

According to research out of Dubai, Honey, compared to dextrose and sucrose, has been shown to produce a reduced increase of plasma glucose levels in people with diabetes. Some believe that the insulin-stimulating properties of cinnamon may offset the glucose increase in honey, making your honey and cinnamon combo a low-glycemic-index meal.

Raw honey raises insulin levels and lowers blood sugar levels. Try a tiny amount at a time to observe how it affects your blood sugar, and include raw honey and cinnamon in your diabetic meal plan.

8. Natural Cough Syrup 

Raw honey has been proven to be just as effective as over-the-counter cough syrups in treating coughs. In addition, a growing body of research suggests that a single dosage of honey may decrease mucus production and coughing. In one study, honey was shown to be equally as efficient as diphenhydramine and dextromethorphan, which are popular components in over-the-counter cough medications.

For anybody over the age of one, a half teaspoon to two teaspoons of honey at night is a researched and suggested dose for a cough.

Natural Remedy Applications

Check out these honey uses if you’re ready to start incorporating raw honey into your diet.

1. Improve digestion – Honey, which does not ferment in the stomach, maybe consumed one to two teaspoons at a time to relieve indigestion.
2. Nausea treatment — To assist in alleviating nausea, combine honey, ginger, and lemon juice in a bowl.
3. Acne treatment – Honey is an inexpensive face cleanser that is mild on all skin types and may treat acne. Warm half a spoonful of honey between your palms and gently apply it to your face. Allow it to sit for 10 minutes before rinsing with warm water and patting dry.
4. Exfoliator – Honey is a fantastic exfoliant! Add two cups of honey to a bath, soak for 15 minutes, then add one cup of baking soda for the last 15 minutes to treat dry winter skin.
5. Improve diabetes – Raw honey consumption may lower the chances of getting diabetes and assist in administering diabetic medications. Raw honey raises insulin levels and lowers blood sugar levels. Add a tiny amount to your diet at a time to observe how your blood sugar responds.
6. Lower cholesterol – Honey may help you lower your cholesterol and, as a result, your risk of coronary heart disease.
7. Improve circulation – Raw Honey strengthens the heart and improves blood circulation, allowing your brain to operate at its best.
8. Antioxidant support — Raw honey consumption boosts plaque-fighting antioxidants.
9. Restorative Sleep – Raw honey aids in the restoration of sleep. To help you sleep, mix a spoonful of melatonin with a cup of warm milk.
10. Beneficial Bacteria — Raw Honey is high in natural prebiotics, which helps to stimulate the development of beneficial bacteria in the gut.
11. Reduces Seasonal Allergies — Raw Honey, if obtained locally, may aid in the reduction of seasonal allergies. Every day, add one to two teaspoons to your diet.
12. Weight loss – Using raw honey instead of white sugar may help you lose weight.
13. Moisturize – A moisturizing lotion may be made with a tablespoon of raw honey, olive oil, and a splash of lemon.
14. Hair mask – By moisturizing your hair, a raw honey hair mask may help enhance shine. Simply combine 1 teaspoon, raw honey with 5 cups warm water, apply to your hair, and let it rest for 10 minutes before rinsing well, allowing your hair to air dry and styling as usual.
15. Eczema treatment – Mix equal parts honey and cinnamon in a topical combination to alleviate mild eczema.
16. Reduce inflammation — Anti-inflammatory compounds in raw honey may help with respiratory disorders, including asthma.
17. Heal wounds — Applying raw honey topically to minor burns, wounds, rashes, and abrasions may help speed up the healing process.
18. UTI Treatment—Honey’s antibacterial qualities may aid in the treatment of urinary tract infections.
19. Shampoo – Raw Honey may help to cleanse and rehydrate your hair and scalp.
20. Sore throat and cough relief – Another excellent treatment for sore throat and cough is honey. This is particularly beneficial for youngsters who have a cough. Simply take one spoonful of honey or mix it with lemon in your tea.

How much to Use

Regarding honey intake, 50% of the population buys honey directly, 35% never eats honey, and the remaining 15% consume honey via honey-based goods such as honey-roasted peanuts. Raw honey may be accessible at your local grocery store, but it is more likely to be found in a health food shop or, better yet, from a local beekeeper. It’s also accessible on the internet.

Raw honey will be opaque rather than the dazzling, bright, golden hue from boiling it.

Cooking with raw honey will ruin its beneficial qualities. Also, keep it away from a heat source. If you like honey in your tea or coffee, wait until it’s warm enough to drink comfortably before adding honey to the taste.

