Most of us try to live a healthy life. We eat our five portions of fruits and vegetables a day, exercise as much as we can, drink plenty of water and get plenty of sleep. We might have a vice, such as chocolate or wine at the end of a long week, but what’s life without a few treats?!
Part of a healthy lifestyle, is adding foods to our diet that go the extra mile towards benefitting our health. Who hasn’t packed in a superfruit smoothie or added an extra portion of broccoli so that all those extra nutrients support our health?
One such wonder food is honey. Adding honey to your diet is an effective way of getting extra nutrients and extra health benefits. Here’s how…
Antioxidants to Help Prevent Chronic Disease
High quality, active healing honey like Necta & Hive Jarrah 22+ TA honey is rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants are important compounds that we need to help combat free radicals.
Free radicals are nasty, unstable compounds that are caused by some of the natural processes in our body such as breathing and digestion, but are also caused by smoking, breathing in pollution or eating a diet high in saturated fat and processed foods.
The body has a natural mechanism by which to combat free radicals – the use of antioxidants. If allowed to build up, free radicals can lead to cellular and DNA damage and chronic disease. Antioxidants help to neutralise free radicals, so eating a diet rich in antioxidants helps the body fight free radical damage and disease.
Aim for a rainbow of differently coloured fruits and vegetables, and crucially, unpasteurised, high quality honey, to ensure you’re getting a full range of antioxidants.
Honey is Heart Healthy
There are many heart healthy foods – oily fish, beans and green, leafy vegetables being most well-known. But did you know that honey is also good for heart health?
The antioxidants (called polyphenols) in unpasteurised honey have been linked in studies to a lowering of blood pressure. Not only that, other studies have found that switching table sugar for active, healing honey helps to lower the bad cholesterol (LDL, or low density lipoprotein) and increase the good cholesterol (HDL, or high density lipoprotein) and in doing so, lower overall total cholesterol. High blood pressure and high total cholesterol are both risk factors for heart disease. We all know that eating porridge helps to lower cholesterol – add a spoonful of Necta & Hive Red Gum 10+ to your bowl in the morning.
Increase Your Defences Against Colds and Flus
Most of us have tried a hot lemon and honey drink when we’ve been full of a cold. But do you know why? Honey is naturally thick and helps to coat the throat and soothe coughs and sore throats. Necta & Hive Jarrah 22+ is the perfect honey for this! With the added benefit of tasting delicious… what’s not to love?!
In fact, honey is so effective at this, that the NHS now recommends honey instead of antibiotics or over the counter cough remedies for anyone over the age of one, who’s suffering the effects of a nasty cold or flu bug. We at Necta & Hive know the benefits of eating our honey, but with winter settling in, now is the time to up your dosage.
Keep honey in your armoury – have a teaspoon a day morning and night either in a warm tea (wait for it to cool down before adding) or eaten straight from the spoon. Or, indulge in a piece of Necta & Hive Marri Wild Honeycomb 15+ TA honey and suck it like a cough sweet!
