Honey, I Love You!

Honey seems like a pretty simple and singular thing to write an entire blog post about….but I personally think honey is like nectar of the gods….so I am all about telling you everything I can about it!

I grew up in a very low-sugar home and raised my kids just as deprived of sugar as I was. No regrets, and I’d do it all over again too! We may not have had sugar or any of its artificial substitutes on-hand, but what we always had (and still do now) is honey.

As a kid I just knew honey as being that sweet, sticky stuff bees made and that my mom would put in tea or I’d dribble on my buttered toast. It was delicious and that was that. We always just had the garden variety stuff that came in the little plastic bear (at one in my childhood point I collected those containers) but I never really knew how actually beneficial honey was and could be.

When I had my own kids, I knew that honey was the perfect substitute to sugar once they were old enough to have it. (Honey isn’t recommended to babies prior to age one on the off chance it may contain clostridium bacteria which infants are susceptible to.) Then, as I began learning more and more about healthier living, I began using honey in so many different ways. Now, my kids not only still use it to sweeten hot drinks, but they know when and how to use it when they start feeling under the weather…or their skin starts to act up.

Lucky for them, and me, honey is so much more than it used to be. While you can still get that cute plastic bear the options and variety of honey are almost endless. The only downside to this is that you really do have to read labels to make sure that what you are getting is straight from the bees and not some artificial, filler packed junk. Not all honey is created equal anymore…so do your due diligence if you want the real good stuff!

There’s also an actual hierarchy when it comes to this sweet stuff. Regular honey, which is what we are most used to, is perfectly fine for casual use. Throw it in your cooking, your tea, coffee, toast, and waffles….but if you’re looking for some seriously health packed goodness then raw honey is what you want to look for. Take it up even a higher notch and Manuka honey is where it’s at.

So…why is honey so good for you? And why are raw and Manuka reigning supreme? Grab your tea and let me tell you!

Honey, in addition to being one of nature’s best sweeteners, is also full of anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and antioxidant compounds, as well as prebiotics, polyphenols, flavonoids, and phenolic acids. So, while all honey contains these compounds, raw honey is less processed so it has higher levels and potency of these compounds making it one of the sweetest super foods on the planet. Also, the darker the honey, the higher the antioxidant count…keep that in mind!

Raw honey also still has high amounts of propolis, enzymes, amino acids, and bee pollen intact which have their own health benefits. If you tend to suffer from season and environmental allergies, taking small doses of locally gathered raw honey can curb your allergy symptoms more effectively than OTC antihistamines. Several research studies have also shown that the propolis and bee pollen combined with the high antioxidant count of raw honey can have protective effects on the respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and nervous systems. Not bad, huh?

I personally use locally grown raw honey in my coffee every morning to keep my seasonal allergies at bay, and if any of us at home starts to feel a throat tickle or even slightly under the weather we begin taking a teaspoon of raw honey 2-3 times a day. Not only will soothe an irritated throat, but all of the health properties health boost the immune system.

…but that’s not all!

Raw honey has also been shown to have anti-fungal and antibacterial properties which make it perfect for treating skin irritations and breakouts. Got a zit? Put some honey on it. Eczema flare? Put some honey on that too. Razor burn? Scraped knee? Honey is good for those too. The downside? You’ll be sticky…but the upside is that your skin reacts beautifully to honey, and I’ve found the healing process from using it to be much faster than anything you can buy in the first-aid aisle.

Raw honey can also be used for everything from upset stomach and diarrhea, to easing coughs, healing wounds, preventing gastric ulcers, treating dermatitis, halting break-outs, and even promoting oral health. That sticky, syrupy, sweetness is so much more than just a compliment to your food and drinks!

So…if raw honey is so good for you…what about Manuka honey?

Manuka honey has kind of become something of a viral sensation in the past few years. The fact that it is on the higher end of the cost spectrum has made it the darling of health influencers and those-who-shop-at-Erewhon….but to be quote honest, the hype is real. Manuka honey is like raw honey on steroids….the benefits are not just good. They’re EXTRA good.

Manuka honey comes from the Leptospermum scoparium flower which is native to New Zealand. The super charged antibacterial properties, called Methylglyoxal, of this particular honey is what makes is stand up and apart from all others. Manuka can have up to 100 times higher levels of Methylglyoxal than other honeys. So, it has all of the same benefits of regular raw honey just in a much more concentrated and potent form.

It’s ability to assist with wound healing is so effective that it has been used extensively to help with burns and some say its just as good if not better than using aloe vera. Manuka also has a lower pH than other honeys which makes it even more optimal for wound healing and the prevention of scarring.

I always have raw honey on hand at home, but once in a while I will splurge on Manuka honey and one pot of it will last for ages because you need so little of it to see its benefits. I prefer to use this in case any of us have a little infected lesion (which happens when you just can’t get your kids to stop picking at pimples) or to stop a cough in its tracks. Recently, I burned my arm while attempting to get a little too creative in the kitchen, and Manuka soothed my skin instantly and left me without a mark.

Using a little Manuka honey as a face mask is also something I love doing because it can help with tissue regeneration and leaves your skin feeling supple, soft, and naturally glowing. So many uses….how can you not love honey! 😉

When shopping for honey…whether it’s regular, raw, or Manuka…I always recommend making sure there is only ONE ingredient on the label. Honey. You don’t want fillers or preservatives. If you can, try buying local. For Manuka honey, you want to make sure it’s made in New Zealand in order to make sure it’s authentic (can’t go local with that unless you’re a Kiwi!) One of my favorite brands is from NEW ZEALAND HONEY CO. because of their commitment to purity and the variety of products they carry.

Use honey. Use it with abandon. Not everything that tastes good is actually good for you…but honey is definitely the exception!

Here’s to your health, honey! 😉

**As an affiliate, I make a small portion of some of the sales made via some of the links in my blog.