The SuperFoods Honey - Overview
Honey - Overview |
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No wonder the word “honey” is a term of endearment. What could be sweeter and more appealing than the rich golden liquid? I’ve long enjoyed the delights of honey on cereal, toast, yogurt, and pancakes, and as a sweetener for green tea, and I’m sure once you know about the nutritional benefits of honey, you’ll be eager to use it more frequently. Honey is much more than just a liquid sweetener. One of the oldest medicines known to man, honey has been used in the treatment of respiratory diseases, skin ulcers, wounds, urinary diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, eczema, psoriasis, and dandruff. Today, we know the validity of these timeless treatments, as research has demonstrated that honey can inhibit the growth of bacteria, yeast, fungi, and viruses. The power of honey comes from the wide range of compounds present in the rich amber liquid. Honey contains at least 181 known substances, and its antioxidant activity stems from the phenolics, peptides, organic acids, and enzymes. Honey also contains salicylic acid, minerals, alpha-tocopherol, and oligosaccharides. Oligosaccharides increase the number of “good” bacteria in the colon, reduce levels of toxic metabolites in the intestine, help prevent constipation, and help lower cholesterol and blood pressure. The key point to remember with honey is that its antioxidant ability can vary widely depending on the floral source of the honey and its processing. The process begins when bees feast on flowers and collect nectar in their mouths. The bees mix the nectar and enzymes in their saliva to turn it into honey, which is then stored in combs in the hive. The constant movement of the bees’ wings promotes moisture evaporation and yield the thick honey we enjoy. The phenolic content of the honey depends on the pollen that the bees have used as raw material. There’s a very simple way to determine the health benefits of any honey: its color. In general, the darker the color of the honey, the higher the level of antioxidants. There can be a twenty fold difference in honey’s antioxidant activity, as one test revealed. For example, Illinois buckwheat honey, the darkest honey tested, had twenty times the antioxidant activity of California sage honey, one of the lightest-colored honeys tested. Overall, color predicted more than sixty percent of the variation in honey’s antioxidant capacity.
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What is a “Super Food”? Well, the most important thing for everyone to know is that superfoods are easy to find in every local supermarket. They’re worth looking for! These nutritional powerhouse foods are loaded with nutrients crucial to a healthy, long life. If you can include a variety of them in your diet, everyday, we promise they will change your life! These foods were chosen because they contain high concentrations of crucial nutrients, as well as the fact that many of them are low in calories. Foods containing these nutrients have been proven to help prevent and, in some cases, reverse the well-known effects of aging, including cardiovascular disease, Type II Diabetes, hypertension and certain cancers. When you click on each superfood you’ll find information including a list of the primary nutrients that elevated them to superfood status. This is not meant to be a complete list of every single nutrient that food contains, but rather, a list of the high-profile nutrients that have shown health benefits and that are present in that food in sufficient quantity to make a difference. Many of the superfoods have “Sidekicks”. These are foods that are generally in the same category as the flagship superfood and offer a similar nutrient profile. So click around and find recipes and tips on how to incorporate these foods in your daily diet. SUPERFOODSRX PRINCIPLES: Principle 1: SuperFoodsRx- the best diet in the world Principle 2: Super Foods are whole foods Principle 3: SuperFoods Rx equals synergy Principle 4: SuperFoods Rx are simple and positive |
