Hippocrates, the father of medicine, said,
“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”.
When you recount the benefits of honey, it makes you feel that Hippocrates was perhaps thinking of this brownish-yellow delight when he said this.
Being naturally rich in fructose and glucose, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, honey has been an all time favorite of nutritionists. Honey has been used for several ailments for the past century; however, its natural delicious taste is far from medicine.
Here are 10 common benefits of using honey regularly.
BEAUTIFUL SKIN
Honey has been the secret of many females’ glowing skin. It serves as a moisturizer, exfoliant and an anti-aging agent. It is used in many products. It makes skin clear, smooth and radiant. It is also known to protect skin form harmful effects of UV rays and rejuvenates the skin.
CURE FOR ACNE
Acne break outs not only occur on the face, but a lot of people suffer from acne on their back, buttocks and axilla. Honey helps cure acne by absorbing impurities causing acne from the pores. Honey is an antiseptic and soothes the skin.
HEALTHY HAIR
Honey is a great remedy for weather-damaged, dull and dry hair. It helps remove embarrassing dandruff flakes from hair and helps retain moisture. It makes hair shiny, clean and lustrous. Also, it revives your hair if its color treated. Added in some water and lemon, it can be used as a hair conditioner after shampooing.
FOR EYES
As surprising as it may sound, Egyptians found the benefits of honey in curing eye disease. Applying honey on your eyes protects and improves your sight. It can also prevent decrease in eye-sight. It also cures redness, eye infections and conjunctivitis. It can also prevent cataracts and glaucoma in diabetic patients.
CONTROLS DIABETES
As mentioned earlier, honey is a rich source of natural sugars therefore it can substitute white sugar. It boosts energy and is healthier than white sugar. However, close monitoring of diabetic patients’ sugar is required all the time.
DECREASES RISK OF HEART DISEASE
Honey is known to reduce bad cholesterol (low density lipoprotein that clogs the blood vessels); concurrently it also increases good cholesterol (high density lipoprotein). By this method it prevents the clogging of arteries and building of a plaque. A concoction made of water, cinnamon and honey taken daily can reduce blood cholesterol up to 10%.
HELPS IN WEIGHT LOSS
Although honey cannot be entirely relied upon for losing weight, it can enhance weight loss because it’s an excellent detox agent. It cleanses the liver by its detoxification effects and removes unwanted fats from the liver lobules. This leads to better metabolism and more effective digestion process.
Primarily, honey is used with warm water and lemon on an empty stomach for optimal results. However, note that honey has 63 calories per table spoon so it should be used sparingly. Excess amount can result in weight gain. Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to replace your artificial sweeteners and white sugar with honey and the same amount of honey as other sweeteners adds much more taste. That means in lesser amount of honey you can enjoy your tea.
ANTI-BACTERIAL PROPERTIES
The same antibacterial properties that help improve acne also help in enhancing your immune system. Honey by its antioxidant and anti bacterial effects, makes your defense mechanism stronger and prevents common cold, flu and allergies.
CHEST AND THROAT INFECTION
In children with upper respiratory tract infection, two table spoon of honey can help them sleep better as it soothes the throat and depresses coughing mechanism. Adults can use honey in tea for its soothing effect during allergy attacks and throat infections.
AS HEALING AGENT
Anti-bacterial properties of honey help in healing of burns, cuts and wounds. Breast-feeding women can apply honey to sore nipples topically for rapid tissue repair and analgesic (pain killer) effects. Pure honey helps prevent further inflammation in wounds by keeping them sterile (bacteria free).
Honey is not less than a blessing for human race. In short, daily use of honey in your tea, water and desserts will not only make it taste better but give you innumerous health and cosmetic benefits.
