{"id":2087,"date":"2017-09-25T15:29:13","date_gmt":"2017-09-25T15:29:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lulusbees.com\/?p=2087"},"modified":"2019-01-23T18:59:08","modified_gmt":"2019-01-23T18:59:08","slug":"8-health-benefits-of-raw-honey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lulusbees.com\/8-health-benefits-of-raw-honey\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Health Benefits of Raw Honey"},"content":{"rendered":"

8 Health Benefits of Raw Honey<\/strong><\/h2>\n

1. Healthy Weight Management<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Research studies have linked honey consumption with\u00a0weight loss<\/strong>. A San Diego State University\u00a0study found that replacing sugar with honey can actually help prevent packing on extra pounds and also lower blood sugar. The results also suggest that in comparison to sugar, honey may lower serum\u00a0triglycerides<\/strong>.\u00a0(3)<\/p>\n

Another study from the University of Wyoming found that raw honey can activate hormones that suppress the appetite. In the double-blind randomly assigned study, appetite hormones and glycemic responses were measured in 14 healthy non-obese women after consuming a breakfast containing either honey or sugar. Overall, researchers concluded that honey consumption offers\u00a0potential obesity protective effects.\u00a0(4)<\/p>\n

2. Counters Pollen Allergies<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Raw honey contains bee pollen, which is known to ward off infections, provide\u00a0natural allergy relief<\/strong>\u00a0and boost overall immunity. Honey\u2019s ability to prevent allergies is based on a concept called immunotherapy. How so? The bees in your neighborhood go from flower to flower collecting pollen that causes you to suffer, but when a you\u00a0consume local raw honey, you also consume that same offending local pollen. After some time, an allergy sufferer may become less sensitive to this pollen that previously caused problems and experience less\u00a0seasonal allergy symptoms<\/strong>. Many seasonal allergy sufferers have found local, raw honey to be helpful because it desensitizes them to the\u00a0fauna\u00a0triggering their allergic reaction.<\/p>\n

A 2013 study found that eating honey at a high dose (one gram per kilogram of body weight of honey daily) can improve\u00a0allergy symptoms over a period of eight weeks. Researchers absorbed that the honey consumption improved\u00a0overall and individual symptoms of\u00a0allergic rhinitis<\/strong>. (5) Allergic rhinitis is an allergic response that causes itchy, watery eyes, sneezing and other similar symptoms.<\/p>\n

Some people say that a\u00a0daily tablespoon of honey can actually act like an allergy shot. The type of honey is key though since pasteurized honey does not contain any pollen. For possible seasonal allergy relief, you need to consume\u00a0raw honey with pollen in it.<\/p>\n

3. Natural Energy Source<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Raw honey contains natural sugars (80 percent), water (18\u00a0percent), and minerals, vitamins, pollen and protein (2 percent).\u00a0It\u2019s not surprising that honey has been called \u201cthe perfect running fuel.\u201d It\u00a0provides an easily absorbed supply of energy in the form of liver\u00a0glycogen, making it ideal for energetic morning starts and as a pre- and post-exercise energy source.<\/p>\n

Studies at the University of Memphis Exercise and Sports Nutrition Laboratory have shown\u00a0honey to be one of the best choices of carbohydrate to consume right\u00a0before exercising. Additionally,\u00a0studies have revealed\u00a0that as a sporting fuel, honey performs on a par with glucose, which is the sugar used in most commercial energy gels. (6)<\/p>\n

When it comes to raw honey\u2019s use in athletic endeavors, I highly recommend\u00a0raw honey for both fueling and recovery. That\u2019s why raw honey is included in\u00a0some of the best\u00a0pre-workout snacks<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0post-workout meals<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

4. Antioxidant Powerhouse<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Studies have shown\u00a0that a daily dose of raw honey raises levels of health-promoting\u00a0antioxidants in the\u00a0body. Antioxidants help block free radicals in the body that cause disease. It also\u00a0boosts the immune system<\/strong>, acting as a preventative against any number of diseases. Honey contains polyphenols, which are powerful antioxidants that have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer.<\/p>\n

One study\u00a0fed 25 subjects\u00a0about four tablespoons of honey per day for 29 days in addition to their regular diets. When blood samples were taken at the start and end of the study, researchers found a clear, direct link between honey consumption and an increased level of\u00a0disease-fighting\u00a0polyphenolsin the blood. (7)<\/p>\n

