Honey

Honey is a sweet, viscous food, substance made by honey bees and some related insects. Bees produce honey from the sugary secretions of plants or from secretions of other insects by regurgitation, enzymatic activity, and water evaporation. Bees store honey in war structures called honeycombs. (Wikipedia)

Honey is linked to the wound-healing properties and antibacterial action, it has been used in medicine for over 5,000 years.

Honey can replace sugar in meals, providing a healthy option. However, they can also add browning and excess moisture to a dish. Honey is the only food that will not spoil. This is due to its low moisture content. Bacteria cannot survive in a medium with such high osmotic pressure.

Honey is made up of glucose, fructose, and minerals, such as iron, calcium, phosphate, sodium chloride, potassium, and magnesium.

One of the healthiest type of honey is Manuka honey.

Honey profile according to Bee source:

Fructose: 38.2 percent

Glucose: 31.3 percent

Maltose: 7.1 percent

Sucrose: 1.3 percent

Water: 17.2 percent

Higher sugars: 1.5 percent

Ash: 0.2 percent

Other: 302 percent

The slightly acidic pH level of honey is what helps prevent the growth of bacteria, while antioxidant elements clean up free radicals that are linked to diseases.

Honey is still a form of sugar, so intake should be moderate.

Honey should never be given to young infants ( children under 12 months ) as it can cause botulism , a rare but severe type of food poisoning.

According to the (USDA) honey contains 64 calories and 17.3 grams of sugar including fructose, glucose, morose and sucrose, It contains no fiber, fat or protein.

Benefits of honey:

Honey contains some nutrients: Contains trace amounts under 1% of the RDI of several vitamins and minerals.

High quality honey is rich in antioxidants including organic acids and phenolic compounds like flavonoids. Two studies have shown that buckwheat honey increases the antioxidant value of your blood.

Healing wounds and burns: There have been some cases in which people have reported positive effects of using honey in treating wounds.

Fighting Infections: Honey's ability to kill bacteria lies in a protein called defensin-1, A more recent study showed that Manuka honey, can help prevent the bacteria Clostridium difficile from settling in the body. C difficile is known for causing severe diarrhea ad sickness. Some studies have revealed that Manuka honey may even be effective for the treatment of MRSA infections.

Relieving cold and cough symptoms: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends honey as a natural cough remedy. The American Academy of Pediatrics also recognizes honey as a treatment for cough.

Replacing added sugar in the diet: Honey's sweet flavor makes it an ideal substitute for sugar in the diet, honey can be added to food and beverages to sweeten the taste without the negative health impact of added sugars.

Reducing the duration of diarrhea: According to research-based reviews on honey, it has been shown to decrease the severity and duration of diarrhea. Honey also promotes increased potassium and water intake, which is particularly helpful when experiencing diarrhea.

Preventing acid reflux: Recent studies has shown that honey can reduce the upward flow of stomach acid and undigested food by lining the esophagus and stomach.

Medicinal use:

Honey has been used to treat a wide array of illnesses, aliments, and injuries.

It can be mixed with other remedies and consumed or rubbed onto the skin.

Practitioners of Ayurvedic medicine have attempted to use honey as a remedy for the following:

Stress

Weakness

Sleep disturbance

Vision problems

Bad breath

Teething pain, in children over a year old

Cough an asthma

Hiccups

Stomach ulcers

Diarrhea and dysentery

Vomiting

Bedwetting and frequent urination

High blood pressure

Obesity

Jaundice

Hangover relief

Eczema and dermatitis

Burns, cuts and wounds

Arthritis

Honey is sometimes touted as a cosmetic solution for cracked, dry, pimply, or clogged skin.

Nutrition facts

Calories: 304

Sodium: 4 mg

Potassium: 52 mg

Total Carbohydrate: 82 g

Sugars: 85 g

protein : 0.3 G

Dietary fiber; 0.2 g

Iron: 2%

Types of honey:

Based on its texture, honey can be either liquid, granulated, creamed, chunked, or can be an unprocessed form called honey comb.

There are over 300 different types of honey and each one with its characteristic taste, flavor and color, each one boasting of a special set of health nutritional benefits.

Honey can be categorized as raw or processed. Raw honey is a more natural form of honey and considered to be purer than the processed one, which is heated and bottled in a factory resulting in loss of vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients.

Those types of honey are the best in taste, flavor and health benefits.

Acacia Honey: Acacia is one of the most popular honey varieties.

Alfalfa Honey: Alfalfa honey is majorly produced in Canada and the United States. Made from purple or blue blossoms, it is light in color and has a mild floral aroma and taste. This honey is often used for baking purposes due to its sweet yet mild taste.

Manuka honey: Manuka hone is revered for its power in antibacterial agents, this rare dark -colored honey, produced in New Zealand from the flowers of the Tea Tree bush, is favored more for its health benefits than its medicine-y flavor. It comprises of rich antibacterial property that aids in effectively treating stomach ulcers, sore throat, cold, indigestion and acne & pimples among others. Manuka Honey’s taste varies due to the difference in source but usually boasts of a robust aftertaste that stays for a while.

Avocado Honey: Avocado Honey doesn’t taste anything like the fruit, but is extracted from the California avocado blossoms. It is a dark colored honey with a rich and buttery flavor and makes for a tasty salad dressing or condiment when mixed with other ingredients.

Buckwheat honey: The strongest and darkest of honey varieties, Buckwheat Honey is mostly produced in Minnesota, Ohio, and Pennsylvania as well as in few eastern regions of Canada. As a rich source of iron and other essential nutrients, Buckwheat Honey is among the most popular and widely consumed varieties of honey.

Clover honey: Clover Honey is one of the most widely available and popular honey varieties in the world. It is majorly produced across Canada and New Zealand. Clover honey has been termed as a classic because of its pleasant and floral sweet taste, making it a hit ingredient for a vast variety of sauces and salad dressings.

Sage honey: The light-colored and heavy-bodied Sage Honey is mostly produced in California. Sage Honey is packed with a property to granulate very slowly and is commonly used to blend with other honeys to slow down the process of granulation. Its mild yet delightful taste also makes it hugely popular with the consumers.

Blueberry honey: A pleasant flavor variety produced in New England and in Michigan, Blueberry honey is extracted from the white flowers of the blueberry bush. Light amber colored, a well-rounded flavor and a hint of tanginess from the Blueberry. Blueberry Honey makes for an ideal accompaniment for your breakfast meals like oats, pancakes and cereal bars.

The three basic categories of honey are:

Single Origin: Nectar mainly comes from one specific plant- suck as clover, for example.

Multi-Flower: Nectar that the bees collect comes from different plants. The resulting varieties can vary a lot in flavor and appearance, such as wildflower types.

Local: Nectar is collected from a specific region or territory, such as a special mountain area or the California coastline.

Dark types:

In general, the darker sorts have a stronger and more distinctive aroma. They not only taste less sweet, but they ae typically rather tangy with a bitter, malty note. Varieties like avocado and buckwheat are a few of the more popular representatives.

Light types:

Varieties that are lighter in color usually have a mild, floral flavor and a color that ranges from nearly clear to white, pale yellow, golden, orange, or red. These include clover and acacia as well as many wildflower varieties.

Which country produce the best honey?

According to Statisa.com China was ranked the first among honey producing countries with production volume amounted to about 447 thousand metric tons of honey that year. According to Quora.com Turkey is the top best honey producing country in the whole world.

Sources:

www.healthline.com

www.Dabur.com

www.Medical news today

www.diethive.com

www.Foodal.com

www.Statistic.com

www.Wikipedia.com

www.Stylecraze.com

www.USDA.com

www.Quora.com