Honey is just a sweet, tasty treat loaded with sugar in cute little teddy bear-shaped squeeze bottles that you better not eat too much of if you want to be healthy, right?
Wrong.
There are many great and powerful foods that can do wonders for your health, but is it possible that none are greater than honey?
I’ll explain:
Honey is an amazing antioxidant
Research has shown daily consumption of 1.2 g/kg body weight of honey to elevate the amount and the activity of antioxidant agents such as beta-carotene, vitamin C, glutathione reductase, and uric acid. [1]
Honey is chock full of beneficial phenolic compounds in the form of flavonoids, such as quercetin, kaempferol, pinobanksin, and chrysin, that can help aid the body in preventing excess inflammation which could otherwise lead to a whole host of chronic illnesses. [2]
Special tip: Darker colors of honey can indicate higher levels of these phenolic compounds, and thus a higher antioxidant capacity. [3]
Extra special tip: These beneficial properties are found only in raw varieties of honey. Heating honey degrades its phenolic compounds. If you are consuming raw honey and want it to retain its antioxidant capabilities, be sure to not mix it with hot foods or beverages as that can degrade its beneficial health properties. [4]
Honey is an antifungal health food
Since honey produces hydrogen peroxide in the body, by that virtue alone it serves as an antifungal agent.
However, honey also has high osmolarity. Which, in layman’s terms, means it draws water to itself from the surrounding area, so long as its osmolarity is lower. By drawing water out of the fungal cells, honey can cause fungal cell disruption and even fungal cell death. [5][6]
Honey can help improve cholesterol levels
Multiple types of honey were tested in a study and found to reduce total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (the “bad” kind) while increasing HDL cholesterol (the “good” kind). These effects were seen primarily in robinia honey, clover honey, as well as a floral non-specific raw honey. [7]
Special tip: There are many, many different varieties of honey available. Just because these honeys were tested does not mean others may not have similar effects. As always, when utilizing honey for these specific health benefits, it is important that the honey is not heated or pasteurized as that process degrades many of its beneficial qualities.
Honey is an antibacterial power food
Perhaps the most well-documented aspect of honey’s health prowess is its antibacterial capability.
Research published in BMJ Evidence Based Medicine found honey was superior to the usual care of antibiotics for the improvement of upper respiratory tract symptoms. [8]
(Still talk to your doctor or licensed healthcare professional for the best treatment plan for you. And that goes for every condition mentioned in this article as well as every article on this site!)
Additionally, research published in Asia Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine found honey to be effective as a wound treatment in that it served as an antibacterial as well as providing a protective barrier due to its high viscosity. [9]
Special tip: Manuka honey is rated by its UMF (unique manuka factor) rating, with higher ratings typically correlating to higher quality. In the case of its antibacterial capabilities, however, some studies have shown lower ratings to have more antibacterial effect. [10]
Speaking of manuka honey, one of the most potent healthy honeys there is, research has shown it to have an antimicrobial effect against multi-drug resistant bacteria as well as non-multi-drug resistant bacteria. [11] Not too shabby!
Manuka honey is not alone in that regard, however. Chestnut honey has also been found in research to have an antimicrobial effect against multi-drug resistant bacteria. [12]
Extra special tip: As with its antioxidant capabilities, honey’s antibacterial capabilities are degraded with heating as well. [13]
How is honey an antibacterial power food?
Honey’s main antibacterial mechanism is the enzymatic production of hydrogen peroxide in the body. [14]
Note: Do not take this as inspiration to consume hydrogen peroxide for any purposes. Hydrogen peroxide is NOT safe for consumption!
Some honeys, like manuka however, are referred to as non-peroxide honeys. That means that they have unique qualities of their own that result in an antibacterial effect aside from the enzymatic production of hydrogen peroxide. This is typically believed to result from a low pH as well as high sugar content and high osmolarity, which as discussed earlier hinders the growth of microbes. [15]
Is honey a probiotic food?
We’ve talked a lot about honey’s antibacterial effects (and we will discuss that further as we continue) but does honey also have a positive effect on “good” bacteria?
The answer to that may also be yes.
According to a study published in Journal of Ethnopharmacology, certain strains of beneficial bacteria such as bifidobacterium, fructobacillus, lactobacillaceae, as well as bacillus species have been found to both survive and grow in honey. [16]
Can honey help heal wounds?
