The golden, sugary nectar of nature, honey has a variety of special nutritional and medicinal qualities.
When the Vedic civilization first emerged, honey was regarded as one of the most amazing gifts to humanity.
Current studies verify that the sticky, sweet substance does, in fact, have a variety of special nutritional and therapeutic qualities.
Learn about honey’s advantages from both ends of the spectrum and why it’s useful for much more than just tea sweetening by continuing to read.
The nutritional value of honey
In honey, the three main sugars are sucrose, fructose, and glucose. Of all the sugars, glucose is the most basic.
It is found in fruit and vegetable juices as well as in the blood of living animals. It is necessary for our bodies’ oxygen metabolism and recuperation.
Compared to glucose, fructose crystallizes more readily and aids in tissue growth. Fructose and glucose combine to form sucrose.
The gooey material called dextrin, which is present in honey in trace amounts, is what gives it its high digestibility.
The pollen in honey is found to include all 22 amino acids, 28 minerals, 11 enzymes, 14 fatty acids, and 11 carbs, according to recent research.
Natural advantages as stated in the old Ayurvedic texts
Because honey contains a lot of dextrin, it enters the bloodstream directly and has numerous health benefits.
Honey as well as elimination or digestion
Honey is said to be beneficial for people who have weak digestion in the ancient Ayurvedic writings.
Constipation and hyperacidity can be effectively treated with a spoonful of fresh honey mixed with the juice of half a lemon in a glass of lukewarm water and eaten first thing in the morning.
Ayurvedic scriptures state that honey functions as an emetic and laxative to help expel waste when it is present in the alimentary canal due to undigested meals and other pollutants.
Honey and iron concentrations
The iron, copper, and manganese that honey contains play a major role in its remarkable ability to help the body produce hemoglobin.
Red blood corpuscles and hemoglobin balance are said to be maintained by it, according to ancient writings.
Honey and the health of your lungs
In Ayurveda, honey is considered to be very helpful for maintaining respiratory balance and lung function.
Additionally, according to Ayurvedic texts, honey can be a very helpful remedy for a sore throat or painful cough.
The upper respiratory tract’s mucous membrane is soothed by it as a demulcent (soothing) agent. Its inclusion as an ingredient in different cough syrups is therefore common.
Honey And your skin tone
Honey has the potential to soothe skin when applied externally. Because of this, it frequently appears in homemade Ayurvedic face masks along with turmeric and/or oatmeal.
The reason why you should never overheat Honey
Given all of its health advantages, honey is a fantastic addition to any diet. Regretfully, heating honey for commercial purposes results in the loss of many of its nutritional properties.
“Nothing is as troublesome as the Ama caused by improper intake of honey,” stated Ayurvedic scholar Charak in his ancient writings.
According to Ayurveda, ama, or toxic, undigested matter in the body, is thought to be the primary cause of most illnesses.
When toxins accumulate in the body, they can serve as a haven for a variety of unpleasant health issues.
Charak makes it abundantly evident that heating honey produces undesirable effects and makes it extremely difficult to digest.
The state of modern science supports this. According to a study, heating honey results in the production of hydroxymethylfurfuraldehyde (HMF), a chemical that has been connected to toxicity and potential carcinogenic effects in certain forms.
Honey’s chemical composition is also changed in other ways by heating. For example, it raises the peroxide levels, which are known to have harmful effects.
How to consume honey in the best way
From an Ayurvedic standpoint, it is recommended to steer clear of cooking and baking with honey and instead use it raw and unheated.
Try not to consume slices of bread, cereals, baked goods, or any other type of “health food” that contains cooked honey.
Love putting honey in your steaming tea? Do not be concerned! Allow the liquid to cool to a warm temperature before adding a spoonful of sweetener.
Different Types of Honey Available in India
There are more than 800 varieties of honey in the world, with more than 300 varieties found in India. Each variety has a distinct flavor, color, and texture. These are a few of the most widely used varieties of honey:
Acacia based honey:
The honey from Acacia is pale in color and tastes slightly flowery. Due to its high fructose content, it is a well liked sweetener among diabetics.
Manuka honey:
In New Zealand, manuka honey is made from the manuka tree’s nectar. It is frequently used to treat wounds and sore throats because of its well known antibacterial qualities.
Honey from clover:
A popular variety in the US and Canada is clover honey. It is light in color and has a mild, sweet flavor.
Buckwheat honey:
The taste of buckwheat honey is earthy and strong, with a dark color. It is frequently used as a natural cough suppressant and has a high antioxidant content.
Honey from eucalyptus:
The nectar of the eucalyptus tree is used to make eucalyptus honey. It is frequently used to treat respiratory conditions and has a strong, somewhat medicinal flavor.
