Tag: Benefits

Posted on by

6 Health Benefits of Honey

honey on spoon

The sweet stuff can help with burns, coughs, anxiety and more

Honey’s benefits have been touted since antiquity — and it turns out the ancient Greeks and Romans were onto something: Honey really can hit the sweet spot when it comes to our health.

Though honey — a sweet, sticky liquid made by honeybees from flower nectar — is technically a sugar, “it’s also really rich in a lot of different bioactive substances,” says Mayo Clinic registered dietitian (and hobbyist beekeeper) Joy Heimgartner. Those include a range of good-for-you minerals, probiotics, enzymes, antioxidants and other phytochemicals. There are four common types of honey: Raw honey is defined by the National Honey Board as “honey as it exists in the beehive or as obtained by extraction, settling or straining without adding heat.” Manuka honey, produced from the flowers of manuka trees, is known for its unique antibacterial properties, attributed to a compound called methylglyoxal, says Jordan Hill, lead registered dietitian for Top Nutrition Coaching.

Organic honey is produced without the use of synthetic chemicals, pesticides or GMOs. And locally produced honey has been reported to provide relief from seasonal allergies to local pollen, though scientific evidence to support that claim is limited, says Hill. According to Hill, honey can be substituted for sugar in recipes, but remember: It has a distinctive flavor (which varies depending on the source flowers); it’s sweeter than sugar (the general rule of thumb is to use ¾ to 1 cup of honey for every 1 cup of sugar); it’s a liquid, so you may need to cut back on other liquids or slightly increase the dry ingredients in a recipe; and it browns more quickly than sugar (so reduce the oven temperature by 25°F).

But whatever way you use honey — in a recipe or as a condiment — always keep in mind that it is a sweetener. “Honey is a supersaturated sugar solution, and we should limit added sugars of all types,” says Heimgartner. Still, “if you’re looking for a sweetener that has more to offer, honey is fantastic.” Honey’s benefits Here are six reasons why. Continue reading 6 Health Benefits of Honey

Posted on by

About Honey and Beehive Products QUIZ

Bee on Flower

About Honey

Honey is a nutritious, healthy and natural food produced by the bees. Its benefits go beyond its use as a sweetener as it contains several minerals, enzymes, vitamins and proteins that confer unique nutritious and organoleptic properties. Honey can be monofloral if one specific plant nectar and pollen content prevails in pre-defined percentages or polyfloral if it contains an unspecified mix of different nectars and pollens. Due to environmental, geographical and climatic conditions honey may vary in pollen content and relative humidity. Honey is produced in all five continents and its consumption varies from country to country also due to cultural reasons and eating habits.

Beehive Products

Honey bees may provide livelihood or a source of income for many beekeepers all over the world. This could happen through the services provided by the bees (mainly pollination service, apitherapy and apitourism), or directly through the bee products. The last include: alive bees to guarantee always new queen bees or bee packs, honey, pollen, wax, propolis, royal jelly and venom. Bee products may be used as food for humans, feed for animals, cosmetics, medicines used in conventional medicine (mainly vaccination), or in apitherapy, or other like manifold products, carpentry, attractant, sweeteners, etc.

We all know the bee basics. They’re important pollinators. They make honey. They make buzz. They like to join you at picnics.

But did you know that they also provide us with medicines and even help keep our planet beautiful and healthy?

Take our bee QUIZ and learn more about these tiny food heroes! >> CLICK HERE

Posted on by

Honey calms coughs better than cough medicine

Honey helps cough

Drinking tea or warm lemon water mixed with honey is a time-honored way to soothe a sore throat. But honey alone may be an effective cough suppressant, too.

In one study, children ages 1 to 5 with upper respiratory tract infections were given up to 2 teaspoons (10 milliliters) of honey at bedtime. The honey seemed to reduce nighttime coughing and improve sleep. In fact, in the study, honey appeared to be as effective as a common cough suppressant ingredient, dextromethorphan, in typical over-the-counter doses. Since honey is low-cost and widely available, it might be worth a try.

However,  never give honey to a child younger than age 1.  And remember: Coughing isn’t all bad. It helps clear mucus from your airway. If you or your child is otherwise healthy, there’s usually no reason to suppress a cough.      Mayo Clinic  Pritish K. Tosh, M.D.

Further, coughing is a common problem for children with upper respiratory infections. These infections can affect sleep and quality of life for both children and parents.

However, common cough medications are not always effective and can have side effects. Interestingly, honey may be a good alternative, with evidence indicating that it’s an effective treatment option. One review of several studies on honey and cough in children found that honey appears to be more effective than diphenhydramine for cough symptoms. It may also help reduce cough duration.

Another review noted that it may also improve sleep quality among children with coughs, as well as their parents. Further, unlike some cough medicines, honey doesn’t have any side effects.

Posted on by

Honey in History: Honey Bees in Colonial America

Colonial America

There’s no denying that honey and the bees that make it have become an integral part of America’s way of life, not only because of the sweet liquid they provide, but their pollination work ensures that we have a healthy global food supply (Fun Fact: honey bee pollination is an agricultural benefit that accounts for nearly $15 billion in added crop value, according to our friends at the FDA). But did you know that honey bees as we know them today are actually not native to this land? Since we are celebrating the first true American holiday later this week, we thought it would be fun to take a look at honey and honey bees in the time of the Pilgrims in this edition of Honey in History: Colonial America!

