The buzzing of bees in our gardens are a welcome sign for those who enjoy honey as part of one’s diet. Honey is made by the aptly named honey bees. These bees gather nectar and pollen from plants. Nectar is used as an energy source, whereas pollen provides protein and other nutrients. The pollen that bees gather is usually used as food for larvae that eventually mature into bees. When bees fly from flower to flower when gathering nectar and pollen for themselves, they carry pollen on their legs. The pollen thus gets transferred from one flower to another while gathering food for themselves. This process is known as pollination; this process is necessary for any plant that contains seeds to produce flowers, which then produce fruit, vegetables or nuts. In plants, the male flower produces pollen. This pollen needs to be transferred to the female flowers for fertilization. This fertilizes the plant to grow fruit which contains seeds. What a wonderful system created by God! In feeding themselves, the bees also are instrumental in the growth and maturation of plants. Many of the crops we rely on are pollinated by bees. Some examples are: almonds, beans, blueberries, cucumber, grapes, kale, peaches, squash, strawberries and many others. The majority of flowering plants are pollinated by bees and other animals, or the wind. About 80% of all flowering plants and over three-quarters of crop plants eaten by humans require animal pollinators.
Nectar is produced by plants in order to attract insects such as bees, to aid in pollination. It is a sugar-rich substance which provides a nutrient source for bees. Bees who collect nectar from plants also use it a food source for themselves. They also collect nectar to take back to their hives. The nectar is then used to make honey, which provides food for the bees in the colony. Honey is made by bees by reducing the moisture content of nectar from 70% to 20%. Bees store the honey in honeycombs over the winter months to provide food for the colony, especially baby bees, when food sources are scarce. Four pounds of nectar is needed to make one pound of honey. Each bee, in its lifespan of six weeks produces 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey; this requires 556 bees collecting nectar from about 2 million flowers to make one pound of honey. A typical beehive produces anywhere from 10 to 200 pounds (5–100 kg) of honey in a year. These are staggering statistics as to the amount of work that it takes to produce the jars of honey that we have in our homes. Bees are the only insect that produces food for humans.
The use of honey dates back to the beginning of the earth. Since ancient times honey has been used as a medicine and as a food. Honey has been found in the tombs of Pharaohs, some of it still edible. Honey is the only food that does not spoil as bacteria cannot grow in honey. The long life of honey is attributed to an enzyme found in bees’ stomachs which suppresses bacterial growth; thus, sealed honey can be kept almost indefinitely.
Honey was used as a food in early Bible times, with the first reference found in Genesis when Jacob commanded his sons to take of the best of the land to appease Joseph, as they journeyed to Egypt. When the Israelites left slavery in Egypt, they were promised a land that was “flowing with milk and honey”. Even the manna in the wilderness was described as tasting like “wafers made with honey”. Samson’s famous riddle referred to the honey that was found in the lion’s carcass that he had slain. John the Baptist’s diet consisted of locusts and wild honey. In the book of Revelation, John referred to the little book as tasting sweet like honey in his mouth.
Nutritional Content of Honey
Honey has a very sweet taste, and is often used as a sweetener in many dishes in baking, cooking, desserts, as flavouring for teas, and as a spread on bread. Honey is also used as a medicine.
The actual taste, aroma, and colour of honey is dependent on the type of flowers that the bees find nectar from. Many honey lovers will choose honey derived from plants that suit their taste and preference. Generally, honey will be found in its liquid form; however, honey can also be found as creamed honey, raw honey, pasteurized honey, and many more.
Honey contains about 180 types of compounds, including water, sugars, free amino acids (protein), enzymes, essential minerals and vitamins, and several phytochemicals (compounds found in plants). One tablespoon of honey contains 64 calories and 17 grams of sugar, including fructose (38%), glucose (31%), with smaller amounts of maltose, and sucrose. Honey does not contain fat or fibre. Minor amounts of protein are present, mainly in the form of enzymes and free amino acids that come from the nectar and the pollen that the bees convert into food. It contains small amounts of some vitamins and minerals, such as B vitamins, Vitamin C, calcium, copper, iron, zinc, calcium, potassium, magnesium, and chlorine, to name a few, mainly derived from the plants that bees extract nectar from. Honey also contains several healthy phytochemicals and antioxidants.
