A Golden Elixir
Honey, one of the most popular alternatives to sugar, is packed to the brim with beneficial properties, many of which actively help the human body with a variety of functions. Adding honey into various foods is actually a great way to get a sweet snack while also providing some nutritional benefits!
Introducing Honey
Honey has a long history, dating back to cave paintings from 7000BC that show indications of beekeeping. Throughout the years, honey has evolved and changed, eventually growing to have a multitude of uses. Ancient Egyptians used honey as a way to sweeten their food, baking honey cakes to offer up to their Gods, and also as an ingredient in their embalming fluids. The Greeks did much of the same, baking sweetmeats and cakes made of honey. They also utilized honey for its medicinal purposes and treated their wounded and ill with it. Throughout multiple millennia, honey has been seen as a valuable resource, whether for its delicious taste or for its usefulness in treating injuries and soothing aches. Today, there are a variety of different types of honey, many classified as either monofloral or multifloral. If a honey is monofloral, it means that it was produced from a single botanical species while if a honey is multifloral, more than one botanical species was involved in its creation. Furthermore, different varieties of honey, regardless of whether they are monofloral or multifloral, are prevalent today. One of the more popular types of honey is manuka honey, originating from New Zealand, and is created from bees pollinating the tea tree bush, also known as manuka, hence its name. There are many different kinds of honey in the market today, each with their own distinct flavor or benefits. Below, we’ll look into the health benefits of honey as a whole, and how they can help aid the human body in a multitude of ways.
Nutritional Benefits of Honey
1. Decreases Blood Sugar
Compared to other types of sugar, honey increases the production of hydrogen peroxide in your body, which has a similar effect to insulin and helps to lower blood pressure. Honey is also known to have a stimulatory effect on insulin secretion, while simultaneously improving insulin sensitivity.
2. Good for Gut Microbiome
Due to honey containing prebiotics, it is especially good for your gut microbiome, as prebiotics are known to increase immunostimulation. Honey also works to improve your digestion, absorption, and vitamin synthesis, which are all essential for keeping the body healthy and working. Oligosaccharides are the primary prebiotics in honey, and they are especially good for the gut microbiome, due to their ability to promote the growth of many helpful bacteria.
3. Abundant in Antioxidants
Antioxidants are important for the human body due to its ability to neutralize free radicals. Free radicals are essentially unstable atoms that cause damage to your cells and oxidative stress if left unchecked, all of which can eventually culminate into a variety of health problems such as cancer, heart disease, and autoimmune diseases. Because honey is so abundant in different antioxidants such as catalase and glucose oxidase, it is especially beneficial for the human body.
4. Anti-inflammatory Properties
Honey also has a variety of anti-inflammatory properties, which aid the body in fighting back the harm that ultra-processed foods and sugars cause. Prevalent in honey are flavonoids which are natural products that provide a variety of health benefits to the human body. They are most known for being anti-inflammatory, helping prevent a variety of health diseases that can arise from chronic inflammation.
5. Good for the Brain
Honey is actually quite a good brain booster, improving memory loss and cognitive decline which comes with aging. It is also known for helping to prevent or delay cognitive impairment due to a variety of healthy antioxidants, for example Vitamin E, C, or beta-carotene, which are abundant in honey.
Why did we use honey in our möuthfuel formula?
By adding honey into our product, we were able to get the benefits from natural sugars that artificial flavorings wouldn’t be able to provide. With the inclusion of honey, our product significantly decreases the chances of intaking more sugar than is healthy for the human body. We work to ensure that our products are healthy, hearty, and provide energy for when you’re in need of it!
A general rule of thumb and recommendation is to always consume even the healthiest of foods in moderation as the scientific literature is constantly changing and balance is key to maintaining a well-rounded diet and lifestyle.