What is Honey

                 What is  Honey 

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Honey is a food item obtained from an animal source. It is a sweet liquid prepared by bees from the nectar, i.e., sweet juice collected from flowers.

Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primarily floral nectar) or the secretions of other insects, like the honeydew of aphids. This refinement takes place both within individual bees, through regurgitation and enzymatic activity, as well as during storage in the hive, through water evaporation that concentrates the honey's sugars until it is thick and viscous.

Honey bees stockpile honey in the hive. Within the hive is a structure made from wax called honeycomb. The honeycomb is made up of hundreds or thousands of hexagonal cells, into which the bees regurgitate honey for storage. Other honey-producing species of bee store the substance in different structures, such as the pots made of wax and resin used by the stingless bee.

Honey for human consumption is collected from wild bee colonies, or from the hives of domesticated bees. The honey produced by honey bees is the most familiar to humans,

Honey is sweet because of its high concentrations of the monosaccharides fructose and glucose. It has about the same relative sweetness as sucrose .                                                                                                onestandard tablespoon (15 mL) of honey provides around 46 kilocalories) of food energy.

Nutrition value 

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One hundred grams of honey provides about (304 kcal) of energy with no significant amounts of essential nutrients. Composed of 17% water and 82% carbohydrates, honey has low content of fat, dietary fiber, and protein.

A mixture of sugars and other carbohydrates, honey is mainly fructose (about 38%) and glucose (about 32%), with remaining sugars including maltose, sucrose, and other complex carbohydrates.

Wounds and burns

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Honey is a folk treatment for burns and other skin injuries. Preliminary evidence suggests that it aids in the healing of partial thickness burns 4–5 days faster than other dressings, and moderate evidence suggests that post-operative infections treated with honey heal faster and with fewer adverse events than with antiseptic and gauze.

Antibiotic

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Honey has long been used as a topical antibiotic by practitioners of traditional and herbal medicine.                               Honey's antibacterial effects. Honey has broad-spectrum antibacterial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, although potency varies widely between different honeys. Due to the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the last few decades, there has been renewed interest in researching the antibacterial properties of honey. Components of honey under preliminary research for potential antibiotic use include methylglyoxal, hydrogen peroxide, and royalisin.

Cough and Cold

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cough and common cold medication to children under six, and suggests "a homemade remedy containing honey and lemon is likely to be just as useful and safer to take", The World Health Organization recommends honey as a treatment for coughs and sore throats,

Hair benefits

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Honey has emollient and humectant properties that add moisture to the hair follicles. This naturally smooths the hair shaft and restores shine and luster to frizzy, dry, curly, or dull hair. Its natural humectant properties seal in moisture to prevent future moisture loss, too.

Honey good for ladies?

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Women often go through hormonal imbalance, which is a result of disbalance in testosterone levels, which in the long run affects reproductive health. Consuming honey on a daily basis helps in balancing the testosterone levels, which improves reproductive health, reduces mood swings and improves hormonal balance.

Panchamrita

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In Hinduism, honey (Madhu) is one of the five elixirs of life (Panchamrita). In temples, honey is poured over the deities in a ritual called Madhu abhisheka. The Vedas and other ancient literature mention the use of honey as a great medicinal and health food.

Morning is the best time to eat honey for boosting energy levels and staying all charged up. Having honey in the morning is not just good for your skin but has ample health benefits including: Helps you shed those extra kilos. Improves your digestive system.

 Health benefits of honey.

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1...Honey helps improve cholesterol. ...

2...Honey helps reduce triglyceride levels. ...

3...The antioxidants in honey are good for heart health. ...

4...Honey helps heal wounds quickly. ...

5...Honey helps relieve cough in children. ...                   6...Honey still contains high calories and sugar, so it should be used sensibly.

How do I know original honey?......

Simply fill a glass of water and add a teaspoon of honey into the glass. Adulterated or impure honey will easily dissolve in water and you will see it around the glass. On the other hand, original honey will settle right at the bottom of the glass.

               Thanks to all 

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