Yes. Honey can help heal wounds via a number of different mechanisms.
For one, honey’s low pH helps reduce the breaking down of proteins at the site of the wound. This elevates oxygen release from hemoglobin at the site. Fibroblasts and macrophages are also stimulated.
This is important because fibroblasts are connective tissue cells that synthesize the extracellular matrix and collagen, which produces the structural framework for tissue.
Macrophages on the other hand are white blood cells that engulf and digest pathogens, such as cancer cells, microbes, cellular debris, and foreign substances. As such, they help protect against infection and injury and are very important to the wound healing process.
And, as discussed in the earlier section on honey’s antimicrobial prowess, honey’s low pH and other antimicrobial mechanisms make the wound inhospitable for unfriendly microorganisms. [17]
Lastly, honey’s high viscosity helps it to provide a protective barrier around the wound. All of these factors help explain why certain honeys are used to aid in wound healing around the world.
Can honey protect gums from periodontal disease?
Amazingly, yes.
Based on the conventional wisdom that has been sold for a long time, you wouldn’t think a “sugary” food such as honey would be beneficial for the health of your mouth, but it may very well be!
And once again, this is another case where honey’s antimicrobial powers come to the forefront.
A systematic review published in The Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy showed both manuka and multifloral honeys to have significant antimicrobial activity against periopathogens. Periopathogens are bacteria that contribute to periodontal (gum) disease. [18]
Honey cannot possibly be a weight loss food, though, right?
Wrong!
Well, maybe.
A review of available research published in Frontiers in Nutrition found honey to decrease body weight, body fat composition, and adipocyte size in most animal studies.
In human studies, however, the results were a bit more mixed. However, none of the studies analyzed showed any weight gain among their honey-consuming participants. [19]
So take those results with a grain of salt!
Can honey help resolve metabolic syndrome?
It seems so.
Metabolic syndrome encompasses many metabolic abnormalities which are linked to obesity. Inflammation and oxidative stress can both lead to metabolic syndrome.
Research published in The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry found that due to honey’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capabilities, it can possibly have a positive effect on metabolic syndrome. [20]
Can honey possibly be anticancer?
This may seem like a bit much, but you might be surprised to find the answer could be a resounding “yes”!
Here is a list of some of the research that has shown honey to have a potential beneficial effect in fighting various cancers:
- Tualang honey was found to be cytotoxic to two different breast cancer cell lines as well as one cervical cancer cell line, while being not toxic to normal breast cells. [21]
- Four different types of multi-floral honeys from India were shown to induce apoptosis in colon cancer cell lines. [22]
- Manuka honey has been shown in research to induce apoptosis in colorectal and breast cancer cell lines. [23]
- Manuka honey also stimulates monocytes to release tumor necrosis factor, which has been shown to mediate tumor initiation, promotion, and progression. [24]
In short, honey is pretty great
The more you immerse yourself in the world of health and wellness, the more you find the solutions to be fairly simple and readily available.
Who knew that this wonderful, powerhouse of health and healing is so readily found on store shelves almost anywhere you look?
But it is.
That is why I have adopted the motto “Keep it simple. Do the work.”
Becoming healthy and vibrant is right there in your hands. It’s simpler than we’ve been led to believe.
We just have to do the work.
Thank you for being here.
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Almost all shirts are 100% cotton, which is a natural fabric that importantly allows your skin to breathe.
Yet another aspect of how simple some health solutions really are.
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The opinions expressed herein are for informational and educational purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis and treatment. Please consult a physician or health care professional for your specific health care or medical needs.
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[1] https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/109662003322233549
[2] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095754825000195
[7] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36379223/
[8] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32817011/
[9] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23569748/
[10] https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0224495
[11] https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0224495
[12] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212429224012264
[13] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0924224421006129
[14] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23569748/
[15] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23569748/
[16] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378874123006980
[17] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23569748/
[18] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31977042/
[19] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35811958/
[20] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0955286320300206
[21] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0278691510007404
[22] https://ibra.org.uk/wp-content/JAAS/VOL1/vol%201-2/JAAS%201%2525282%252529%2002.pdf
[23] https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0055993
[24] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1043466601908683?via%3Dihub