Nature’s gift – Raw Honey & its benefits

Honey is one of nature’s purest foods and is much more than just a natural sweetener. It’s a “functional food,” which means it’s a natural food with health benefits. Raw honey nutrition is impressive. Raw honey contains 22 amino acids, 27 minerals and 5,000 enzymes.

This opaque liquid is not only rich in antioxidants but a plethora of vitamins such as B6, thiamine, riboflavin, pantothenic acid and niacin and minerals such as iron, zinc, potassium, phosphorous, magnesium and selenium.

Health benefits are not just restricted to weight loss but it can help in prevention and cure of many symptomatic diseases.

1. Immunity Booster: – Raw honey contains bee pollen, which is known to ward off infections, provide natural allergy relief and boost overall immunity.
   “One study fed 25 subjects about four tablespoons of honey per day for 29 days in addition to their regular diets. When blood samples were taken at the start and end of the study, researchers found a clear, direct link between honey consumption and an increased level of disease-fighting polyphenols in the blood”

2. Pre and post workout – Raw honey contains natural sugars (80 percent), water (18 percent), and minerals, vitamins, pollen and protein (2 percent). It provides an easily absorbed supply of energy in the form of liverglycogen making it ideal for energetic morning starts and as a pre and post exercise energy source.

3. Promotes sleep: – Raw honey promotes restorative sleep in two ways. By consuming honey before bedtime, it restocks the liver’s glycogen supply and prevents the brain from triggering a crisis search for fuel, which can wake you up. Secondly, eating raw honey fosters the release of melatonin in the brain by creating a small spike in insulin levels, which stimulates the release oftryptophan in the brain. Tryptophan converts to serotonin which is then converted to melatonin.

4. Heal Ulcer: – honey reacts with the body’s fluids to make hydrogen peroxide, creating an inhospitable environment for bacteria. Honey may reduce the size, pain and odour of problematic skin ulcers.

5. Diabetes Management: – The combination of raw honey and cinnamon can be especially beneficial to healthy diabetes management

6. Increases Haemoglobin: – One of the most natural ways to increase haemoglobin is by consuming raw honey. The mineral richness of this opaque cells help increase the iron content of the blood thereby treating anaemia

Raw honey is a crude form of honey immediately taken out of the cells of the honeycombs within a bee hive. This form of honey is far from pure. It commonly contains bee pollen and propolis which are both two very positive health additions.

Four ways to spot artificial honey

1. The Thumb Test — Put a drop of the honey on your thumb. If it spreads around right away or spills, it’s not pure. If it stays intact, it’s pure.
2. The Water Test — Fill a glass of water and add one tablespoon of “honey” into the water. Pure honey will lump and settle at the bottom of the glass. Adulterated and artificial honey will start dissolving in water.
3. The Shelf Life Test — Pure honey will crystallise over time. Imitation honey will remain looking like syrup, no matter how long it is stored.
4. Light a Fire — Dip the tip of a matchstick in “honey”, and then strike it to light. Natural honey will light the match easily and the flame will burn off the honey. Fake honey will not light because of the moisture it contains.

Honey available off the shelf is the pasteurised form which may not be entirely pure. Artificial honey is a food with many shortcomings, representing a solution of inverted sugar syrup, which comes from refined sugar, which often has other ingredients added. Such a synthetic preparation can be achieved in domestic conditions, but you need to know it is not healthy. Artificial honey contains a physical mixture of glucose and fructose focused elements that have separated from the previous combination of sugar.

Hence best bet is to procure the honey directly from the beekeepers.