If you eat honey every day, you may soon find yourself looking and feeling better.
In fact, our health can benefit in many ways from a daily dose of the cheap and delicious
sweet substance.
Here are all the ways honey helps us when we eat it every day.
Used as a beauty secret by people the world over, honey is an effective tool for cleaning,
protecting, and healing wounds, and can also act as a barrier to prevent infection.
However, the benefits of honey for your skin don't stop at topical applications.
Nutrition author David Wolfe writes his book The Beauty Diet,
"Honey's amino acids support tissue rebuilding and repair to keep the foundation under the
skin plump and strong."
In addition, honey contains melatonin, which helps in the quest for sleep, which we know
is key to keeping skin looking healthy.
The world around us is full of toxins, and we often indulge in foods and beverages that
aren't the kindest to our bodies.
Luckily, nature provides a solution.
Studies have shown that honey's antioxidant properties may be able to lessen the effects
of many diseases associated with excessive free radicals in the body.
Foods such as tea, berries, and honey are full of flavonoids, or plant chemicals that
can help treat oxidative stress, which is caused by an imbalance of antioxidants and
free radicals.
By adding honey to your morning tea, you can help your body detox and get back in balance.
"Just relax, and don't move."
"Okay.
Ugh.
This is the most stressed out I've ever been in my life."
Nothing runs in the human body without the heart, so it's important to keep the blood-pumping
muscle in tip-top shape.
We know from countless medical studies that diet and exercise are key elements of heart
health, and one tasty food you can work into your diet in order to benefit your heart is,
you guessed it, honey.
In addition to helping to rid your body of toxins, the antioxidants and flavonoids in
honey could be associated with reduced risk of heart disease.
A 2010 review in the African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines noted
that flavonoids decrease the risk of coronary heart disease in three ways.
Not only do they widen the coronary blood vessels, but they also decrease the ability
of the platelets in the blood to clot.
Additionally, flavonoids prevent the oxidation of LDLs that could contribute to the hardening
and narrowing of your arteries.
So if you want to take good care of your heart, try eating honey.
Chock full of carbohydrates, honey is an important natural, nutritional, and energy-giving food
source.
That's why athletes around the world turn to the substance to aid in athletic performance.
When in training mode, many athletes reach for sports gels to help replenish glycogen
and improve endurance, but it turns out honey is a natural alternative.
Regarding a recent study of honey vs. sports gels, Richard Kreider, a principal investigator
at the University of Memphis Exercise and Sport Nutrition Laboratory, told Scientific
American,
"We were pleased to find that honey, a 'cocktail' of various natural sugars, performed just
as well [as sports gels]."
While it might seem strange to eat calorie-packed honey while on a weight-loss journey, honey
has actually been proven to be a helpful factor in weight loss.
A 2011 study on rats revealed that honey resulted in 14.7 percent less weight gain in the rats
that consumed honey instead of sucrose.
In another rat-based study in 2017, researchers found that honey produced better results than
a drug meant to control obesity.
The study also noted that the two kinds of honey used were not created equal, as Gelam
honey performed better than Acacia honey in the attempt to squelch weight gain.
When it comes to humans, studies are still being conducted, but a 2018 diabetes study
found that participants who incorporated honey into their daily diet experienced a significant
decrease in waist circumference over participants who did not.
Hangovers are the worst.
A fun night out can deplete us, dehydrate us, and keep us in bed for the whole day with
the blanket over our heads.
Fortunately, honey may help keep hangovers at bay.
There is evidence that honey aids in the metabolic process of alcohol in the system.
A 2009 study on fructose and alcohol metabolization found that,
"[Honey] reduced the duration of alcohol intoxication by 30.7%, and accelerated the elimination…of
alcohol from bloodstream by 44.7%."
Dr. Kevin Strang, a physiology professor at University of Wisconsin Madison, told Cosmopolitan
that he suggests eating a honey-covered banana when you're hungover.
The sugars in the sweet snack deliver a speedy dose of glucose to the bloodstream, helping
you to feel less irritable.
If we aren't getting enough sleep, we not only get cranky, but can also seriously harm
our long-term health.
If you're struggling with sleep, eating honey is an ancient trick that can help you fall
asleep and stay there.
As a matter of fact, cultures from all over the world have their own pre-sleep rituals
involving honey.
From Europeans drinking warm milk and honey, to folks in Mexico sipping warm chamomile
tea with honey before bed, there are plenty of ways to harness the power of honey to get
rest.
Swallowing a couple spoonfuls of honey at bedtime causes the pancreas to release insulin,
which, in turn, sends tryptophan to the brain.
This leads to serotonin being converted to melatonin in the pineal gland, helping us
fall and stay asleep.
For centuries, humans have been using honey to relieve stress and help soothe anxiety,
mixing it into calming teas and adding it to warm milk as a pre-sleep aid.
Since sleep is a key component in keeping anxiety levels low, it's important to make
sure we're getting enough rest every night if we have any hope of managing stress and
anxiety.
There are oodles of stress-relief beverages from all over the world that include honey.
One such tried-and-true recipe is Moon Milk, a sleep aid which has been used for centuries
used in Ayurvedic medicine, one of the world's oldest holistic healing systems.
