Honey is one of the oldest most natural sweeteners known on earth. And very lucky for us, it has a lot of health benefits and uses too. Honey is so so good, that a lot of people include into their list of power foods that should always be in their kitchen. Here are a few benefits of this golden sweetener listed below:
1. It helps to prevent cancer and heart disease
Honey contains flavonoids and antioxidants which help to reduce the risk of some cancers and heart diseases as well.
2. Honey reduces ulcers and other gastrointestinal disorders
Some recent research has shown that honey treatment may help reduce the risk of disorders such as ulcers and bacterial gastroenteritis. This may be related to the next listed benefit.
3. It functions as an anti-bacterial and an anti-fungal
“All honey is antibacterial, because the bees add an enzyme that makes hydrogen peroxide,” said Peter Molan, director of the Honey Research Unit at the University of Waikato in New Zealand. This contributes to the incredibly long shelf-life of honey.
4. It increases athletic performance
Ancient Olympic athletes reportedly ate honey and dried figs to enhance their performance. This has since been verified with modern studies, showing that it is superior in maintaining glycogen levels and improving recovery time than most of the other sweeteners.
5. Reduces throat irritation and cough
Honey helps with coughs, particularly buckwheat honey. In a study of 110 children, a single dose of buckwheat honey was just as effective as a single dose of dextromethorphan in relieving nocturnal coughs and allowing proper sleep.
6. It heals wounds and burns
The external application of honey has been shown to be as effective as conventional treatment with silver sulfadiazine. It is assumed that the drying effect of the simple sugars and honey’s anti-bacterial nature fuse together to create this effect.
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