5 Valuable Health Benefits of Honey, According to Nutritionists
Did you know that honey can actually help in treating upper respiratory tract infections?
This food is known as liquid gold for good reason – at least in terms of health benefits. Aside from being entirely natural, honey is also one of the best sweeteners available on the market. Furthermore, this option is fairly affordable considering how many benefits it offers.
But how good is honey really? Today, we’ll have a look at five of the most important ways honey impacts your health.
5 Health Benefits Offered by Honey
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It fights off metabolic syndrome
One-third of American adults are dealing with metabolic syndrome, a combination of multiple disorders that attack your body simultaneously. This diagnosis can increase your risk of type 2 diabetes, stroke and heart disease. If you want more info, in this post I explain all you should know about what causes metabolic syndrome and how you can prevent it.
Here’s where honey enters the game: according to a 2018 research published in the journal Nutrients, honey can reduce your risk for developing metabolic syndrome in two ways:
- It has a low glycemic index. This means that honey doesn’t cause a spike in your blood sugar levels or insulin levels, which makes it a safe sweetener. This food also enhances insulin sensitivity and improves lipid metabolism by reducing ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol, therefore reducing the risk of long-term health complications such as heart disease or poor blood circulation.
- It reduces oxidative stress. Oxidative stress appears when your body is unable to fight off the negative impact of toxic free radicals that attack healthy cells in your body (another factor at play for metabolic syndrome). Honey is an excellent source of antioxidants which help to fight off harmful free radicals and protects your cells in the long run.
Wondering why toxic free radicals are attacking most people around the world? This post I’ve written called ‘What’s all the fuss about antioxidants?’ covers everything you need to know.
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It prevents artery hardening
Along with other heart-related illnesses such as stroke, artery hardening is also a leading cause of death in American adults.
A more recent paper published in 2019 in the journal Nutrients shows that honey is made of 180 substances, including vitamins, minerals, natural sugars and phytochemicals. Researchers concluded that these essential nutrients combined with the plethora of antioxidants can reduce the risk of artery hardening over time.
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It promotes wound healing
Can you imagine that topical honey has been used to heal wounds ever since ancient Egypt?
A study published in the National Library of Medicine found that honey is particularly effective in treating partial-thickness burns and wounds that have become infected post-surgery. This natural treatment can also work wonders for diabetic foot ulcers, a very serious complication that can sometimes bring amputation.
While the positive impact of honey on wounds is still being studied, specialists believe that its healing power comes from the fact that it can nourish the tissue surrounding the wound. Additionally, honey also has an anti-inflammatory effect while keeping harmful bacteria at bay.
Another study from the Current Drug Metabolism showed that Manuka honey is particularly effective for tissue regeneration in burn wounds.
