History of Honey

Honey has been used not only as a sweetener, but for medicinal purposes dating back to ancient Rome, Egypt, China, and Greece. Dating back to 2100 BC, honey has been mentioned in the ancient writings of Indian texts and possibly even further back than that.

Known to even be used as a source of currency, honey was multifaceted in its applications from the start. Cement, polishes, and varnishes also used honey as a vital ingredient.

What are the Benefits of Honey

The real power of honey lies on its antibacterial activity. Did your doctor ever tell you not to drink fruit punch and eat candy while you have a soar throat? And did you ever wonder why? Well, that’s because bacteria loves sugar — they thrive on it, in fact.

Fights Bacteria

But with honey, we’re in luck. Due to the acidity in honey, bacteria growth is actually stunted. You can even use honey to dress your wounds. Honey contains hydrogen peroxide which is an excellent antiseptic that will clean the cut and help prevent tissue damage which could lead to scarring — and who wants those nasty scars?

Protect Your Heart with Honey

Think of your cardiovascular system as one long pipe that’s used to feed your body. Now what would happen if you started throwing garbage down that tube? It would clog up and you would no longer be able to eat. Well, with your heart, you can easily clog up the pipes responsible for feeding it (by eating fatty food) — this is called atherosclerosis (when plaque builds up along the artery linings in your body). Research now shows that honey contains comparable amounts of plaque-fight antioxidants as apples, bananas, and strawberries. Now don’t run out of the room and start guzzling honey from the jar — that’s no good. Honey should be “incorporated” into your diet and used to replace sugar whenever possible. So remember, honey can help keep your heart healthy and strong.

Honey Improves Digestion

Honey can help kick-start your digestive track and clear your system from substances that can be preventing the harmony that your body desires when digesting your food.

And the list of honey benefits goes on:

• Cures stomachaches
• Skin moisturizer
• Fights insomnia
• Helps fight conjunctivitis (used in an eye bath)
• Improves appetite
• Enriches your blood
• Soothes sore throat

If you can, try and get raw honey which still contains all the live enzymes that nature intended for it to have. Or shall we say, exactly what the bees wanted in it. Sites like Really Raw Honey and Raw Unfiltered Honey are places to start shopping.

[image credit: Wild Wend]