The Nutritional Benefits of Honey

Earlier this week I explained that the impending death of the honeybee poses grueling consequences to our ecosystem, our food chain and quite possibly our lives. But the demise of this small creature would also eliminate a very sweet, very tasty and very nutritional super food: Honey.

One of the dominant ingredients in honey is sugar, so you might think you’re better off just avoiding it altogether. But the nutritional benefits of honey more than make up for it.

These benefits come from eating just a couple tablespoons of honey each day.

Here are some of the health benefits that daily consumption of honey can offer you:

• It contains many essential nutrients, including “small amounts of proteins, enzymes, amino acids, minerals, trace elements, vitamins, aroma compounds and polyphenols.” Polyphenols, for instance, are produced by plants and promote healthy gut bacteria, which help fight diseases.
• It increases antioxidant levels. One such antioxidant is glutathione. Glutathione is perhaps the most important antioxidant in the human body. It helps prevent diseases associated with aging, including Alzheimer’s, autoimmune diseases, cancer and inflammation.
• It lowers bad cholesterol (LDL), increases good cholesterol (HDL) and maintains a healthy balance in other amino and fatty acid levels that impact the cardiovascular system.
• It is anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. When bees make honey, they add an enzyme that makes hydrogen peroxide, which helps tackle infections.
• It is a probiotic. Honey contains friendly bacteria that can benefit gut health and in turn help restore proper functioning of all systems in the body.

Whether you’re consuming honey as a preventative measure against disease, hoping to bolster your immune system, or whether you’re combating a sickness like the common cold, the nutritional benefits of honey make it a much-needed addition to your diet.

“But Honey, What Honey Should I Buy?”

You have a few different options for what type of honey your should eat and where you get it from. While it’s great to eat local honey, it’s even better to eat raw honey.

Local honey contains spores from indigenous trees, flowers and grasses. It is believed that consuming local honey triggers the body’s immune system much like a vaccine does. So introducing a low dose of spores to the immune system by eating it could “prep” antibodies and make a person more resistant to allergies. Plus, buying local honey also supports beekeepers and agriculture in your community.

Raw honey, however, is the most nutritional.

You probably won’t find raw honey in your typical grocery store. Most of the honey sold there is refined with a substantially higher glycemic index (impact on your blood-sugar level) than raw honey. Plus, the honey sold in your grocery store has been refined by treating it with heat, and heat eliminates most of honey’s exceptional health benefits. So …

Get It Straight From the Source

Look online for local beekeepers — they’ll be happy to help you out. Produce stands and natural health food stores usually provide a selection of local honey, too.

But if you’re going to be online searching for beekeepers anyway, you can just buy raw honey online.

Bee Raw sells honey from all parts of the country. Or you can try iGourmet.com for a large selection, plus an explanation of the different types. The varieties and flavors are endless. You might consider trying a couple of different smaller jars to determine what you prefer. Another tasty choice, that’s easy to get your hands on, is Honey Gardens Apitherapy Raw Honey.

I’m currently working my way through a 20 oz. jar of honey from Glazer Organic Farms in Miami, Florida. I love it. But, as far as I can tell, it’s only available in South Florida.

All told, honey is good for your health, supporting an industry that needs our help and addressing yet another problem government money can’t fix — defending the honeybees from a severe population decline.

To quality living,

JR Crooks
Editor, Sovereign Living

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