Benefits of Honey?

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saritaloves
saritaloves Posts: 8 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hey all! My dad and I take care of several bee hives, which means we're never in short supply of raw honey. I know a lot of other bee keepers that SWEAR by the nutritional value of honey (i.e. has a lot of enzymes, antioxidants, boosts the immune system, less processed than sugar, etc.) I'm curious though: are the health benefits of honey significant? Have these benefits been verified by ~*science*~?

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  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    I don't know, but I think it's awesome that you keep bees. It's been a dream of mine.
  • saritaloves
    saritaloves Posts: 8 Member
    edited September 2015
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    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    I don't know, but I think it's awesome that you keep bees. It's been a dream of mine.

    It's wonderful. Bees are such amazing little creatures. They make your flowers and fruit trees come alive, as well
  • MarziPanda95
    MarziPanda95 Posts: 1,326 Member
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    I think the health benefits are very much over-exaggerated. Tastes good though!
  • saritaloves
    saritaloves Posts: 8 Member
    edited September 2015
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    MarziPanda95 wrote: »
    I think the health benefits are very much over-exaggerated. Tastes good though!

    That's what I suspected. I'll always eat it though. Even if it does have more calories than sugar I think the flavor and texture are just SO much better than the flavor and texture of sugar.
  • strangesoul79
    strangesoul79 Posts: 84 Member
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    Local to you honey is quite good for you. The benefits you listed actually are fairly true whether science wants to verify it or now. I subscribe to a lot of home remedies and honey and cinnamon are high in the list. One of my favorite remedies is the hot toddy even though mine is different than most as I don't use and water or tea lol.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    The raw kind has some anti-bacterial properties. I keep it in the house for that purpose.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    I know it helps with sore throat and cough, and I remember some medical organisation recommending honey to help with cough. Cannot recall if it was WHO or AAP, but I remember my pediatrician showing me some link about it. Also it does contain vitamins, which you will not find in other sweeteners.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
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    From the Mayo Clinic:

    http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/added-sugar/art-20045328?pg=2

    "Despite what you may have heard, there's no nutritional advantage to honey, brown sugar, fruit juice concentrate or other types of sugar over white sugar."

    But I love bees! bee.gif And honey can be useful in cooking.

    If you've got plenty of honey, it makes sense to use that where you might use sugar, just to save money buying sugar!
  • cmtigger
    cmtigger Posts: 1,450 Member
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    saritaloves wrote: »
    MarziPanda95 wrote: »
    I think the health benefits are very much over-exaggerated. Tastes good though!

    That's what I suspected. I'll always eat it though. Even if it does have more calories than sugar I think the flavor and texture are just SO much better than the flavor and texture of sugar.

    But it is a bit sweeter than sugar, so you can use less. I think it balances out.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    I like it for the "use less" part. I've made my best rhubarb jam ever using up all the spare sugars in the house. It included honey, agave nectar, corn syrup, and white sugar. So it was a little higher in fructose than if I'd used white sugar alone.

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