Honey contains organic acids, which give honey its flavour. It also allows honey to work as an antimicrobial (kills viral, bacterial, fungal infections); honey is potent against many microorganisms that can cause illness or infection. Honey also contains phytochemicals known as flavonoids, seen as potent antioxidants in preventing free radical damage in the body, assisting in the prevention of diseases such as heart attacks, strokes, and some cancers. Flavonoids also help regulate cell activity, which assists your body to function more efficiently while protecting against stress and external toxins. The flavonoid content of honey is derived from the plants from which the bees extract nectar. Various types of honey can be lower or higher in phytochemicals, depending on which plants the nectar comes from. Darker varieties of honey have higher levels of organic acids and flavonoids. Studies on buckwheat honey show that it can increase the antioxidant value of one’s blood. Despite being mostly made up of sugar, because of the other properties of honey, it is a much healthier sweetener than table sugar.
Health Benefits of Honey
Raw or unpasteurized honey contains various compounds that are beneficial to our health. Once honey has been pasteurized, many of the beneficial nutrients such as helpful bacteria, enzymes, pollen, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals are lost. Pasteurization is the process of heating honey to 158F and then rapidly cooling it. Most honey in grocery stores has been pasteurized because the heat gets rid of yeast that honey may contain. If the moisture content of honey is high enough, yeast will grow, and will ferment some of the sugars in honey. Avoid introducing water to your container of honey. Even though the honey is still good to eat if it has undergone fermentation, it changes the flavour of the honey. Pasteurization also improves the colour and texture, and prevents crystallization. Therefore, when buying honey products, look for raw or unpasteurized honey to obtain the benefits that this wonderful natural product can bring. Raw honey can be stored at room temperature; it will last longer if kept away from heat and sunlight. Most raw honey has a best by date of two years. Properly stored, raw honey can stay good for decades. Raw honey may crystalize; however, it can be brought back to its liquid form by placing it in sunlight. Do not store honey in metal containers, as honey is an acid and it will cause the metal to corrode into the honey. Raw honey should not be given
to infants due to the risk of botulism poisoning.
As was mentioned, honey contains various phytochemicals. Because of the these phytochemicals, honey has properties that can reduce the risk of heart disease; for example, it can lower the “bad” LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, while raising the levels of the “good” HDL cholesterol. High triglyceride levels lead to insulin resistance, which is another factor that contributes to type 2 diabetes. Keeping triglyceride levels in a normal range can combat diabetes. Lowering of cholesterol levels is important for people who have type 2 diabetes as they are at a higher risk of heart disease than the normal population. However, because honey is a sugar, it can increase blood sugar levels, but not to the level that refined sugar does. Therefore, even though it is a better sugar for diabetics, it still should be consumed cautiously.
Another factor in raising heart disease risk is high blood pressure. The antioxidants in honey have been linked to lower blood pressure values.
Because it is a rich source of certain antioxidants which have been proven to improve heart health, honey can reduce the overall risk for heart disease by helping the arteries in the heart to dilate and increasing blood flow to the heart. It also prevents clots from forming, which is a leading cause of heart attacks and strokes. Antioxidants also prevent free radical damage in the body which contributes to the aging process and to a host of chronic diseases.
Honey has been used topically as a treatment for wounds and burns for thousands of years; evidence for its use have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs. Many studies prove the ability of honey to assist in healing wounds and burns that have become infected. It also is an effective treatment for foot ulcers in diabetics, as often foot ulcers are the reason for diabetics needing amputations. Honey is able to heal wounds because of its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. The antibacterial effects of honey is due to an enzyme produced by bees that produces hydrogen peroxide, which is an antibacterial agent. Honey is also able to nourish the surrounding tissue of wounds. It has also been proven to be effective with other skin conditions such as psoriasis and herpes.
Sore throats can be treated with hone; add it to a hot tea with or without lemon. It soothes and heals a sore throat. It is also effective for treating coughs. It has shown to be just as effective as over-the-counter medications. “I have already told you the remedy I use when suffering from difficulties with my throat. I take a glass of boiled honey, and into this I put a few drops of eucalyptus oil, stirring it in well. When the cough comes on, I take a teaspoonful of this mixture, and relief comes almost immediately. I have always used this with the best results. . . . This prescription may seem so simple that you feel no confidence in it, but I have tried it for a number of years, and can highly recommend it.” –Selected Messages, book 2, p. 301
Honey is also effective as a treatment for H. pylori infections of the stomach, which can cause stomach ulcers. It is a potent prebiotic, which means it nourishes the good bacteria that we have in our intestines. Thus, contributing to healthy digestion.
