You Won’t Bee-lieve the Health Benefits of Raw, Local Honey
I've always heard that eating local honey was good for folks with allergies, but I didn't know it could do all of this! I was talking with a friend recently who just happened to mention that she learned some really cool stuff about the health benefits of honey from Hummer and Son Honey Farm in Bossier City, LA.
According to what she had to say, eating a spoonful of honey before bed can actually help you to lose weight. Say what? Isn't honey a sugar/carb? I was confused, so I decided to do a little research!
How can honey, which is a sugar/carb, help you lose weight?
Honey CAN help you slim down. Not only does honey boost your metabolism according to Brightside.me, but it also acts like a thermogenic, raising your body temperature, thus helping you to burn fat with less effort. On top of that, raw, local honey has a ton of other health benefits. In addition to helping allergy sufferers, it'll help you sleep better! Did you know honey has tryptophan in it? That's the same thing that's in turkey that makes you pass out after Thanksgiving dinner. Honey is also rich in antioxidants which can help with lowering your blood pressure, make your skin look great, and boost your immune system.
What else can honey do?
Honey has been found to help people suffering from heart disease and diabetes. Honey has another compound in it that helps to lower the number of triglycerides in your bloodstream. Triglycerides are fat... the bad kind. Brightside.me says that honey can transform this bad fat into an agent that actually helps to cleanse your blood of unnecessary fat. We all know that honey can help to coat your throat and soothe a cough, but did you know that it can help in the battle against depression? Honey contains polyphenol which helps fight oxidative stress in your brain. Um, sign me up!
As someone who has to actively watch her sugar levels AND who has terrible allergies, I am all about trying a spoonful of raw, local honey nightly. Why does it need to be raw and local? Obviously, we want to support local 'growers' but local honey also contains a blend of local pollen which can strengthen a person's immune system and reduce allergy symptoms. You also want it to be 'raw' because processing, heat, and/or pasteurization can remove honey's natural vitamins, enzymes, powerful antioxidants, and other important nutrients. Raw honey has anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal properties, and promotes digestive health.