{"id":13711,"date":"2025-03-21T01:00:29","date_gmt":"2025-03-20T18:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=13711"},"modified":"2025-03-21T01:00:29","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T18:00:29","slug":"top-4-surprising-health-benefits-of-honey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=13711","title":{"rendered":"Top 4 Surprising Health Benefits of Honey"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div itemprop=\"articleBody\">\n<p>Honey is a sweet, thick substance made by honeybees. Not only is it used as a natural sweetener, but it also has a longstanding history of benefits. For <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC3611628\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">centuries<\/a>, people have used honey for several medicinal purposes in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.beachbodyondemand.com\/blog\/ayurveda\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ayurveda<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Bees\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/nature\/how-do-bees-make-honey\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">make honey<\/a> by sipping nectar from flowers and bringing it back to their hive for processing. Other bees eat the nectar at the hive, mixing it with an enzyme that partially digests the nectar into honey. Honey\u2019s flavor depends on which\u00a0flowers\u00a0\u2014 wildflower, avocado, or orange blossom \u2014 the bees visited.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what you need to know about honey, how it can fit into your diet, and its benefits.<\/p>\n<h2>Honey vs. Sugar<\/h2>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-169144\" src=\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/12131740\/benefits-of-honey-600-sugar.png\" alt=\"Spoonfuls of Sugar, Honey, and Sugar Alternatives | Benefits of Honey\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Honey is a natural sweetener, but it is not a low-calorie alternative to sugar. It\u2019s nutritionally similar to plain sugar:<\/p>\n<p><strong>A tablespoon of\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/fdc.nal.usda.gov\/fdc-app.html#\/food-details\/1103956\/nutrients\"><b>honey<\/b><\/a><strong>\u00a0contains:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>61 calories<\/li>\n<li>16 grams of sugar<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><b>A tablespoon of\u00a0<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/fdc.nal.usda.gov\/fdc-app.html#\/food-details\/746784\/nutrients\"><b>sugar<\/b><\/a><b>\u00a0contains:<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>48 calories<\/li>\n<li>12 grams of sugar<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you love honey, you can use it instead of sugar since it does contain more beneficial nutrients (more on that below). But if you want a sugar substitute with a lower nutritional impact, you can try non-nutritive sweeteners, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bodi.com\/blog\/monk-fruit-vs-stevia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">stevia or monk fruit extract<\/a>, which contain zero calories and zero sugar.<\/p>\n<h2>Benefits of Honey<\/h2>\n<p>Honey contains primarily sugar and water. But unlike plain sugar, it is reported to contain\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC3758027\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">about 200 substances<\/a>, including:<\/p>\n<p>These substances are why honey comes with some extra benefits.<\/p>\n<h3>1. It contains antioxidants<\/h3>\n<p>Natural honey contains\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC5822819\/#:~:text=Honey%20clasps%20several%20medicinal%20and,%2C%20antiviral%2C%20and%20antidiabetic%20effects.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">antioxidant-like compounds<\/a>\u00a0such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bodi.com\/blog\/what-are-phytonutrients\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">flavonoids and phenolic acids<\/a>.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bodi.com\/blog\/antioxidants\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Antioxidants<\/a>\u00a0can help protect cells from\u00a0damaging free radicals.<\/p>\n<p><b>Caveat:<\/b>\u00a0You should get most of your antioxidants from fruits and vegetables. But, if your current diet is high in sweeteners, switching to honey might help\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/12617614\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">add to your antioxidant intake<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>2. It may support the immune system<\/h3>\n<p>A handful of small animal studies and cell culture\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC5424551\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">studies<\/a> have found that honey can help support the activity of immune cells. In short, honey isn\u2019t guaranteed to boost immunity, but it\u2019s promising. We still need to see more evidence.<\/p>\n<h3>3. It may support digestion<\/h3>\n<p>Honey has long been used in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC3611628\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ayurvedic medicine<\/a> to help support the digestive tract. But, modern evidence is patchy. <a id=\"_anchor_1\" href=\"applewebdata:\/\/EF99FC0D-9122-4BE5-94C7-F34B826646ED#_msocom_1\" name=\"_msoanchor_1\"\/>If you think you\u2019re suffering from a digestive condition, talk to your doctor.<\/p>\n<h3>4. It can soothe sore throats<\/h3>\n<p>A spoonful of honey is widely known to potentially\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/32817011\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">help relieve<\/a> a sore throat. Try adding honey to hot tea along with a squeeze of lemon \u2014 not only is it cozy and comforting, but the honey also coats your throat to <a href=\"https:\/\/health.clevelandclinic.org\/sore-throat-remedies-that-actually-work\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">soothe irritation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Possible Risks of Honey<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-169143\" src=\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/12131713\/benefits-of-honey-600-risks.png\" alt=\"Bowl of Honey Held by Woman | Benefits of Honey\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Regular honey is generally safe for people over a year old. Microbes can\u2019t grow in honey, but honey can contain <a href=\"https:\/\/news.ncsu.edu\/2013\/06\/how-do-bees-make-honey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">botulinum spores<\/a>\u00a0that germinate once eaten. An infant\u2019s immune system is still developing and may not be ready to fend the infection. People who are sensitive or allergic to bee pollen should also be careful.<\/p>\n<p>You may also wonder, \u201cIs it safe to eat raw honey?\u201d Probably, but it may still contain botulinum spores (same as regular honey), so don\u2019t feed it to a young infant. Those with specific allergies should be on guard since raw honey will contain trace amounts\u00a0of yeast, wax, and pollen.<\/p>\n<p>Raw honey isn\u2019t filtered or heated, and the potential health benefit of raw honey is it may retain more of the valuable substances we discussed above.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bodi.com\/blog\/benefits-of-honey\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Honey is a sweet, thick substance made by honeybees. Not only is it used as a natural sweetener, but it also has a longstanding history of benefits. For centuries, people have used honey for several medicinal purposes in Ayurveda. Bees\u00a0make honey by sipping nectar from flowers and bringing it back to their hive for processing. &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fitness"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13711\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}