Honey

 

Honey is a sugary food substance produced and stored by certain social hymenopterans insects. It is produced from the sugary secretions of plants or insects such as floral nectar or aphid honeydew, through regurgitation, enzymatic activity and water evaporation. The variety of honey produced by honey bees the genus Apis is the most well-known, due to its worldwide commercial production and human consumption. Honey gets its sweetness from the monosaccharides fructose and glucose and has about the same relative sweetness as granulated sugar. It has attractive chemical properties for baking and a distinctive flavor that leads some people to prefer it to sugar and other sweeteners. Most microorganisms do not grow in honey, so sealed honey does not spoil, even after thousands of years. However honey sometimes contains dormant endospores of the bacterium Clostridium botulinum which can be dangerous to babies, as it may result in botulism. There are at least 40 types of honey and each one has a distinctive taste and unique properties. Different honeys have different flavonoid profiles, depending on the floral source of the nectar. Alfalfa’ Blueberry’ Buckwheat Clover Manuka’ Orange Blossom’ Wildflower. People who have a weakened immune system should not eat honey because of the risk of bacterial or fungal infection. Although some evidence indicates honey may be effective in treating diseases and other medical conditions such as wounds and burns the overall evidence for its use in therapy is not conclusive. Providing 64 calories in a typical serving of one tablespoon 15 ml equivalent to 1272 kJ per 100 g honey has no significant nutritional value. Honey is generally safe but may have various, potential adverse effects or interactions with excessive consumption existing disease conditions, or drugs. Honey use and production have a long and varied history as an ancient activity depicted in Valencia Spain by a cave painting of humans foraging for honey at least 9,000 years ago. Honey is produced by bees from nectar collection and breaking down the nectar into simple sugars which serves the dual purpose to support metabolism of muscle activity during foraging and for long-term food storage as honey. During foraging bees access part of the nectar collected to support metabolic activity of flight muscles with the majority of collected nectar destined for regurgitation digestion, and storage as honey. In cold weather or when other food sources are scarce adult and larval bees use stored honey as food. By contriving for bee swarms to nest in man-made hives people have been able to semi domesticate the insects and harvest excess honey. In the hive or in a wild nest the three types of bees are. A single female queen bee. A seasonally variable number of male drone bees to fertilize new queens. 20,000 to 50,000 female worker bees leaving the hive foraging bees collect sugar rich flower nectar and return to the hive where they use their honey stomachs to ingest and regurgitate the nectar repeatedly until it is partially digested. Bee digestive enzymes invertase amylase, and diastase and gastric acid hydrolyze sucrose to a mixture of glucose and fructose. The bees work together as a group with the regurgitation and digestion for as long as 20 minutes until the product reaches storage quality. It is then placed in honeycomb cells left unsealed while still high in water content about 21% and natural yeasts which unchecked would cause the sugars in the newly formed honey to ferment. The process continues as hive bees flutter their wings constantly to circulate air and evaporate water from the honey to content around 19% raising the sugar concentration, and preventing fermentation. The bees then cap the cells with wax to seal them. As removed from the hive by a beekeeper honey has a long shelf life and will not ferment if properly sealed. Another source of honey is from a number of wasp species such as the wasps Brachygastra lecheguana and Brachygastra mellifica which are found in South and Central America. These species are known to feed on nectar and produce honey. Over its history as a food the main uses of honey are in cooking, baking, desserts, such as mel I mató as a spread on bread and as an addition to various beverages such as tea and as a sweetener in some commercial beverages. Honey barbecue and honey mustard are other common flavors used in sauces. Honey is one of the oldest sweeteners on earth. Lucky for us it also has many health benefits and uses. Honey is so good we have included it in our list of power foods that should be in your kitchen right now. Honey contains flavonoids antioxidants which help reduce the risk of some cancers and heart disease. Honey has been used in Ayurvedic medicine in India for at least 5,000 years and is considered to affect all three of the body’s primitive material imbalances positively. It is also said to be useful in improving eyesight, weight loss, curing impotence and premature ejaculation, urinary tract disorders, bronchial asthma, diarrhea and nausea. Honey is referred as Yogavahi since it has a quality of penetrating the deepest tissues of the body. When honey is used with other herbal preparations it enhances the medicinal qualities of those preparations and also helps them to reach the deeper tissues. Even though honey contains simple sugars it is not the same as white sugar or artificial sweeteners. Its exact combination of fructose and glucose actually helps the body regulate blood sugar levels. Some honeys have a low hypoglycemic index so they don’t jolt your blood sugar. External application of honey has been shown to be as effective as conventional treatment with silver sulfadiazene. It is speculated that the drying effect of the simple sugars and honey’s anti bacterial nature combine to create this effect. External application of honey has been shown to be as effective as conventional treatment with silver sulfadiazine. It is speculated that the drying effect of the simple sugars and honey’s anti bacterial nature combine to create this effect. Honey is naturally antibacterial so it's great for acne treatment and prevention. Full of antioxidants it is great for slowing down aging. Complexion boost It is extremely moisturizing and soothing so it helps create a glow.