Natural Honey

Category: Sweeteners

Honey is a food, whereas sugar is an empty calorie.

CAUTION: Infants under 1 year of age should not be given honey.

Fructose is more suitable than honey for use by diabetics and hypoglycaemics – but extreme moderation is still called for.

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Honey is a sweet, syrupy substance made by honey bees from plant nectar. Consisting mainly of fructose and glucose, it is sweeter, better tasting and more nutritious than sugar, and it’s far more versatile.

Because of its high carbohydrate content it is a concentrated energy source. Unlike sugar, it is rich in nutrients, including antioxidants, amino acids, B complex vitamins, vitamin C, and such essential minerals as calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and zinc.

A medical breakthrough was the discovery that honey contains a compound known as propolis, a greenish-brown, aromatic substance collected by bees from the leaf buds and bark of trees for use in the construction of hives. Propolis also protects the bees from bacterial and viral infections, and this property is now being utilized in many products, including toothpastes, mouth washes and skin creams.

Description and Characteristics

According to an old Bible story, a young man named Jonathan found some honey while the nation was embroiled in a war. Tired and ready to faint, he ate just a little bit, but the effect was startling. His eyes brightened and he felt ready to get right back into the battle. Today we know why this sweet gift from nature had this effect.

Honey is sweeter and better tasting than table sugar. And it is also far more nutritious. In fact, it is listed as a food, which sugar is not. In order to enjoy honey, however, you will usually have to overcome an addiction to sugar, which is also an addiction to taste.

Bees produce a different kind of honey depending on what they feed on. If you go shopping for honey, especially from a store that specializes in it, you may be overwhelmed by the different colours, flavours and textures. You would have to choose from among raw (organic) honey, pasteurized and natural, and from among such flavours as alfalfa, clover, bluegum, blackberry, heather, acacia and orange blossom. It may be in liquid or crystallized form. Lighter coloured honeys are generally mild in flavour; while darker honeys are usually more robust. Comb honey is honey that comes as it was produced – in the honey bees’ wax comb. And the honey comb is edible too!

And don’t underestimate the humble little creature responsible for most of this hard labour. It is estimated that bees have to travel a total of 55,000 miles (88,000 km) at a speed of only 15 miles an hour and visit more than two million flowers to gather enough nectar to make half a kilogram of honey. Incredibly, they are kind enough to manufacture enough for their own use as well as for human consumption. Bees consume mainly pollen (a rich source of protein and vitamins) for the first half of their lives, and only then switch to honey.

Nutritional Content of Honey

Honey consists primarily of fructose, glucose and water. It is richer in fructose than any other food – it is estimated that honey consists of 80% sugar and that 40% of the sugar in honey is fructose. All the sugars are eventually turned into glucose, the source of all the energy the body uses.

In addition to being a concentrated energy source, honey contains a wide variety of minerals, antioxidants and amino acids. It also contains vitamins, including vitamin C, vitamin B6, thiamin, riboflavin and pantothenic acid, as well as such essential minerals as calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and zinc. In addition, several different amino acids, the building blocks of protein, have been identified in honey. Sugar, being an empty calorie, contains none of these.

Honey contains several compounds that function as antioxidants. One of these, known as pinocembrin, is unique to honey. Although some of these substances appear in trace amounts and vary depending on the honey’s floral source, they contribute to your overall nutrition intake.

An important substance found in abundant supply in honey is propolis, a greenish-brown, aromatic substance collected by bees from the leaf buds and bark of trees for use in the construction of hives. Propolis also protects the bees from bacterial and viral infections.

Here is a partial nutritional analysis of 100 grams of honey:

Nutritional Info (Per 100g)
Calories  304 Kcal 
Fat  0 g 
Sodium  4.8 mg 
Carbohydrates  84,7 g
Dietary Fibre  0 g
Protein 0,5 g

Health Benefits of Honey

Some of the minerals found in honey, though only in trace amounts, in sufficient quantities will make a valuable contribution towards the overall health of the body, including the immune system, the nervous system, the bones, teeth and muscles, the metabolism, and organ function. In addition, honey also supplies plenty of carbohydrates for energy, B vitamins for good brain and nerve function, and vitamin C for an immune system boost.

Research suggests that honey can speed up the healing processes in the body, and prevent infections. The Doctor’s Book of Food Remedies says honey contains three ingredients making it ideal for treating wounds. The first is sugar, which is present in such large quantities that it absorbs much of the moisture inside wounds so that bacteria find it hard to survive. The second is large amounts of hydrogen peroxide, which is commonly used to disinfect cuts and scrapes. The third is propolis, a compound that is able to kill bacteria. For some time now, propolis has been used commercially as an ingredient in lozenges, skin creams, shampoos, lipsticks, toothpastes and mouthwashes – we’ve learnt from the honey bee that propolis can be a powerful healer and antibiotic.

One study found that a certain type of honey was able to relieve the symptoms of ulcer. However, experts recommended that raw, unpasteurized honey may work better since heat-processing kills the beneficial substances in the honey.

It may also be able to assist in the treatment of diarrhea, and at almost twice the speed associated with conventional remedies according to researchers at the University of Natal.

All of us have suffered from a sore throat at one time or another, whether it was caused by a cold or overuse of the vocal cords. For relief of throat irritations, try gargling and then swallowing a spoonful of honey in a quarter cup of warm water. It will soothe the infected area, provide a protective coating, and can be taken as often as you need it.

Raw honey is always preferable to processed honey. The intense heat needed to produce processed honey disables protective compounds and reduces antibacterial power. On a note of caution, however, raw honey, while healthier than its processed counterpart, also contains more pollen because of a lack of processing. It is therefore more likely to cause an allergic response. When they do occur, allergic reactions are usually mild and present in people who have known pollen allergies. Severe allergic reactions resulting from the consumption of honey are extremely rare, according to medical literature.

A special caution also applies to infants. Honey shouldn’t be given to children under one year of age, since it may contain small amounts of a spore that thrives in the intestines of small children (though not in adults and children older than one year) causing a serious form of food poisoning known as botulism.

General Uses, Hints and Cautions

The commercial and domestic uses of honey are almost too numerous to mention. In the food industry alone it is used for baking, cooking, decorating, confectionery, sweetening, flavouring, drinks, sauces, spreads, dips, toppings and dressings. Or you can pop a spoonful in your mouth just as it is for an energy-boosting snack.

When using honey for baking and other recipes, however, it may be useful to remember a few hints:

Because honey is sweeter than sugar, it is recommended that 1 cup be substituted for 1¼ cup of sugar when a recipe calls for it.

While sugar gets sweeter when it is heated, honey gets sweeter when it is cooled down. Honey therefore works particularly well with desserts and cold dishes.

Honey not only comes in different natural types, but can also be flavoured differently. You may want to choose a type and flavour that will blend in with the taste of the recipe.

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Sources Consulted

The Doctor’s Book of Food Remedies, by Selene Yeager and the Editors of Prevention Health BooksTM, 1998, Rodale Inc.

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