Honey
When looking for honey, its health benefits and various honey products, you’ve come to the right place. Honey is considered an original ‘superfood’, which has been used for thousands of years, dating back to Ancient Egypt and Ancient China. Aside from regular honey, there are many different kinds of honey supplements and edible products that can assist you in your day to day life. Raw bee pollen or honeycomb are superfoods that can be easily added to your daily diet as a delicious snack in healthy recipes. You can buy Australian honey, raw honey or manuka honey. Propolis is another honey extract that is a popular health food, as is Royal Jelly.
Honey is no doubt delicious as a natural sweetener. You may be wondering, is honey healthier than sugar? Can I use honey when losing weight? Though honey adds to your overall sugar intake, it has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. One of the original ‘superfoods’, it contains vitamins and minerals that can have general health and wellbeing benefits. Sweeter than straight glucose, you can use less for the same amount of sweetness.
There are many different types of honey. Raw honey has little processing, so it retains most of its nutrients and antioxidants. Manuka honey is considered the healthiest honey as it is sourced directly from the manuka bush, which exists only in Australia and New Zealand. When buying Manuka Honey, you’ll find different UMF (Unique Manuka Factor) ratings. The UMF refers to the amount of MG (methylglyoxal) component, which gives it the antibacterial effect. For a healthy treat with honey’s benefits, try certified organic honeycomb, or raw bee pollen.
Propolis is the resin collected by bees from plants and is a popular natural honey supplement. It is also known as ‘bee glue’, containing amino acids, minerals, flavonoids, ethanol and Vitamins A, B, and E. Propolis is an antifungal, thanks to its special compound named pinocembrin, a flavonoid. Flavonoids are found in many natural products especially fruits and vegetables, and protect cells against oxidative stress, helping them to fight against everyday stress and toxins. Propolis is anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. It may help skin heal with the anti-inflammatory effects.
Royal Jelly is another honey substance that is made by the worker bees, that is fed to the queen bee. Her impressive size is attributed to royal jelly. Traditionally, it has been used for skin and hair health, energy, and as an antibacterial.
Honey has been known to assist in immune system support, for better digestion, easing stomach ache, providing quick energy, helping to heal minor wounds and assisting with naturally clearing infection.