Drizzle it over your sprouted grain toast or yogurt for the morning. It also goes well with fruits like honeydew and apples, and it’s a beautiful addition to smoothies and salad dressings. In non-heated dishes, raw honey may be a healthful substitute for highly processed sugar. For example, you can usually replace one tablespoon of sugar in a recipe (that does not need cooking) with two tablespoons of honey.

What Exactly Is Raw Honey?

Commercial Honey vs. Raw Honey

Raw Honey is honey that has been extracted directly from the cells of a bee hive’s honeycombs. This honey is far from being pure. It often includes bee pollen and propolis, both of which are beneficial to one’s health. On the other hand, raw honey may consist of dead bees, legs, wings, hunks of beeswax, and other contaminants. Don’t worry; if any undesirable things end up in the honey, they’ll be strained out before it’s bottled.

Raw honey cannot be cooked beyond 95 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the hive’s natural temperature. Raw honey may be strained, but it is never filtered or pasteurized. As a result, it can’t contain any additional ingredients, either.

On the other hand, commercial honey is often highly processed and may have even been chemically refined. Honey processing is a poor idea since excessive heat destroys the natural enzymes, vitamins, and minerals in honey. In addition, many vital phytonutrients, including pollen and enzyme-rich propolis, are lost during the filtering and processing procedure. Nevertheless, heat is the only method to get dazzling clear honey, so avoid golden, syrup-like honey and go for opaque, organic raw honey instead.

Bees treated with antibiotics (such as ciprofloxacin in China’s Honey) may produce non-raw Honey or regular commercial Honey. They may also be fed sugar or a low-cost syrup as a source of winter nutrition. Hives are constructed of non-organic materials, which are susceptible to pests and must be cleaned using non-organic materials. Raw honey is pasteurized and filtered, and it may include additives.

According to a Texas A&M University’s Palynology Research Laboratory study, 76 percent of honey products sold in supermarkets and grocery shops had no evidence of bee pollen, which has many health advantages. However, the Food and Drug Administration claims that ultra-filtered honey products, such as these, are not natural honey, and therefore the health advantages cannot be presumed. In addition, some “honey” may contain high fructose corn syrup.

Organic vs. Non-organic Honey

Raw Organic Honey is the most common kind of organic honey. Heating is not permitted beyond 95 degrees F, just as it is not allowed with raw honey. Honey must follow excellent organic management according to each country’s set of criteria and circumstances to be labeled as organic. Only gravitational settling and straining should be used in the processing.

Other Varieties vs. Manuka

The term “conductivity” refers to an indirect method of determining a honey’s mineral content. For example, Manuka honey has a conductivity that is four times that of typical floral honey. The greater the conductivity, the higher the honey’s nutritional value.

When comparing Manuka honey to other types, there is always a unique Manuka factor (UMF), which is a worldwide standard for recognizing and evaluating Manuka’s antibacterial potency. The UMF is essentially a guarantee that the honey supplied is of medical grade. This is a criterion of health benefit that only Manuka Honey meets.

The lowest UMF rating accepted is UMF5; nevertheless, honey with a UMF10+ level of antibacterial activity is not deemed helpful. Anything between UMF10 and UMF15 is regarded as valid, while anything UMF16 and above is considered better. While other honey, such as organic raw honey, may have significant health benefits, they do not precisely measure or grade exactly as Manuka honey.

The National Honey Board, which describes itself as “an industry-funded agricultural marketing organization that educates people about the advantages and applications for honey and honey products,” offers additional information about honey types on its website. For example, fermented honey is one healthful alternative. Also, if your honey crystallizes, it may indicate an excess of sugars, so keep a watch out for that. It is, nevertheless, a natural process.

Acacia honey (typically light-colored), buckwheat honey (generally darker in color than its counterparts), and neem honey are some of the other honey types.

Honey from Polyfloral Flowers vs. Monofloral Flowers

Depending on the type, each honey may be classified as polyfloral Honey or monofloral Honey. So what’s the difference between the two? Bees that use nectar from just one flower species produce monofloral honey, while bees that use nectar from many flower sources produce polyfloral honey.

Nutritional Information

Honey is one of nature’s most pure foods, and it’s much more than a natural sweetener. It’s a “functional food,” meaning it’s a natural food with health advantages. The nutritional value of raw honey is astounding. 22 amino acids, 27 minerals, and 5,000 enzymes are found in raw honey. Iron, zinc, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and selenium are minerals. Vitamin B6, thiamin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, and niacin are all vitamins present in honey. Honey’s nutraceuticals also aid in the neutralization of harmful free radical activity.

Honey has a healthy glycemic load of about 10 for one tablespoon, which is less than a banana and 64 calories. Raw honey, unlike white sugar, does not produce a sugar surge or increased insulin release.

