Honey is a sweet, viscous, liquid food produced by bees and other related insects, from the nectar of plants, through regurgitation, enzymatic activity, and water evaporation. Since ancient times, it has been used as food and medicine, due to its high nutritional value and healing powers. Honey is a Natural healing agent for many health conditions. Its health benefits and sweet taste make it extremely useful and versatile.
Honey contains a significant amount of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. However, this depends on the type of flowers used for apiculture.
Fortunately, honey doesn’t spoil. So, you don’t need to refrigerate or preserve it. This is because bacteria don’t thrive on it due to its antibacterial properties. All you need to do is to store it in an airtight container. Honey has no expiry date.
Antimicrobial activity of honey
Honey has antimicrobial and antifungal properties. Therefore, it is often used as a natural antiseptic in traditional medicine. During Stone Age, before the advent of antibiotic, medical professionals applied honey on wounds to hasten it to heal and prevent infections. When it is applied on a wound, it slowly releases hydrogen peroxide, an antiseptic compound produced from an enzyme, thereby disinfecting the wound, killing germs, and at the same time healing the broken skin.
Also, due to the viscosity of this liquid golden food, it creates a healing layer between wound and dressing, thereby preventing sticking, tissue damage, and scarring. The essential nutrients supplied by honey are highly beneficial in tissue regeneration and the growth of new blood capillaries. In fact, it also prevents cross-infection of wounds.
Other medicinal properties of honey
Honey contains almost all the essential nutrients the body needs. It contains carbohydrates such as glucose, fructose, maltose, sucrose, proteins, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, water, and photochemical. It promotes increased potassium and water intake, thereby decreasing the severity and duration of diarrhea.
Also, it prevents acid reflux, the upward flow of stomach acid, relieves cold symptoms, stress, vision problems, insomnia, obesity, gastritis, arthritis, jaundice, high blood pressure and many more. Honey can be mixed with other remedies and can be consumed or applied to the skin. You can use honey as a sweetener, stir it into your tea, and mix it into yogurt, oatmeal or cereal.
Nevertheless, it is very important to take note that children less than a year old should not consume honey. This is because the consumption of honey by infants less than one-year-old may result in a serious food poisoning that could cause paralysis known as botulism.