Orange blossom honey:
The nectar of orange blossoms is used to make orange blossom honey. It tastes sweet and citrusy, with a pale color.
Honey with lavender:
The nectar of lavender flowers is used to make lavender honey. It tastes delicately floral and has a light color.
Honey from Tupelo:
The nectar of the tupelos tree is used to make tupelos honey. It tastes sweet and buttery with a light color.
Sidr honey:
Sidr honey is a type of honey made from the nectar of the Sidr tree, also called the jujube tree, which is grown in Yemen, India, and certain regions of Saudi Arabia.
Because it is so difficult to harvest, it is regarded as one of the rarest and most expensive types of honey in the world. Sidr honey has a powerful, unique flavor and a rich, dark color.
It is well known for having therapeutic qualities and is frequently used in conventional medicine to treat a variety of illnesses, such as skin conditions, respiratory disorders, and digestive problems.
In addition to being a wholesome food, sidr honey is high in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.
It might be helpful in preventing infections and lowering inflammation in the body because of some studies that indicate it may have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory qualities.
Sidr honey is frequently used as a luxury item and given as gifts because of its high cost and restricted supply.
In Yemen, India, and Saudi Arabia, it is also utilized in a few religious and cultural rituals.
Dew honey:
Bees gather nectar from the dew on plants and flowers in the forest to make dew honey, sometimes referred to as forest honey.
Different from other varieties of honey that are made from flower nectar, dew honey is made from the sweet fluids that collect on leaves and other plant components over night.
Because of its distinct flavor and advantageous nutritional qualities, dew honey is unique and highly prized.
It is described as fruity or floral because of its fruity or floral flavor, which is mild and sweet. Additionally, it has a lot of enzymes and antioxidants, which makes it a wholesome meal.
Dew honey is more expensive than other types of honey because it is more difficult to harvest.
Beekeepers must make sure that the proper kind of plants and flowers are available to their hives and that the location of the hives is chosen with care.
The procedure is more labor and time intensive because they must gather the honey early in the morning while the dew is still present.
Dew honey is a well liked option for people seeking a distinct, premium honey with lots of nutrients and flavor.
In addition to being a common natural sweetener, it is also a component of some conventional medications and treatments.
How Is Honey Made?
Why do honeybees produce it?
Because nectar gives bees’ flight muscles energy and helps heat the hive during the winter, honey bees gather nectar to make honey and store for food.
Luckily, honey bees produce more honey than the colony requires, so beekeepers must gather the extra honey and bottle it.
Created by Nature in a Natural Way
From Bee
Bees gather flower nectar, which is converted into simple sugars and kept within the honeycomb to create honey.
Sweet liquid honey is produced through evaporation, which is caused by the honeycomb’s design and the bees’ continual fanning of their wings. The nectar that the bees gather affects the color and flavor of the honey.
To Hive
A hive will typically produce 55 pounds or more of extra honey annually. The honey is harvested by beekeepers who gather the honeycomb frames and remove the wax cap that bees use to seal each cell of honey.
The frames are put in an extractor, a centrifuge after the caps are taken off, which spins the frames and pushes honey out of the comb.
To Home
The honey is strained to get rid of any leftover wax and other particles after it has been extracted.
To make this process easier, some beekeepers and bottlers may heat the honey, but this doesn’t change the liquid’s natural composition.
It’s time to bottle, label, and serve it to you after it’s been strained. It makes no difference if the honey is bought from a farmers’ market or grocery store, or if the container is made of plastic or glass.
Nothing extra was added from the bee to the hive to the bottle if the ingredient label reads “pure honey.”
Facts about sweet honey
- About 0.8g, or one twelfth of a teaspoon, of honey can be produced by a single bee in her lifetime.
- A colony of honeybees must visit 2 million flowers in order to produce 500g (1 pound) of honey.
- Honey varies greatly in color, from nearly transparent to very dark. It is not a uniform substance.
- Honey comes in as many varieties as there are blooming plants for bees to eat.
- Probiotic, anti inflammatory, and antibacterial qualities can be found in honey. Honey never spoils when kept properly.
What uses do bees have for honey?
When nectar is abundant, a colony will produce enough honey to store. Honey is bee food.
When there aren’t many flowers in bloom or when inclement weather prevents the bees from going out to feed, they will consume the honey that has been stored.
As winter draws near, bees must store an abundance of honey in order to survive and thrive during the cold months.
Before swarming, bees will feast on honey. They now have the energy to construct a new nest thanks to this.
Therefore, remember these hardworking insects and the amazing teamwork required to produce honey the next time you enjoy some delicious honey.
