Honey benefits:What is best time to eat honey?

Health benefits of Honey 

Honey is a sweet food, which is healthier than table sugars. It is a natural sugar made by honeybees using nectar from the flowers. Cave paintings suggest human beings collected honey from honeycombs roughly 8000 years ago and the goodness of honey has been known and used in food and as medicine for at least 4000 years.

Honey is loaded with powerful antioxidants with antiseptic and antibacterial properties. It is not just to spread on bread toasts in the morning breakfast. Apart from its nutritive food value, honey is extensively used for its medicinal properties in alternative medicine. Studies about honey have revealed that honey has powerful anti-bacterial activity on a wide span of bacteria. The low water content and the osmotic property make honey an excellent anti-bacterial natural product.

5 best benefits of Honey

1.Lowers Blood Pressure

The antioxidant properties of honey have also been linked to lowering blood pressure. Several tests showed that regular consumption of honey lowers the blood pressure, and even helps keep it steady. This is especially beneficial in the elderly who are at risk of high blood pressure. When you are making a diet chart of old age citizens, do not miss out on adding honey to it.

2.Support a healthy gut

Honey possesses prebiotic properties. Prebiotics help to ferment beneficial bacteria in the gut, including bifidobacteria and lactobacilli. This shift has been linked to stronger immune function and enhanced mental well-being.

3.Soothes a Cough

Research suggests honey can help calm a cough. A review of six studies treating coughs in children found that a spoonful of honey suppresses a cough as well as dextromethorphan—the cough suppressant found in Robitussin DM—and better than Benadryl (diphenhydramine) or no treatment. The research also found honey may provide longer relief than Albuterol (salbutamol).

4.Reduces Risk of Cancer

Honey impacts the development of cancer during multiple stages of the progression of the disease.Honey has been shown to induce tumor cell apoptosis (cell death), reduce inflammation, and inhibit tumor growth. Although honey is not an effective treatment for cancer in itself, preliminary studies suggest the need for further investigation.

5.Protects liver from damage

Honey acts as a shield for the liver against certain diseases and damage. It is proven to decrease the side effects of paracetamol doses, which can induce liver damage. Paracetamol is found in common pain relievers such as Tylenol and Panadol. If your child is sick, a spoonful of honey will help the medicine go down and protect them from harm.  

How much honey a day?

There is no recommended daily intake for honey specifically, however, due to its high sugar content honey should be eaten in moderation. The World Health Organization suggest that free sugars (which means all monosaccharides and disaccharides added to foods by the manufacturers, cooks, or during cooking at home, plus sugars naturally present in honey, syrups and fruit juices) make up no more than 10% of a person’s daily energy intake. 11, 12 For an adult requiring 2000 kcal a day, 10% equates to no more than 200 kcal from free sugars, which is about 60 grams of honey if honey is used as the unique external source of sugar in one’s diet.

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