great recipes and a few cautions.
Bees swallow, digest and regurgitate nectar to make
honey; this nectar contains almost 600 compounds.
need our bees, so let’s do everything we can to save
them and keep them here on this earth.
Honey is so good we have included it in our list
of powerfoods that should be in your kitchen right no
“My son, eat thou honey, for it is good ” — King Solomo
– Proverbs: 24:13
Health Benefits:
1. Prevent cancer and heart disease:
Honey contains flavonoids, antioxidants which help
reduce the risk of some cancers and heart disease.
2. Reduce ulcers and other gastrointestinal disorders.
Recent research shows that honey treatment may hel
disorders such as ulcers and bacterial gastroenteritis.
This may be related to the 3rd benefit…
3. Anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, 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.
4. Increase athletic performance .
Ancient Olympic athletes would eat honey and dried
figs to enhance their performance. This has now been
verified with modern studies, showing that it is superi
in maintaining glycogen levels and improving recovery
time than other sweeteners.
5. Reduce cough and throat irritation:
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 coug
and allowing proper sleep.
6. Balance the 5 elements:
Honey has been used in ayurvedic medicine in India f
at least 4000 years and is considered to affect all
three of the body’s primitive material imbalances
positively. It is also said to be useful useful in
improving eyesight, weight loss, curing impotence and
premature ejaculation, urinary tract disorders, bronchi
asthma, diarrhea, and nausea.
Honey is referred as “Yogavahi” since it has a quality
of penetrating the deepest tissues of the body. When
honey is used with other herbal preparations, it
enhances the medicinal qualities of those preparation
and also helps them to reach the deeper tissues.
7. Blood sugar regulation :
Even though honey contains simple sugars, it is NOT
the same as white sugar or artificial sweeteners. Its
exact combination of fructose and glucose actually
helps the body regulate blood sugar levels. Some
honeys have a low hypoglycemic index, so they don’t
jolt your blood sugar. Watch this video Sweetener
Comparison where I compare stevia, brown rice syrup,
honey, molasses and agave, and discuss the strength
and weaknesses of each.)
8. Heal wounds and burns:
External application of honey has been shown to be a
effective as conventional treatment with silver
sulfadiazine. It is speculated that the drying effect of
the simple sugars and honey’s antibacterial nature
combine to create this effect.
9. Probiotic:
Some varieties of honey possess large amounts of
friendly bacteria. This includes up to 6 species of
lactobacilli and 4 species of bifidobacteria. This may
explain many of the “mysterious therapeutic propertie
of honey.”
10. Beautiful skin:
Its anti-bacterial qualities are particularly useful for t
skin, and, when used with the other ingredients, can
also be moisturizing and nourishing! For a powerful
home beauty treatment for which you probably have a
the ingredients in your kitchen already, read Carrot
Face Mask.
Different honeys have different flavonoid profiles,
depending on the floral source of the nectar.
Types of Honey (most popular)
Alfalfa
Blueberry
Buckwheat
Clover
Manuka
Orange Blossom
Wildflower
There are at least 40 types – each one has distinctiv
taste and unique properties.
Darker honey tends to have higher antioxidant levels.
Monofloral honey (honey from a single plant species)
usually has the lowest glycemic index (GI). For
example, locust honey from the Black Locust tree has
a GI of 32. Clover honey, which is used commercially,
has the highest glycemic index at 69.
Honey Suggestions:
If you want to get the goodness from your
honey, make sure it is pure and raw.
Raw honey contains vitamins, minerals and enzymes
not present in refined honey.
Honey Cautions:
Best not to feed to infants. Spores of Clostridiu
botulinum have been found in a small percenta
honey in North America. This is not dangerous
adults and older children, but infants can have
serious reaction of illness in the first year. Do
honey to baby food or use as a soother to quie
or colicky baby. Most Canadian honey is not
contaminated with the bacteria causing infant
but it’s still best not to take the chance.
Honey is a sugar, so do not eat jars full of it if
value your good health and want to maintain a
weight. It has a high caloric value and will put
sugar high and low.
To cook with honey or not: There is some controversy
about cooking with honey, although I cannot
substantiate it from all of my research about honey.
“…when honey is heated above 108 degrees Fahrenhei
it becomes transformed into a glue-like substance tha
is extremely difficult to digest. This substance is
considered a toxin (ama), since it adheres to the
tissues of the body and is very difficult to
remove.” (quote from the Ayurveda Wellness Center)
That said, I am not convinced that we should not coo
with honey, although I am not using it in most of my
cooked recipes until I get to the bottom of this.
I love my homemade dandelion flower pancakes toppe
with these healthy syrups (below).
Honey Recipes:
Honey Syrup: the goodness and taste of both honey
and molasses.
Orange Honey Syrup: healthier than sugar-based syru
with an orange zing!
Dandelion Flower Syrup: combining the goodness of
honey with another powerfood: dandelions.
Peanut Butter Bliss Balls: Recipe created in my hippy
days in the 70s—they are yummy!
Mango Squares: mmmmangos yum!
Oatmeal Cinnamon Porridge & Sultanas: with a little
honey for breakfast.
Dandelion Tea: for any time with a dash of honey.
Sugarless Date Squares: Not so sweet as the usual
ones.