Manuka Honey
Manuka honey, a unique type of honey, has the same healing effects as other honeys, with added benefits. This honey is made by bees who collect nectar from the manuka plant. The manuka plant, a shrub, is native to both New Zealand and Australia. Its flowers only bloom for a few weeks a year, so the season for bees to collect manuka honey is very short. The leaves of the manuka shrub have been used by indigenous tribes for centuries for their healing properties. The plant contains a compound known as Methylglyoxal (MGO); it is this compound that gives manuka honey its healing and medicinal qualities.
MGO is known to be effective against at least 60 types of bacteria, including some of the so-called superbugs, such as methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureas (MRSA) that have become resistant to antibiotics. Studies show that the use of honey decreases these bacteria’s resistance to antibiotics. It also helps boost the ability of white blood cells to fight an infection.
All honey contains antimicrobial properties; however, manuka honey has an added quality; the manuka plant contains phytochemicals that prevent the hydrogen peroxide in honey from being degraded over time, which happens with other honeys, reducing their antimicrobial effectiveness. This effect known as non-hydrogen peroxide indicates that the use of manuka honey to treat infections in humans is improved over other honeys because it contains this property. Also, when used, it does not degrade at room temperature as other honeys do which also contain hydrogen peroxide, making it more effective. This property also ensures that certain enzymes in the human body do not destroy the antimicrobial effect of the honey.
Manuka honey can inhibit the growth of several bacteria that cause serious upper respiratory infections, and is often used in conjunction with antibiotics to enhance the effect of the antibiotics.
Medical-grade manuka honey is used in hospitals in many countries, and is accepted as a treatment for wounds that have not responded to other treatments. It is used to treat burns, pressure sores, rashes, boils, and skin ulcers. In the United States, the FDA has approved manuka honey as a recommended treatment option for wound healing. Not only is manuka honey applied directly to the wound, dressings containing manuka honey are applied to the wound. It reduces healing times, and greatly reduces the scarring that may occur from a wound. It has shown to be effective against two potentially fatal skin infections which have grown resistant to antibiotics. When manuka honey is used on these two types of bacteria, it prevents the bacteria from attaching to skin tissues, thus preventing the first step of the infection process. Manuka honey has also been used in treating wounds in horses. Because of the increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria, remedies such as manuka honey have increased in favour.
As well as the other benefits that honey has to the digestive system mentioned above, manuka honey can also reduce the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, including abdominal pain and cramps, diarrhea, constipation and bloating. Manuka honey can also kill a type of intestinal bacteria known as Clostridium dificile (C. diff). This bacteria causes severe diarrhea, and is very transmissible from person to person. Outbreaks of C. diff can occur in hospitals and nursing homes, and routine hygiene practices aim to prevent such outbreaks.
Gingivitis is a gum inflammation that can result in swelling, bleeding, or pain. This can also lead to receding gums and loose teeth. Research has shown that putting manuka honey directly onto the gums will reduce the inflammation. Manuka honey reduces tooth decay. Other sugars raise the pH of the mouth which damage the enamel of teeth and lead to cavities. Because honey is considered acidic, it does not increase the pH of the mouth. Manuka honey prevents the formation of plaque and performs as well as antibacterial mouthwashes.
Manuka honey is a popular treatment for acne. The honey balances the pH of the skin, reducing inflammation, thus speeding up the healing of a current breakout, and also preventing future breakouts. It can also be used to clean the skin, without drying it out.
The content of MGO in manuka honey depends on whether bees solely derive their nectar from manuka plants, or if they derive nectar from other plants as well as the manuka plant. Thus, manuka honey is sold in different grades, the more MGO that the honey contains, the higher the grade and the more effective the honey is in fighting infections. However, with the higher levels of MGO, the honey becomes very expensive, with a small jar costing upwards of $100 CAD. Jars of manuka honey will have a rating system of either the content of MGO (30+ up to 1100+) or UMF (Unique Manuka Factor, anywhere from 5+ to 24+). Manuka honey from bees that also collect nectar from other plants will have a rating from 30+ to 70+. Ratings above 100+ will be from honey made solely from manuka plants. These labelling guidelines were established to ensure that consumers were buying real manuka honey, as the sale of manuka honey around the world has become a lucrative business, and many honey products labelled as manuka honey are counterfeit.
Honey is not just “another sugar”. Because of its unique properties, honey provides many health benefits and can be used for both prevention of disease and for the treatment of various ailments.
“My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste.” Proverbs 24:13. “Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.” Proverbs 16:24