10 Surprising Benefits of Honey: Improve Health Naturally

Everyone knows that honey is good for you, but is that golden syrupy liquid any more than a tasty accompaniment to many sweet and savory dishes, or does it actually have the power to improve your health?

This post will delve into the health benefits of honey, the reason it is included in many remedies, products and foods, and what exactly is so powerful in this delicious nectar.

Health Benefits of Honey

The health benefits of honey are numerous. A review of clinical research found that honey has antibacterial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, amongst others. 

What this means is that honey can be helpful in the following circumstances:

• Help against ageing skin and damage from free radicals
• Help to treat and control diabetes
• Used for wound control
• Aid digestive issues
• Can treat respiratory illnesses such as coughs
• Offer protection against memory loss
• Proven benefits for neurological conditions such as depression and anxiety
• Regulate blood sugar
• Improve heart health
• Potentially reduce LDL cholesterol

One benefit of honey is its ability to help treat and control diabetes. For those with diabetes, honey may be a healthier option than refined sugar, as it can provide a more sustained release of energy and does not cause as much insulin spikes as refined sugars. Moreover, honey has been shown to help people with diabetes improve their overall blood sugar control.

Moreover, honey can be used to aid digestive issues. Due to its high levels of antioxidants and plant-based polyphenols, honey can help to reduce inflammation in the digestive tract, which can help to reduce bloating and stomach pains. It can also help to soothe stomach ulcers, and can reduce gastrointestinal issues.

Finally, honey can be used to treat respiratory illnesses, such as coughs and colds. Its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties can help to ease congestion and sore throats, as well as reduce the severity of colds and flu. Honey can help to reduce the duration of a cold, and can help to soothe sore throats.

What is Honey Good For?

While honey has many health benefits, there are other ways honey is good for you. Not only can honey be used in various health treatments, but it can also be good for many different things such as in skincare, in topical medicinal lozenges, and in toiletries.

Firstly, honey is a natural sweetener, meaning you can reduce the use of sugar and artificial sweeteners in your diet; improving your health helps you lose weight and gain essential nutrients, too.

Honey may be mostly sugar and water, but it also contains essential amino acids, micronutrients, antibiotic-rich inhibin, protein and phenyl-oxidants.

It is important to remember that there are over 300 types of honey, and depending on the honey you consume or use, you can benefit from the presence of copper, riboflavin, calcium, potassium and iron; as a general rule of thumb, the darker the honey, the more nutrients it has in it.

The Right Amount of Honey

What happens when you eat honey every day? While there are multiple proven benefits of eating honey, let’s not forget that it contains natural sugars. Honey is naturally fat-free, but consuming too much could have adverse effects on your health.

The American Heart Association suggests that two tablespoons of honey daily or 50g is optimal, and people don’t need much more than that to gain the health benefits of honey. You can mix it into various foods and drinks to consume or eat it as it comes from a bottle or jar. Consuming the recommended amount of honey daily can offer anti-inflammatory benefits, antibacterial protection, and an energy boost. Over-consumption can lead to weight gain or inflammation.

Honey Benefits for Men

Moving on from the general health benefits of honey consumption, there is also plenty of evidence that honey plays a part in increased gender-specific benefits.

Getting right into it, honey contains boron, which is a natural mineral you find in both food and the environment. Boron is associated with building strong bones and increasing muscle and testosterone levels, too. Testosterone is an important factor in your sexual health, and low testosterone can lead to decreased libido and sexual functions.

Honey’s anti-inflammatory properties can improve overall prostate health. If men have erectile dysfunction, honey can be a great addition to the diet as it has a vasodilatory effect, meaning it widens blood vessels and can increase blood flow to body parts.

The carbohydrates in honey can also help provide an energy boost for men, which improves heart health as you can be more active, which is essential in maintaining a healthy heart.

Honey Benefits for Women

Much like the specific benefits for the male population, honey is also beneficial for women. If you’re wondering what the benefits of honey are as a female, then don’t worry; there are some enticing ones you might be surprised by.

Dark honey, in its most natural form, is full of vitamins and minerals, has long been thought to help women with PCOS. Polycystic ovarian syndrome is when women of a childbearing age experience problems with their ovaries. Hormonal imbalances, irregular periods, and weight gain are common symptoms. Many women with PCOS also experience insulin resistance, and as honey is a natural antioxidant, it can help with this. Honey can also help with weight control as it can replace additional sugars and sweeteners used in foods to enhance the taste.

