Honey is one of those food that have been around for a lot longer than there were any humans able to harvest or use it. But, since the human species came about, honey began following its development as one of the key foods and overall beneficial nutrients in many different places on the globe. Today, honey is cherished and widely used as much as ever – while at one point in the 20th century, the process of refining industrial sugar seemed to be on its way to phasing out honey, in the early 21st century, it is clear that this important product of bees is not going anywhere.
One of the reasons for this is the fact that honey is not only nutritious and tastes great, but it also comes with a huge number of medicinal uses. Some of these are cosmetic while others are so important that they could actually protect not just the health of a person, but also their life by stopping some serious illnesses. Here is an overview of the medicinal uses for honey and how it can help so many people with some many different physiological and even psychological conditions.
1. Better Immune System
Honey is a well-known booster of the immune system and millions of people in a range of cultures continue to practice eating a bit of honey with their breakfast. The reason for the ability of honey to influence the immune system lies in polyphenols, as well and other phytochemicals that are found in the pollen of flowers, from which bees make this substance. In the human body, these trigger low-end immune reactions that are harmless but still act like a gym for the immune system to boost up its responsive power.
2. Cure Hangovers
Alcohol is also basically a product of sugar, but it can do plenty of short-term damage to a person drinking it. A vicious hangover can often feel like hell and many who experienced this know the same too well. This might not be directly one of the medicinal uses for honey, but honey is still a good cure because it acts as an easily-accessed source of nutrients which calms down an upset stomach that had to process all that alcohol before.
3. Eczema Relief
Honey is a great soothing agent and it has been used for generations by people who suffer from eczema. The substance helps the reduce the multiplication of harmful bacteria, it also hydrates the skin and soothe it. Anyone struggling with eczema should readily use honey as it has no downsides to its application.
4. Energy Booster
Sugar is an excellent source of energy because it gets metabolized quickly in the body and is then readily available as a glucose in the blood. While industrial sugars come with many issues, like causing obesity, honey is free of these. This makes it a great source of natural energy.
5. Good source of Antioxidants
Honey, a product that is made from natural elements and holds absolutely no impurities or toxins, is it also loaded with antioxidants. These combat the occurrence of free radicals in the body, lowering the chances for serious and chronic illnesses like cancers or other degenerative medical conditions.
6. Helps with Allergies
Honey is effective with allergies for the same reason it works as an immune booster. The presence of plant pollen allows the immune system to become more effective and less likely to turn on the body itself. For anyone having problems with allergies, this benefit of honey is the crucial advantage they can attain.
7. Helps with Gum Disease
Gum diseases can be quite bothersome at best and even life-threatening at worst, but honey can help in any case, no matter how severe. The soothing aspect of honey is even more pronounced with the skin of gums, where its antibacterial traits fight the appearance of infection in the mouth. Having honey is a sure way to make sure that any gum and oral problem can be at least soothed if not fully cured.
8. Improve circulation
Adding honey to a person’s diet is also a tried and tested way of improving circulation. The reason for this is the fact that honey drops the negative cholesterol levels and this, in turn, removes the instances of it building up on the walls of blood vessels. The more the vessels are free of cholesterol, the better cardiovascular health of the person becomes.
9. Lower Cholesterol
As it was mentioned when it comes to honey improving circulation, this substance is also great for lowering cholesterol levels. Because of its natural content of healthy sugars, honey is actually able to scoop up the bad cholesterol and allow it to leave the body harmlessly. With the ever-rising problem of high-cholesterol, this trait of honey is way out of the same issues.
10. Memory booster
Honey does positively impact memory and stop or slows down the gradual loss of memory functions over time. It can do this thanks to its antioxidants. These are able to oppose the generative process of free radicals grinding down the memory functions in the brain. This way, by using honey, the memory of an individual can keep working well in spite of their age.
11. Moisturizer
The highly dense nature of honey makes it a perfect moisturizer. For ages, honey was used as a moisturizer for the skin of face, hand, and neck. This property of honey makes it one of the favorite natural ingredients for the cosmetics industry which still regularly adds it to a range of hydration products.
12. Reduce Inflammation
Many of the health benefits of honey come down it is anti-inflammatory characteristics. These make the nutrient a good choice for both acute and chronic issues with low-scale inflammation. While it cannot tackle serious inflammations, honey is very good in helping with smaller hotbeds of infection.
13. Relieve Nausea
Honey can be used to reduce symptoms of nausea thanks to the fact it coats the surfaces in the digestive tract. With this coating, the level of acidic reflux and other characteristics of nausea are taken down a notch.
14. Relieve a Sore Throat
Similar to its ability to relieve nausea, honey is also great for relieving a sore throat. This is probably one of the best-known uses of this food. By coating the inside of the mouth and throat, honey soothes the inflamed parts but also fights the bacteria present in those areas.
15. Treat Insect Bites
Bites from insects can be a real miniature nightmare, especially if they take place in the wilderness. But, with a jar of honey, they can be stopped before they spiral out of proportion. Honey will both soothe the skin and likely neutralize out any remaining poison in the bite area.
16. Acne Treatment
Acne has been treated using honey ever since humanity began using a skin care product. Now, it does what it always did to those suffering from acne – provide a multilayered approach covering anti-inflammation, soothing and anti-bacterial properties. While honey is not a miracle drug that will clear up acne instantly, it will help the person overcoming them.
17. Burns Treatment
Burns are notoriously complicated injuries and they can be incredibly difficult to treat. However, lighter burns can attain plenty of benefits from one of the most serious medicinal uses for honey. In this case, honey will protect the same skin from secondary infections and stop the inflammation from forming there.
18. Restorative Sleep
Eating honey comes with a factor that is often overlooked – its content allows the insulin levels to slightly rise and release tryptophan. This compound then arrives in the brain and there it slowly induces the sense of sleepiness. The same pleasant feeling is similar to those moments when people tend to feel drowsy after a big meal. This makes honey an excellent natural relief from insomnia.
19. Wounds Treatment
Being that honey is antiseptic and cannot contain any harmful bacteria, it has been used for wound dressing for ages. The same ability is still there and when another medicine is lacking, honey can be utilized to dress and treat wounds.
20. Children’s Food
Adding honey to warm water is a great combination of both food and drink for small children like toddlers. Its numerous benefits will help their overall health, while taste and nutrition count make it a really healthy liquid snack. Best of all, the same snack is completely free of any unhealthy or artificial elements. Instead, it provides a great-tasting alternative to industrial sugar-based beverage and a perfect switch for kids whose parents are phasing out their evening warm milk.
With all of these benefits and medicinal uses for honey, there is no doubt that this food should be present in the lives of practically everyone.
It’s interesting that honey can be such a good food. It’s amazing that they can be so healthy to eat! That seems like a great way to heal naturally.