Honey is a viscous miracle with oodles of health benefits. Honey has been in use since thousands of years. Different cultures around the world use honey for various reasons. Honey has been used as a potent medicinal component in Ayurveda and other traditional medicine. The easy usability of honey makes it a preferred ingredient for both medicinal and culinary purposes.
Honey is packed with immense nutritional goodness. It contains many wonderful nutrients. Raw honey contains around 27 minerals, 22 amino acids and around 5000 enzymes. Honey contains important minerals like potassium, zinc, calcium, phosphorous, magnesium and selenium. Honey is also rich in many useful vitamins like vitamin B6, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and pantothenic acid. Additionally, honey also contains nutraceuticals which have potent anti-oxidant properties. Hence, honey is a wondrous culinary component that can add nutritional value to our food and health.
Benefits Of Honey
1. Aids Weight Loss
Honey can aid in weight loss. It packs less calories than sugar and tastes sweet. Refined sugar can be replaced with honey to cut down on the calories. Honey can enhance the digestion of fat. According to a research conducted at the University of Wyoming, honey can activate some hunger suppressing hormones.
2. Provides Relief From Allergies
Raw honey can help in warding off allergies. It contains bee pollen which is known for boosting immunity and can help in fighting against allergies. According to a study conducted in the year 2013, consumption of honey in high doses can improve symptoms of allergies in 8 weeks.
3. Antioxidant Properties
Honey is a rich source of antioxidants. It contains high amounts of polyphenols which are incredibly potent antioxidants. Polyphenols are known for reducing the risk of diseases like cancer and heart diseases. In a study with 25 subjects, the subjects were given 4 teaspoons of honey everyday for a month. After a month, the blood samples of these subjects showed increased levels of polyphenols. Hence, the researchers drew conclusion that honey can enhance the levels of polyphenols which can protect us from many diseases.
4. Antiseptic Aid
Honey has powerful anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. Hence, it is generally used for healing wounds and cuts in traditional medicine.
5. Promotes Healthy Sleep
Honey can promote healthy sleep by actively supplying liver with glycogen to keep it available for the brain and it also promotes the production of melatonin. Melatonin helps in the production of serotonin which promotes healthy sleep. Melatonin helps in building immunity and repairing tissues.
Differentiating Real Honey From Fake
Honey is an all-round health tonic which can enhance our immunity and give us great health. But nowadays most of the commercially available brands of honey are selling fake and adulterated honey. So, consuming these honey might end up doing more harm than good for us. But you can differentiate between real and fake using a few simple hacks.
1. The Label
Read the label carefully to know the content of the product. The percentage of real honey will be mentioned in the label.
2. Paper Test
You can test the purity of honey by putting a few drops of honey on a piece of paper. Real honey wouldn’t get absorbed due to its viscosity whereas fake honey will get absorbed due to its water content.
3. Caramelization Test
Take a spoonful of honey and microwave it. Real honey will caramelize after heating it in microwave but fake honey will form a few bubbles and a foamy appearance.
4. Crystallization
Crystallization is another way of distinguishing real honey from fake. Real honey crystallizes after sometime but fake honey can maintain syrup like consistency through out.
5. Spread On Bread
You can take some honey and spread it on a bread. Real honey will make the bread hard after sometime but fake honey will make the bread moist due to the presence of water.
So, now you can buy real honey and enjoy full benefits of honey without being bamboozled.