Bees spend hundreds of hours gathering pollen from approximately 2 million blossoms to produce one pound of pure honey, even though honey is a cheap meal. Honey contains roughly 18 percent water on average; however, the lower the water level, the higher the honey quality. Honey, best of all, requires no additional storage or refrigeration and may be eaten directly from the jar.

Interesting Facts and History

• Honey has been a popular meal throughout history and in traditional medicine. So when God instructed the Israelites to “go up to the country flowing with milk and honey,” He used honey to encourage them. Exodus 33:3 is a passage from the book of Exodus.
• Since ancient times, raw honey has been utilized as a medicinal.
• Honey has been revered for ages owing to its unique sweet qualities as well as its scarcity. It was used to embalm the dead and in religious rituals.
• Apiculture, or beekeeping for the production of honey, has been practiced since at least 700 B.C.
• Honey was utilized as an energy source by runners in ancient Greece during the Olympic Games.
• Honey’s health advantages are dependent on the quality of the honey.
• Raw honey and bee pollen both include tiny quantities of the same resins found in propolis.
• The health advantages of raw honey are mainly lost when it is excessively processed and cooked.
• You’ve probably heard of the honey mushroom, also known as the honey fungus. Although it does not include raw honey, this mushroom has a sweeter flavor, as indicated by its name.

Here are some often asked questions regarding honey and their answers:

Is honey perishable?

As Natasha Geiling explains in a Smithsonian Magazine article, honey has a long shelf life and is usually safe to eat after extended periods if stored in a sealed container, but it may crystallize.

What is the composition of honey?

Flower nectar in combination with enzymes secreted by bees.

Bees produce honey for a variety of reasons.

Bees produce honey in the summer and store it for the winter, so they don’t get hungry. They have honey by collecting nectar from flowers and combining it with an enzyme they release in a honeycomb. The water in the nectar evaporates over time, resulting in honey.

Is honey a kind of sugar?

Raw honey is a sugar that is unprocessed and includes fructose and sucrose.

What is the density of honey?

At 20 degrees Celsius, it varies from 1.38 to 1.45 g/cm

What is the carbohydrate content of raw honey?

Raw honey has around 17 grams of carbs per tablespoon (about 21 grams).

Potential Risks and Side Effects

Honey is considered safe when eaten by mouth in regular meal quantities or authorized doses. Honey should never be given to children under 12 months because raw honey may contain botulism spores. Honey is safe for older children and adults, but just for babies, therefore people may consume honey if they are not allergic. If you have a weakened immune system or are receiving cancer treatment such as chemotherapy or radiation, you should consult your doctor before eating raw honey.

Raw honey should not be consumed if you are allergic or sensitive to celery, pollen, or other bee-related sensitivities. In addition, due to toxicity, honey produced from Rhododendron plants may potentially induce allergic responses.

“Do you enjoy honey?” Proverbs 25:16 asks. “Don’t overeat, or you’ll get sick!” Even though honey is one of the healthiest sweeteners, it should be used in moderation. Weakness, dizziness, vomiting, sweating, and nausea are mild honey intoxications adverse effects. Unless you eat a large amount of honey, other more severe side effects are unlikely.

Honey has also been found to generate hydroxymethyl furfuraldehyde when cooked to high temperatures (HMF). HMF levels increased significantly when rats were heated from 60 degrees Celsius to 140 degrees Celsius, according to the research. What is the significance of this? HMF has several adverse effects and is thought to be carcinogenic.

Last Thoughts

• Raw honey is the purest and most natural kind of honey available.
• It is unfiltered and unpasteurized, meaning it has not been processed or heated to reduce its natural vitamin and mineral content.
• Flavonoids in raw honey are both disease-preventive and disease-fighting.
• Because raw honey includes both propolis and bee pollen, you get the advantages of these natural superfoods.
• Allergies, diabetes, sleep issues, coughing, and wound healing have all been clinically shown to benefit from it.
• Raw honey is an excellent addition to a pre-and post-workout snack for increased energy and faster recovery.
• To get raw honey, look for a local beekeeper. This increases the likelihood of it assisting with seasonal allergies.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does eating raw honey do for you?

A: Eating raw honey can help with allergies, inflammation, and asthma. It also has antibacterial properties that can kill some types of bacteria.

What happens if you eat raw honey every day?

A: Raw Honey can be dangerous to consume because the enzymes in raw honey are not destroyed by heat. This means that if you eat essential honey every day, then your body will become used to digesting it, and you will experience a build-up of natural enzymes, which can cause side effects such as bloating, abdominal pain, cramps, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, gas pains or even death.

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