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Benefits of Local Honey
I have been on a bit of a local honey learning journey. It has so many benefits ranging from flavor to allergy relief. Let’s dive into the full benefits about local honey!
How is honey made?
Most people know that bees make honey, but how exactly does that happen? Bees carry nectar from flowers back to the hive. The nectar is stored in honeycombs as simple sugars where it eventually becomes honey through evaporation. If you dive deeper into this process of evaporation, you will see such proof of the Creator. The process is amazing and so intentional! If you’d like to learn more, check out the National Honey Board.
Honey Fast Facts
- Honey is the only food in the word that NEVER goes bad.
- The type of flowers the nectar is harvested from affects the flavor of the honey. Some more popular varieties are Orange Blossom, Sunflower, Clover, Buckwheat, and believe it or not.. Avocado!
- One of the most common benefits of honey is its ability to work as a cough suppressant.
- There is only one queen bee in a hive. She is the sole reproducer in her 2 to 5 year lifespan. The queen is also more developed than the rest of the bees due to her consumption of “royal jelly” which is comes from the heads of the worker bees. (WHAT?)
My Honey is Crystalized. What Do I Do?
DO NOT MICROWAVE IT. Prior to learning this, I was the queen of microwaving honey. Somehow, I never put two and two together that even though I was warming up the honey, it would instantly return to an even worse crystalized state. Ready to learn the secret?
Place your container of crystalized honey in warm water. It will slowly return to its liquid state, and in no time you will have honey readily available.
*Note: Be aware of the temp of your water if your honey is in a plastic container. This tip is learned from personal experience..
Nutrition Benefits of Honey
Honey is a natural source of B vitamins, copper, zinc, and iron. These vitamins mainly come from the soil and nectar producing plants. While small amounts of honey won’t reach your daily requirements of any of these vitamins or minerals, it is another way to add them in instead of taking them in a pill form!
Honey has also been found to lower high cholesterol and aid in treating gastric problems!
Health Benefits of Honey
One of the most well known health benefits of honey is its ability to naturally suppress a cough. Multiple studies have proven that honey is actually a better cough suppressant than many over-the-counter medications.
This one is not as well known, but one of my favorite benefits of honey. My grandpa used this all of my childhood! Have a cut or wound? Put some honey on it! Honey contains propolis (propolis throat spray is also growing increasingly popular) which suppresses the activity of free radicals and promotes collagen production.
Honey can also treat nausea! A popular home remedy for a sore throat is warm water, honey, and lemon juice. However, this superhero of a remedy also prevents vomiting.
To read about several other potential health benefits of honey (tested on animals, but not yet humans) check out this article by verywellfit.com!
Looking for some recipes with honey? Check out these!
- Honey Bread by Gracie’s Farm Kitchen
- Honey Lavender Ice Cream by Farmhouse on Boone
- Fire Cider by The House and Homestead
- Fermented Honey Garlic by Fermenters Kitchen
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