My Favorite Nutritious Foods: Honey

Honey’s prestigious history as a medicinal superfood predates written history as 8,000 year old cave paintings have been found depicting its harvest. Its religious significance runs deep. Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, and Buddhism all revere the sweet nectar’s power. Hippocrates and Aristotle agreed honey prolonged life. Mythology tells us that Zeus was raised on honey.

 

Honey’s incredible antimicrobial (kills bacteria, virus, and fungus) and antioxidant properties make it the only food that never spoils. It promotes digestion and aids constipation. Raw honey can heal ulcers in the stomach. It increases calcium absorption. Honey can help fights colds and respiratory infections of all kinds. One of my favorite remedies for that pre-cold scratchy throat is a teaspoon of raw honey sprinkled with cinnamon. Applied topically, raw honey can heal cold sores, wounds, insect bites, and rashes. 

One of its best known attributes is its ability to help reduce and eliminate seasonal allergies. Though the exact mechanism in which this is accomplished is not known, it is believed that the honey, with its trace amount of pollen, acts as a “natural vaccine.” In my practice I have seen many people recover from seasonal allergies by using raw honey. 

One study conducted at Xavier University in New Orleans produced notable results. Participants were divided into groups: seasonal allergies, year-round allergies, and those without allergies. These groups were further divided into three subgroups with some people taking 2 teaspoons of local honey per day, others taking the same amount of non-local honey each day, and the final subgroup not taking honey at all. After six weeks, allergy sufferers from both categories suffered fewer symptoms and the group taking local honey reported the most improvement.

Raw honey is mostly natural/good sugar and water. It has a healthy glycemic index. Honey’s sugars are gradually absorbed into the bloodstream and do not create a sugar spike. This makes it a good energy source. The vitamins and minerals found in honey are B6, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, choline, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, zinc. 

Commercial brands of honey are often heavily processed and chemically refined. Excessive heat destroys honey’s nutritional matrix including the vital enzymes that aid digestion. Filtering honey eliminates many of the beneficial phytonutrients including pollen and enzyme-rich propolis. Raw organic honey is never strained, filtered, or heated. 

Take it straight off the spoon or mix it into your oatmeal, cottage cheese, or tea. Spread it on toast with cinnamon. In a glass of water, mix raw honey with one teaspoon of Bragg’s apple cider vinegar. This is a delicious, quenching, nutritious drink. 

Do not feed honey to infants less than one year of age. Honey may contain spores and toxins that can cause infant botulism, a life-threatening paralytic disease. As the digestive system matures, children older than 12 months can consume it without worry.