Did you know it is often thought that the word “honeymoon” came about because people often used honey to boost fertility in women and help them conceive after marriage? Hence, honeymoon comes from people consuming honey after a wedding to help them become pregnant.

Many doctors also suggest using honey to help maintain or lose weight, as the naturally occurring sugars can help regulate weight and ease menstrual cramps, too.

Lastly, like for men, honey can balance testosterone levels for women, which balances hormones and improves mood and reproductive health. So, if you’ve been on the fence over adding the best honey to your diet, these benefits of honey should be enough to sway you.

Honey Water Benefits

What exactly is honey water? Honey water is when you mix one teaspoon of honey with 8 ounces of warm water. You want to use organic, Manuka or raw honey for the best benefits, and you can then enjoy a nice warm drink with many.

While eating honey is often preferred by many people, making a honey drink can be an alternative way to get your daily dose of honey and see how it can support your health and nutrition. If you don’t fancy the thought of drinking honey mixed with warm water on its own, you can add lemon, powdered cinnamon or turmeric for a tastier drink with increased health benefits, too.

But why would you drink honey water? Much like eating honey, the pros of honey water can be plentiful for people who consume it. One such benefit is that honey water can help reduce bloating; it is partially helpful for women who experience bloating as part of their menstrual cycle or those who become bloated after eating certain foods. Other digestive benefits can include easing acid reflux and constipation.

Honey water can help to reduce allergies, ease sore throats, reduce illnesses, support a healthy immune system and also help you overcome cravings for sweet foods.

Pure Honey Benefits 

As previously mentioned in this post, pure honey, or raw honey, is the best option for maximum health benefits. The reason is that raw honey is only strained before it is bottled. In contrast, regular honey can undergo processing, which can remove some of its nutritional benefits, such as pollen and antioxidants. Raw honey retains all its properties, including pollen and antibacterial properties, meaning you get all the added benefits of organic honey.

The free radicals in organic or raw honey can protect against the signs of ageing; this is why you will often see honey in anti-ageing type products as this can be harnessed both as a food and an active ingredient in products, too. Free radicals can also protect against health conditions such as cancer and heart disease. At the same time, the pollen found in raw honey can also protect against gastrointestinal and cardiovascular issues and benefit the nervous system.

The nutritional benefits of raw honey are also far greater than that of processed honey, giving you a supply of minerals such as riboflavin, manganese, niacin, zinc, phosphorus and pantothenic acid, all of which our bodies need on a daily basis. An average tablespoon of raw honey contains over 22 important vitamins and minerals.

Pure honey can also provide healing and therapeutic properties in wounds and burns when used in a medical setting. That’s not to say slapping store-bought honey on your wound will help it to heal, but a high-grade Manuka honey used in sterile conditions has proven to be an effective healer.

Honey can be used to stop the spread of infection and protect against bacteria. It also contains natural antibacterial and antifungal properties that can help to combat infection. Honey has been used for centuries to treat cuts, scrapes, and infections, and can be applied directly to the skin to help reduce inflammation and infection.

Benefits of Local Honey

Local honey, or honey from the area you live in, will contain much of the same properties as mentioned in other points in this post and then some extra. You can expect to see a range of benefits if you consume local raw honey in its purest form.

You see, honey produced locally by bees in the area you also inhabit can benefit the local environment as it’ll often be created and packaged locally, meaning it will not travel far and that its properties will be specific to that region and the local wildlife. As the bees will have feasted on the local produce being grown, wildflowers and vegetation, you can expect that your local producers will be able to create some uniquely wonderful flavors that bring their honey to life.

Local honey supports the plant life in the region, the farmers and the residents. Plus, it is likely to be unfiltered, meaning it is highly nutritious, much like the pure honey talked about above. But with the added bonus of potentially being able to support those with allergies. 

Seasonal allergies are often caused by the plant life in a person’s vicinity, somewhere they live and frequent every day. Raw, pure honey made from bees in the same area can bring trace elements of allergens to the honey. This means, that people who eat local honey; will be getting exposure to their allergens at a low rate, allowing their body to become desensitised to the allergens present.

The many health benefits of honey make it a great addition to any diet, and it can be consumed in many different ways. From adding it to a cup of tea, to drizzling some over your breakfast or adding it to baked goods, honey can be used to sweeten your favorite dishes while providing a host of potential health benefits.

If you want to find out more about the type of honey on offer, and what type of honey is best for you then shopping our extensive range of high-quality honey can give you an insight into what type of honey to buy and why you need to have honey in your diet as a staple.