If you have trouble sleeping or falling into a deep sleep, try some honey-sweetened herbal tea before bed. The beverage has shown to help ensure a deeper, more restful sleep. It is believed the tryptophan in honey stimulates the production of melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone. Also, the natural sweeteners in honey are absorbed more slowly than sugar. Sugar can cause blood-sugar dips that are disruptive to good sleep.
Scientists are learning that combining two or more polyphenols may team up to improve wellness benefits as well as to boost slimming. Travis Stork, MD, says one of his favorite combinations is coffee with honey. The chlorogenic acid in coffee beans turns on fat burning to speed metabolism. When combined with sweet honey, a natural prebiotic, the pair can reduce bloat and constipation.
Honey can pinch hit when you don't have a first-aid kit handy. Honey has natural healing powers that come from natural enzymes that produce hydrogen peroxide. You can apply a little honey to stings and cuts to halt the inflammation and to prevent bacterial growth. Now that is truly a kitchen remedy.
If you have problems with your digestive system you might want to try honey for relief. Most people know yogurt has probiotic properties but many don't like yogurt or have an allergy to dairy products. Honey basically provides the same benefits as does yogurt. Scientists have discovered honey contains 181 beneficial compounds and many of those act like probiotics. Probiotics are the healthy bacteria found in yogurt that helps ensure proper digestion. Honey can help keep healthy bacteria in the colon and intestines in balance and reduce the number of gas-inducing toxins. The dose? 1 tablespoon of honey a day.
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Honey is a tasty natural sweetener, but it is also more than just a sweetener. According to naturopathic physician Shidfar Rouhani, N.D., D.C., a professor at Bastyr University School of Naturopathic Medicine in San Diego, "Honey is great medicine." He says, "It's antibacterial and boosts the immune system. When mixed with other botanicals, it strengthens them too." A tablespoon of honey in a liquid every couple of hours is considered safe for most people. However, you should consult your doctor before prescribing honey as a medicine for yourself, especially if you have health problems such as diabetes.
According to an article in the Journal of Medicinal Food, swapping honey for sugar can cut the levels of artery-clogging triglycerides thus cutting the risk of heart disease and stoke by 20%. The credit goes to the antioxidants in honey. I'd say that's a good reason to use more honey and less sugar.
If you are concerned with your health and would like to improve your diet, here is a good, simple way to start. Start replacing most of the granulated sugar in your diet with honey. As has been discussed earlier on this blog, granulated sugar is basically stripped of all its nutritional value during processing so you are really not getting much nutrition when you consume it. Start using honey to sweeten your beverages, oatmeal, etc. Remember honey has antioxidants so you are trading a nutrient-poor sweetener for an antioxidant-laced one. Honey still has calories though; 22 per teaspoon. However, a University of Wyoming study found that making this switch from granulated sugar to honey could affect hunger hormones in a slimming way. Compared with sugar, honey delayed the rise of ghrelin, a hormone that drives us to eat and it boosted levels of the feel-full compound PYY!
Continuing on with the various types of sugar, today's post is about honey. Honey is often substituted for sugar and people often don't even know why. Here are some facts about honey:
Honey is the one food that lasts forever. Keep your honey stored in an air-tight jar at room temperature and enjoy anytime. Most grocery store honey is clover honey, but many stores carry a variety. Honey with a paler color has a delicate flavor.
