Honey, I have something for you to read…

Honey in honeycombs (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Unprocessed honey’s positive effects on human health have been demonstrated over and over again. These benefits have been seen with healthy individuals as well as subjects with elevated risk factors such as diabetes and obesity. Honey has the ability to increase Vitamin C concentrations, B-carotene and serum iron levels, as well as lower lactic acid dehydrogenase, creatinine kinase and triglycerides. It has also been shown to reduce fasting blood sugar levels – even in diabetics! On top of all this, honey has been shown to possess inhibitory effects against aerobic/anaerobic bacteria, yeast, fungi and viruses; the ability to accelerate wound healing with minimal scar formation; treat skin conditions such as dandruff, eczema and psorisasis; and treat urinary and gastrointestinal diseases. While all this sounds pretty good, there is in fact a potential downside.

via Honey: Nature’s Perfect Sweetener? | Paleo Magazine.

3 Responses to "Honey, I have something for you to read…"

christian jax says:

23 May, 2012 at 19:30

This was an interesting post that i thought had a relationship to honey:

‘Agave Nectar’ excerpted from Is It Primal? – 7 More Foods Scrutinized | Mark’s Daily Apple

Agave nectar is a favorite whipping child of the Primal set, but we should substantiate our claims, don’t you think? We need to justify those welts, especially since a few of you guys were wondering (hoping?) about its place in the Primal Blueprint.

Agave nectar is insanely high in fructose. Of the sugar present, up to 92% of it is pure, unadulterated fructose. That’s considerably more than table sugar, most honey, and even high-fructose corn syrup. If we want to avoid fructose, agave nectar must also be avoided.

However, the recent honey post shows that not all sugar behaves the same. Honey – a “natural product” – contains a wide range of bee-based phenolic compounds that appear to render its sugar content less harmful than, say, a dose of HFCS with the same amount of fructose. Since agave nectar is also “natural” (it’s gotta be, with “nectar” and an exotic word like “agave” in the name), could it too be different than other sugars. No. A recent study found that while stuff like honey, molasses, and maple syrup all contain significant amounts of antioxidants that potentially mitigate the metabolic damage wrought by the sugar therein, agave nectar – along with refined sugar and corn syrup – has almost none. Even raw cane sugar beat agave nectar out in the antioxidant category.

Read more: Is It Primal? – 7 More Foods Scrutinized

Reply
dilemme says:

13 May, 2012 at 11:48

i didn’t click on the link, but I think we all know one potential downside to too much honey – excess calories! there is a balance that must be achieved between taking enough good foods that you benefit from their nutrients, and not taking so much that the caloric impact outweighs any benefits (pun not intended). that being said, I agree that honey is widely accepted to be the best option for a sweetener. Not only does it have actual health benefits (as opposed to any other sweetener) it is a natural product that our bodies actually understand how to process. Leaving aside chemical sweeteners which obviously the body was not intended to consume, honey is a sweet food that has calories to go with it – if you are eating healthy overall and eat honey in moderation, your body knows just how to deal effectively with this sweetener. cheers,

Reply
1. christian jax says:
  
  13 May, 2012 at 18:25
  
  I agree with your comments. Honey is used sparingly in my household, mainly for some baking and usually less then even the paleo recipe we’re working off.
  
  Reply

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