10 Ways Eating Honey Can Help Your Body

Written by Anjala Farahath  • 

There’s a reason why Winnie-the-Pooh loved honey. From nourishing your tresses to helping you tone down the cellulite for you to fit into your dresses — honey is that liquid gold that boasts of copious uses. Now an ordinary pantry staple like jam and butter, honey used to be one of the most important foods of the world. In fact, it took turns to be food as well as medicine (1).

The ancient Egyptians, Chinese, Romans, and Greeks used honey as a natural antibacterial substance to treat cuts and wounds, to treat conditions of the gut, and what not (2). If you’re looking for some credibility, the father of medicine, Hippocrates himself used honey to treat pain, fever, and thirst. It was often described as a magic potion. So, we have found out exactly why it earned that spot in history. Oh, and we’ve also procured a couple of handy uses of honey that our lazy selves can reap benefits from!

Here’s a list of 10 health benefits you can get with a few drops of honey:

1. Healthy Sweetener That Aids Weight Loss

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Honey is your best friend if you’re on the journey to weight loss and are trying with all your might to do away with sugar. It is a remarkable substitute for sugar that you can indulge in without any guilt (3). Unlike refined sugar, honey balances the blood sugar levels in the body. Its constituents — vitamin C, vitamin B6, iron, sodium, calcium, phosphorous, folic acid, and potassium are metabolism boosters. (And that’s exactly why Bipasha Basu tells you to drink a warm glass of water and honey in the morning.)

2. Lowers Blood Pressure

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Including honey in our diets can help in the regulation of our blood pressure (4). Studies have shown that honey possesses antioxidant compounds that lower the blood pressure in the body, thereby preventing heart diseases to a large extent (5).

3. Heals Your Wounds

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Honey is the end product of meticulous work put in by hundreds of bees. It’s basically the flower nectar collected by bees and discharged in the hive. Yep, it’s their vomit. But this viscous substance contains so little water that it has the ability to kill bacteria and yeast by siphoning the water right out of their cells. Additionally, honey also reacts with our bodily fluids to produce hydrogen peroxide, a natural antiseptic (6). So, it’s not a bad idea. After all, it doesn’t burn like other antiseptics!

4. A Memory Booster

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The age-old adage — “we are what we eat” is befitting here. Honey augments the functioning of the brain, keeping the mind calm and stress-free (7). This increases the memory power and boosts the brain to function at its full potential. Especially in menopausal women who have reduced estrogen, honey prevents cognitive decline and dementia (8).

5. An Excellent Solution For Skin

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Dry, oily or combination – whatever your skin type is, honey is a magic potion for your skin! It’s a nature given moisturizer that is packed with antioxidants. Honey’s nourishing and moisturizing properties smoothen out your skin and unclog the pores, leaving your parched skin hydrated (9). Honey is also used to correct skin tones.

6. Remedy For Coughs

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A persistent cough that refuses to leave you can be treated with just two tablespoons of honey (10). According to a study, those children between the age of 1 and 5 who received honey 30 minutes before bedtime, they were shown to cough less frequently (11).

7. Got Dandruff? Honey, We’ve Got Your Back!

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We are not asking you to replace your shampoos with honey (although that would give you lustrous and shiny hair), but honey can help you get rid of dandruff. According to a study, applying a diluted solution of honey and warm water to your hair, and leaving it on for three hours, reduces itching and scaling to a large extent. Continuous application of this solution also helps in treating hair loss (12). Thanks to honey’s antifungal and antibacterial properties, it can also fix seborrheic dermatitis (a skin condition wherein your scalp has red skin and scaly patches).

8. Lowers The Cholesterol Levels

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Our body has good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. No prizes for guessing which cholesterol we need to get rid of! A big concern for cardiovascular health is this fatty buildup in the arteries. Studies have shown that the vitamins and minerals in honey show a positive effect on fighting cholesterol in the body (13).

9. Stings Away The Stomach Ailments

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We have been talking about honey’s antiseptic properties all along. And that’s exactly what helps it fight bacteria and germs in the digestive tract. Start your day with a tablespoon of honey and that should help your body sting all the digestive disorders like a bee!

10. Provides A Good Night’s Sleep

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We often spend our nights tossing around in bed, scrolling through our social media posts, and giving voice to our insomniac thoughts. Unperturbed and undisturbed sleep is something that we are blessed with once in a blue moon. So, on those days that sleep seems like a distant dream, some milk and honey is all you need. A glass of warm milk with a spoonful of honey triggers the release of insulin and serotonin (your happy hormone) in the body (14). The amino acids in honey are then converted into melatonin, which regulates your sleep and wake cycles. So, have a good night then!

After reading this, you might want to add a spoonful of honey to your daily diet. That doesn’t mean you go straight into a beehive the next time you see it! Although the temptation is real, hold your horses, mate. The beekeepers will give you your share.

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