Honey has been used for it’s medicinal properties for more than 2,000 years.

Honey can help heal your body. While there are way too many health benefits of honey to be named we wanted to share with you our 6 favourites.

There are numerous hidden nutritional and medicinal values in honey. It’s loaded with antibacterial and antifungal properties.

Raw honey is actually the unpasteurised version of the common everyday honey. In one tablespoon of raw honey there are only 64 calories, it’s free from fat, cholesterol and sodium. It’s approximately 80% carbohydrates, 18% water and 2% vitamins, minerals and amino acids.

The medical profession recommends waiting until an infant is at least 12 months of age before giving them honey. Here are some great health benefits:

1) It’s a natural energy drink

At 17 grams of carbs per tablespoon honey is an excellent source of natural energy. As it enters the bloodstream it delivers a quick boost of energy.

2) A cough suppressant

A teaspoon of honey can be an all natural cure to annoying colds.

If you have one of those annoying coughs that just won’t go away then take 2 teaspoons of honey.

The honey helps to coat the throat while the sweet taste is believed to trigger nerve endings that protect the throat from constant coughing.

• 6 weird uses for butter
• 5 unique uses for tablecloths

3) Helps to alleviate allergies

The anti-inflammatory affects of honey to soothe coughs has led to the belief that honey can also help to reduce allergy symptoms. Even though there are no clinical studies to prove this “Dr. Matthew Brennecke, a board certified naturopathic doctor practicing at the Rocky Mountain Wellness Center in Fort Collins, Colorado said, “A common theory is that honey acts like a natural vaccine.” It contains small amounts of pollen, which if the body is exposed to small amounts of it, it can trigger an immune response that produces antibodies to the pollen. “After repeated exposure, you should build up these antibodies and the body should become accustomed to their presence so that less histamine is released, resulting in a lesser allergic response.”

4) Helps to treat dandruff

A 2001 study published in the European Journal of Medical Research found that by applying honey diluted with 10% warm water to the problem area and leaving it for 3 hours before rinsing has been known to relive the itching and scaling within a week.

5) Helps to treat wounds and burns

Due to it’s natural antibiotic that can act both internally and externally honey can be used as a conventional treatment for wounds and burns.

“Dr. Diane Radford, a breast surgical oncologist in St. Louis, Mo, said “Manuka honey has antibacterial properties for wound healing. The precursor for the active antibacterial agent methylglyoxal (MGO) comes from the nectar of manuka trees.”

6) It can aid sleepless nights

Honey’s steady rise in insulin causes one of the amino acids to enter the brain where it’s then converted into serotonin and then into melatonin which is a sleep aid. This hormone is responsible for the regulation of sleep and wake cycles.

These are our favourites, please SHARE with us below your favourite honey uses.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.com