Although there was a now-extinct species of honey bee in the area, as evidenced by a 14 million-year-old fossil unearth in Nevada in 2009 (believed to have died out long before the 17th century), the European honey bees that buzz around America today were first introduced to our land by European settlers who came over in the early 1620s. Realizing their value as pollinators, they were sent along to help establish the many fruits and other crops that the Pilgrims brought over. Continue reading Honey in History: Honey Bees in Colonial America

Posted on by

HONEY BEES & POLLINATION

Honey Bee Pollination

The diversity of the beekeeping craft has evolved over time, and managed pollination is just one of the ways beekeepers make a big impact on the world. Managed pollination is the practice of caring for hives and honey bees in order to pollinate the crops that sustain us all.


The Honey Bees’ Second Shift

In addition to gathering nectar to produce honey, honey bees perform a vital second function – pollination, making them a critical component of today’s agricultural market. In fact, about one-third of the human diet is derived from insect-pollinated plants, and honey bees are responsible for 80 percent of this pollination.


Pollination

While honey bees are gathering nectar, they’re also fertilizing flowering plants. Pollination occurs when pollen is transferred from the anthers of a flower to the ovules of another flower. This pollination greatly increases the quantity and quality of many crops including a variety of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and nuts such as almonds.

According to the Bee Health Collective, while many pollinators are important contributors, honey bees have several traits that make them well-suited for the job of crop pollination:

  • They can be managed and moved in large numbers from crop to crop by beekeepers
  • They are resilient generalists which means they forage on (and pollinate) many types of blooms
  • They are considered by growers to be the best “bang for your buck” for pollination

Honey bees pollinate crops in all 50 U.S. states

The bee-plant relationship (pollination), is necessary for our food supply and for our ecosystems. Honey bees are the “workhorses” that make it possible to produce good yields of many foods, including fruits, vegetables, nuts, coffee, and even meat and dairy (which depend on bees to pollinate livestock feed crops like alfalfa). While many pollinators are important contributors, honey bees have several traits that make them well-suited for the job of crop pollination. They can be managed and moved in large numbers from crop to crop by beekeepers, they are resilient generalists which means they forage on (and pollinate) many types of blooms, and they are considered by growers to be the best “bang for your buck” for pollination. Pollination often provides more revenue for beekeepers than honey production.

Dietary Impact
Many of the ingredients that contribute to a balanced and healthy diet wouldn’t be possible without honey bees, and we couldn’t be more grateful for the hard work of beekeepers and managed pollinators. It is thanks to them that we can enjoy Mother Nature’s sweetener and feed communities with nutritious crops like fruits, vegetables and nuts. Not to mention meat and dairy, which depend on bees to pollinate livestock feed crops, like alfalfa. There are 90 different crops that are reliant on beekeepers and honey bees so this is an invaluable practice that ultimately puts food on dinner tables across the nation. Check out this infographic to see just some of the foods pollinated by honey bees.

Posted on by

Bee Propolis and Honey as Treatment Options for MRSA

Propolis

As antibiotic use continues to rise, resistant bacteria has risen with it. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureas (MRSA) is one of the most concerning of these drug-resistant pathogens. MRSA is endemic in hospitals throughout the world and many patients are at risk. In California alone, a recent study found that one out of every 100 people who stayed in the hospital contracted MRSA at some point. About half of people admitted to the hospital for MRSA contracted it either during their current stay or during a previous visit to the hospital. Luckily, nature provides a wealth of alternatives when our manmade ingenuity fails to do the trick. Bee products that include both honey and propolis have been found to be effective remedies against this tenacious bug.

What is MRSA?

MRSA is a type of staph bacteria. It is a potentially deadly bacteria that is found in hospitals throughout the world. It was first discovered in 1961, as doctors discovered that this type of staph could stand up to not just methicillin but also penicillin, oxacillin and amoxicillin. Much of it is now completely resistant to most antibiotics, leaving medical practitioners with fewer and fewer treatment options. Most people have read at least one article in their local paper about a nearby MRSA outbreak. Continue reading Bee Propolis and Honey as Treatment Options for MRSA

Posted on by

Is Honey Paleo?

Is Honey_Paleo

by Angela Van Alten, Nutritionist and Beekeeper’s Daughter

People who are looking for ways to get closer to a natural diet often wind up turning to paleo. The paleo diet has lots of dos and don’ts, and it can be hard to predict what foods are allowed and which ones are verboten. Paleo, in general, takes a harsh stance against sweeteners. But, what about honey, which is a completely natural sweetener, and ones our paleolithic ancestors probably used? Understanding more about honey, as well as the philosophy behind paleo eating, can help you make the right choice for you and your optimal level of health.What Is Paleo? Continue reading Is Honey Paleo?

Posted on by

Health Benefits of Propolis

Scraping Propolis
From WebMD – Propolis, sometimes called bee glue, is an important material for honeybee hives.It’s a complex mixture of plant sap, beeswax, and honeybees’ natural enzymes — and it plays an important role in helping keep beehives in one piece. It also seems to help keep beehives pest-free by preventing fungus and microbes from growing.There’s more to propolis than its use as a bee-based building material, though. Studies are beginning to show that propolis may have some significant health benefits, both as an oral supplement and as a topical treatment. As a result, you can find propolis in various forms at many health food stores.
Continue reading Health Benefits of Propolis
Posted on by

Propolis – The Natural Antibiotic Video

Propolis Video

There’s little doubt that most people have heard about the health benefits of honey – immune and DNA protection are just two of them – but fewer people are probably familiar with propolis.

Thousands of years ago, ancient civilizations used propolis for its medicinal properties. Greeks used it to treat abscesses. Assyrians put it on wounds and tumors to fight infection and help the healing process.

Continue reading Propolis – The Natural Antibiotic Video