Some of the key ingredients in Moon Milk are ashwagandha, nutmeg, and, you guessed it,
honey.
There are several types of cholesterol found in the human body, but when we hear the initials
LDL, we know we're talking about the bad kind.
High levels of LDL, or low-density lipoprotein cholesterol can lead to plaque build-up in
the arteries of the heart, increasing our risk for heart attacks and strokes.
There are many ways to prevent that dangerous build-up, including medicine, exercise, and
making changes to diet.
One such change you can make to help lower your levels of heart-hurting LDL is to eat
more honey.
In a 2009 study, it was found that participants who ate honey had lower body-mass indexes,
which has been correlated with lower LDL numbers.
While female participants who ingested a sugar solution were found to have increased LDL
levels, the women who ate honey did not.
An additional 2013 study showed that consuming natural honey can limit the rise in blood
glucose in healthy young adults, while significantly decreasing their levels of total cholesterol,
LDL, and triglycerides
What we eat affects how well many of our body's systems function, and our brains are no exception.
Fortunately, honey's ability to lower LDL cholesterol levels may also benefit our brains.
Dr. Francine Grodstein of Harvard Medical School told Harvard Health,
"We know [LDL cholesterol is] bad for your heart.
There is now a lot of evidence that it's also bad for your brain."
It turns out that cholesterol can build up into plaque in the brain, potentially leading
to diseases such as Alzheimer's.
High LDL levels also contribute to an increased risk for strokes, which are caused by a disruption
in blood flow to the brain, and can lead to significant brain damage.
By keeping your LDL levels low through regular consumption of honey, you can help keep your
brain healthy and functioning at its best.
Acid reflux is not only an annoying condition to have to endure on a day-to-day basis, but
it can also be incredibly painful.
The condition occurs when stomach acid rises up into the esophagus, and while many factors
can cause it, eating fried food, drinking alcohol, and smoking are all known to exacerbate
the issue.
The symptoms of acid reflux can range from a burning sensation in the chest to a lump
in the throat, chest pain, issues with swallowing, and regurgitation.
A bad case of acid reflux can make it hard to get through your day, and can even disrupt
your sleep.
Although there are plenty of over-the-counter medications you can take to help alleviate
the symptoms of acid reflux, one of the best remedies can be found in nature.
Known for both its anti-inflammatory and wound-healing properties, honey can potentially quell the
painful symptoms that arise when stomach acid begins to irritate the esophagus.
According to the Indian Journal of Medical Research, honey's high density, high viscosity,
and low surface tension all work together to enable it to remain in the esophagus longer,
coating the mucus membrane and providing lasting relief.
Gut health is a key component to our physical and mental health.
With thousands of bacteria working deep in our bellies, if anything is out of whack,
it can make us feel really crummy.
Fortunately, the antibacterial properties of honey can help rid the digestive tract
of unwanted visitors, and can even help protect the body against dangerous microorganisms
like E. coli and salmonella.
In addition, a 2006 study showed that by substituting the sugars in processed foods with honey,
we can reduce the harmful effects of mycotoxins on our bodies while also improving our gut
microflora.
Honey has also been proven to fight off the pesky bacteria that can lead to dyspepsia
and gastric ulcers in humans.
This is because honey contains hydrogen peroxide, a component that is present due to a natural
enzyme bees have in their stomachs called glucose oxidase.
As the bees work to turn the nectar they collect into honey, this glucose oxidase turns into
hydrogen peroxide, which then preserves the honey against bacteria.
Ever since ancient times, people all over the world have been using honey and lemon
to ward off a cough and soothe a sore throat.
This natural remedy is so effective that it's still pervasive today, and there's real science
behind why honey works to help calm a persistent cough.
In one 2010 study, honey was found to be a more effective cough suppressant than the
active ingredients in several common over-the-counter cough medicines, such as Benadryl and Robitussin.
When it comes to honey's ability to soothe a pesky sore throat, the science is still
inconclusive.
However, in a 2018 article in New York Magazine in which professional singers offered their
best quick fixes for sore throats, many of the musicians listed honey as part of their
solutions.
Three-time Grammy Award winner Angelique Kidjo gargles with warm water infused with fresh
thyme, a tablespoon of butter, and a tablespoon of honey whenever her throat begins to hurt.
Meanwhile, R&B singer-songwriter Aaron Livingston, who goes by the stage name Son Little, recommends
a teaspoon of Manuka honey mixed with "as much chopped up garlic as [he] can handle,"
as a surefire way to soothe a scratchy throat.
It's a well-known old wives' tale that including local honey in your diet can help ward off
the effects of allergies by gradually exposing allergy sufferers to local pollens, helping
them build up an immunity.
Unfortunately, according to The New York Times, there is no evidence to back up this claim.
However, while local honey may not do much for your seasonal allergies, eating a spoonful
of honey every day can aid in boosting your immune system.
Your immune system is incredibly complex, and can be compromised by a variety of factors
such as lack of sleep, improper diet, travel, stress, and poor gut health, many of which
we already know can be improved through the regular ingestion of honey.
And in addition to honey's beneficial antioxidant and anti-bacterial properties, there's plenty
of evidence that eating honey every day also helps boost your immune system.
So if you haven't been feeling your best, try adding a spoonful of honey to your daily
routine, and see how much better you feel.
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