All You Need To Know About Honey

   All You Need To Know About Honey 

Honey is a sweet, viscous liquid with a high amount of fructose and glucose made by honeybees. Honeybees include any one of seven members of genus 'Apis' and only one species- Apis mellifera, the domestic honeybee. Usually, fructose and glucose are in ratio of 4:3 i.e 40% fructose & 30% glucose.

Honeybees store their honey in the honeycomb. The taste is determined by flowers from which honeybees has generated honey. Honey is also fat-free and cholesterol-free so, it is very popular in South Asian homes. Apart from that, 100 gram of honey provides 320 kcal of energy with 80-gram carbohydrates, 17 mg sodium, 138 mg potassium, 13 mg calcium, 1.5 mg Iron and 5 mg phosphorus on average. 

Human beings are consuming honey from ancient periods. It is believed that they have discovered the potential of honey in the stone age! Egyptian used to offer Honey to the gods. The use of honey gradually evolves from there with its use increasing from wound, fevers, curing sore throats, cough to cancer prevention.

It takes around 50,000 bees to make half a kilo of honey. The honeybee is very hard workers and sometimes travels up to thousands of a mile in search of flower and bushes. so, pure honey is expensive. Honey is formed and sealed the cell with wax. It is available either in raw or in pasteurised forms. The difference being, Raw honey is directly bottled after removing from the hive. 

Properly bottled honey never expires. It also tends to have great shelf life due to high acidic PH level, low moisture content and sweetness which inhibits the growth of micro-organisms in it.

Bees have a special second stomach for storage of fruit nectar which is then mixed with an enzyme present in the stomach. A tiny amount of hydrogen peroxide is also present in honey which further inhibits the growth of bacteria in it.  

Honey tends to have a lot of medical properties. It was used in past to heal wounds and prevent fever. Several research works also showed they prevent stomach problems, cancer, cough and sore throat. Moreover, Honey kills bacteria due to its antibacterial properties so it has a broad use. 

Honey is also believed to prevent heart diseases, boosting stamina among athletes by preventing fatigue. It even promotes wound healing. Honey cures hangover. It is also the best solution to prevent insomnia. Milk and honey combined before bed makes people fall asleep quickly. Similarly, it also promotes weight loss when combined with hot water and lemon. 

Talking about weight loss there is a mis-concept among people who believes they can lose up to 5 kg of weight in a week but the to most weight lost by the body would be water and not fat when one is in rapid weight cut. Thus, causing dehydration and sickness. 

If you have cold symptoms then the honey will be the best reliever. Honey is also used frequently in burns and cuts and is a great energy booster.

Dark honey(more concentrated) are expensive. There is specific honey called Manuka honey which is made from the nectar of Manuka tree in New Zealand which is the best remedy for different kinds of problems in the body. In Asia cliff bees honey (their Maha) honey is very popular which is a remedy for all problems. 

Honey tends to crystallize which is not a problem as it can be again brought back to normal form. It can be a great sugar substitute. The nectar in the honeycomb is dried by breeze created by the movement of bees. 

Honey has more medical properties with its Regular consumption increasing the immunity power also. thus, preventing us from various illness. We can easily benefit a lot from Honey. 

Honey should not be given to children below 1 years of age as their immunity system is not developed. The little amount of bacteria present in honey can cause food poisoning thus resulting botulism. Botulism can cause death to infants also!