Studies have shown that honey contains the disease-fighting antioxidant flavonoids pinocembrin, pinostrobin and\u00a0chrysin. (8) Pinocembrin supports enzyme activity, and many studies have shown that pinocembrin induces apoptosis (programmed cell death) of many types of cancer cells. (9) Laboratory research suggests that chrysin may increase the male hormone testosterone and improve bodybuilding results, but human research hasn\u2019t found any effect on testosterone levels. (10)<\/p>\n

5. Sleep Promoter<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Raw honey promotes\u00a0restorative sleep in two ways.\u00a0By consuming honey before bedtime,\u00a0it\u00a0restocks the liver\u2019s glycogen supply and prevents the brain from triggering a crisis search for fuel, which can\u00a0wake you up. Secondly, eating raw honey fosters the\u00a0release of melatonin in the brain by creating a small spike in insulin levels, which stimulates the release of\u00a0tryptoph<\/strong>a<\/strong>n<\/strong>\u00a0in the brain. Tryptophan converts to\u00a0serotonin, which is then converted to melatonin. (11)<\/p>\n

Melatonin<\/strong>\u00a0also boosts immunity and helps rebuild tissue during periods of rest. Poor sleep, by comparison, has been shown to be a risk factor for hypertension, obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and arthritis. As honey is a proven\u00a0natural sleep aid<\/strong>, it naturally lowers the risk of all these health problems.<\/p>\n

6. Wound and Ulcer Healer<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Honey-infused bandages are known to aid healing. Peter Charles Molan at the University of Waikato, New Zealand, has found in multiple studies that honey is a natural antibacterial with wound-healing effects. He also found that honey reacts with the body\u2019s fluids to make hydrogen peroxide, creating an inhospitable environment for bacteria. In addition, \u201cConcentrations of hydrogen peroxide generated are very low in comparison to those typically applied to a wound, thus, cytotoxic damage by hydrogen peroxide is very low.\u201d (12a,\u00a012b)<\/p>\n

For the\u00a0treatment of burns<\/strong>\u00a0and wounds, honey is typically applied directly to the problem area or in a dressing that\u2019s changed every 24 to 48 hours. Sometimes the dressing is left in place for up to 25 days.\u00a0(13) A combination of honey and ghee has also been advocated and used as dressing for infected wounds since 1991 in four Mumbai hospitals. (14)<\/p>\n

Honey has been studied for its use in effectively treating various types of ulcers as well. Honey may reduce the size, pain and odor of problematic skin ulcers. (15)<\/p>\n

7. Diabetes Aid<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Consumption of raw honey can reduce the risk of developing diabetes and help aid medication used to treat diabetes. The combination of\u00a0raw honey and cinnamon<\/strong>\u00a0can be especially beneficial to healthy\u00a0blood sugar management<\/strong>, as well as many other health concerns like gingivitis and acne.<\/p>\n

According to a study out of Dubai, honey has been observed to cause a lower elevation of plasma glucose levels in diabetics compared to dextrose and sucrose. Some suggest that the insulin-boosting power of cinnamon can counteract this glucose elevation in honey, which would make your honey and cinnamon mixture a\u00a0low glycemic index<\/strong>\u00a0food combination. (16)<\/p>\n

Raw honey increases insulin and decreases hyperglycemia. Try consuming a\u00a0little at a time and see how your blood sugar reacts to it, and add both raw honey and cinnamon to your\u00a0diabetic diet\u00a0plan<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

8. Natural Cough Syrup<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Raw honey has been shown to\u00a0be as effective in\u00a0treating coughs<\/strong>\u00a0as over-the-counter commercial cough syrups. Increasing scientific evidence shows that a single dose of honey can\u00a0reduce mucus secretion and\u00a0coughs. In one study, honey was just as effective as diphenhydramine and dextromethorphan, common ingredients found in over-the counter\u00a0cough medicines. (17)<\/p>\n

For a cough, a half teaspoon to two\u00a0teaspoons of honey at bedtime is a studied and recommended dosage for anyone over the age of one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

8 Health Benefits of Raw Honey 1. Healthy Weight Management Research studies have linked honey consumption with\u00a0weight loss. A San Diego State University\u00a0study found that replacing sugar with honey can actually help prevent packing on extra pounds and also lower blood sugar. The results also suggest that in comparison to sugar, honey may lower serum\u00a0triglycerides.\u00a0(3) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[211],"tags":[217,222,223],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lulusbees.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2087"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lulusbees.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lulusbees.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lulusbees.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lulusbees.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lulusbees.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2087\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lulusbees.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lulusbees.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lulusbees.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lulusbees.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}