Honey, also known as the “Nectar of the God”, has accompanied mankind throughout the history. Not long ago, archeologists discovered a jar of honey from an Egyptian tomb built around 3,000 years ago, and surprisingly the honey was in perfect condition and still fresh and edible.
Honey has numerous properties for our health, both therapeutic and nutritional, bringing major benefits to the human body. Following are the top 5 health benefits of using honey:
1. Honey Regulates the Blood Sugar
It seems counterintuitive that honey regulates blood sugar. But the secret to its ability to do so is in the balance of fructose and glucose. When honey is consumed, the fructose portion allows glucose to be taken up by the liver to form glycogen, which is then available for the brain, heart, kidneys and red blood cells.
This improves the functioning of the essential organs and tissues, eliminating glucose from the circulation and thus reducing blood sugar.
2. Honey Reduces the Metabolic Stress
Any kind of stress, whether emotional, psychological or physiological results in the body as metabolic stress. A function of the adrenal gland is to produce adrenaline and cortisol, which stimulates the muscle protein breakdown into amino acids to make new sugars.
This occurs when the brain thinks it is in danger of running out of fuel, such as physical exercise or during sleep at night is done.
The honey produces glycogen, which is the reserve energy needed by the brain for normal operation. We will have enough glycogen stored if we consume honey at breakfast, before bed at regular intervals throughout the day (especially before and after exercise).
The glycogen produced by the lever actually prevents the release of stress hormones.
3. Honey Promotes Recovery Sleep
Eating honey stimulates nighttime relaxation and sleep. The natural sugar found in honey produces a slight insulin secretion, allowing tryptophan to enter the brain more easily and allowing the secretion of melatonin, a vital daily sleep-wake regulating hormone. Therefore it is highly recommended consume one tablespoon of honey with a glass of warm milk (containing tryptophan) before bedtime to have a restful sleep.
Melatonin also regulates heart rhythms; helps improve immunity and facilitate tissue reconstruction overnight.
4. Honey as Treatment for Constipation
Honey has a high content of fructooligosaccharides (FOS), which primarily have an energy function but it reaches the colon and makes it behave in a similar way as using vegetable fiber: the water intake increases the stool bulk that increase the peristalsis and bowel motility.
So honey exerts a mild laxative effect.
5. Honey Improves Brain Fuctions
Having a brain that works properly and is healthy is one of the objectives of a human being. How to achieve this is a more complicated problem. You have to supply the energy needed for your brain cells to perform their functions properly. The role of calcium in the brain is important because neurons use calcium to cause the electrical signal, which is conducted from one neuron to another to communicate messages. Without enough calcium, brain malfunction.
There is scientific data that shows that natural honey helps absorb and fix calcium in the body, promoting proper brain function.
There are several other benefits besides the above mentioned Top 5 Health Benefits of Honey, therefore make sure to include honey as a regular part of your diet.