Honey is sweet liquid gathered by honey bees from nectar or other secretions of plants which they transform by addition of enzymes and evaporation of water in it. Honey is the most wonderful GIFT OF GOD and mother NATURE to mankind. It was the only sweetening agent known to the early man. And naturally found its way into traditions, rituals, customs and food of every religion and nation.
COLOUR OF HONEYThe colour of liquid honey ranges from almost water to dark, depending upon the plant source from where the nectar collected.
Jamun and honeys are dark amber, respectively, where as rubber and mustard honeys are golden or light yellow color. Generally, light or golden colored honeys are preferred by the consumers; but dark honeys that have more minerals are preferred by the health conscious consumers.
TYPES OF HONEYAPIARY HONEYHoney produced by the Indian hive bee, Apia cerena indica and the European bee, Apis.mellifera, in apiaries and collected by the modern extraction method, is called apiary honey. Apiary honeys are transparent and are free from foreign materials.
FOREST HONEYHoneys produced by the rockbee, Apia dorsata, or wild nests of A. cerana indica, in forests and collected by the crude method of squeezing the comb. Are termed as forest honeys. Forest honey is turbid due to the presence of a lot of pollen, wax, brood and other parts of bees and plant materials. TO separate the suspended particles, an extra filtration of honey is necessary. This gives clarity.
GRANULATION OF HONEYThere is a misconception among the common that granulated honey is an adulterated honey, having common sugar. This is not correct. In fact, granulation is natural process of crystallization of the glucose content in honey.
The
taste of the honey varies from place to place and the type of plants and flowers present in an area. This is because of the bees collecting their food from particular kind of plants.
CONSUMPTION OF HONEYFor a child 10-15 gm per day
Youth 30-35 gm per day
Healthy Man 30-50 gm per day
Old People 20-30 gm per day
Patients As recommended by Physician
There is no specific time tag honey. It can be taken before, with or after meals. It should especially be consumed as FOOD not as a medicine. Honey can be taken by a person of any age, provided it suits him/her. There are similarly, no dosage restrictions for healthy persons. Any quantity of honey can be taken, but direct consumption of excess quantities at a time is not advisable.
MEDICINAL VALUEAntibiotic activity of honey is mainly responsible for its use since ancient times in healing the wounds due to cut, burns, etc. The hygroscopic nature of honey enables
the wound to dry quickly. This also helps in protecting the tenderness of the skin and cleaning of eyes. Its antibiotic nature is due to acidity, hyper-osmotic property and due to the production of hydrogen peroxide by the enzymes system.
Honey is used most commonly as a vehicle of medicines in Ayurvedic treatments, because of its freedom from any adverse effect and its assimilation. This enhances the effect of the medicine. Honey is found to be nonirritating, promotes rapid growth of healthy tissues and is useful in pruitus vulvae, bed sores , skin and intestinal disorders. Honey is used internally in treatments of cough, cold, hay fever, gastrointestinal disorders, etc. Honey serves as a general tonic for all ages.
Having a spoon of honey every morning can also helps in keeping the skin beautiful. Honey is a natural sweetener with many natural health benefits.
TEST OF PURE HONEYAll the laymen test or visual observations are not reliable to ascertain purity of honey. Only chemical test as recommended by AGMARK / BIS/ PFA specifications are advisable to confirm purity of honey. There is a simple test to detect adulteration in honey. If precipitation of barium sulphate is formed, jaggery (brown or crude sugar) is present in honey.
QUALITY TESTING AND GRADING1. Special Grade - Less than 20% moisture
2. “A” Grade - 21% to 22%
3. Standard Grade - 22% to 25%
Incase of diabeticsThe diabetic diet is strictly controlled in terms of sugar and mineral compounds intake. Hence it's not surprising that "whether honey is allowed for diabetic patients" is a frequently asked question for Benefits of Honey.
Diabetes is a deficiency of the pancreas, whereby insulin is not produced sufficiently or utilised properly. It's basically a disorder of metabolism, primarily that of carbohydrates. The ingested sugars and starches cannot be deployed, and hence are eliminated in the urine.
With appropriate control, many diabetics and pre-diabetes (people with blood glucose levels higher than normal person but not high enough to be considered diabetic) are still able to safely enjoy natural honey. Before incorporating honey into their meal planning, find out how much of the sweet liquid can be consumed on a daily basis. Each diabetic is different and should learn how his or her body reacts to different foods containing carbohydrates. Bear in mind that the total amount of starches or carbohydrates in a food is the key consideration, not the amount of sugar. Honey is a carbohydrate food as well, just like rice, potatoes, thus just keep in mind that 1 table spoon of honey has approximately 17 grams of carbohydrate, and taking that into account when counting your total daily intake of carbohydrates, diabetics can work it out just like any other sweetener or carbohydrates. To monitor response to honey, blood sugar levels could be noted before consumption and again two hours later. Also, when purchasing commercial honey for diabetic patients, be sure that it is pure and not adulterated by glucose, starch, cane sugar, and even malt, which is to better to be avoided in a diabetic diet.
Commercially honey is sometimes adulterated by glucose, starch, cane sugar, and even malt. Hence it is better to be avoided by the diabetics. And whether raw honey is OK for diabetics, this is better to be advised by the doctor personally attending to the patient.
Honey does not spoil and it has no expiry date. Nothing will grow in naturally antibiotic and antiviral honey as long as the moisture content remains under 18%. Natural, raw honey varies from 14% to 18% in moisture content. However, when water is added to honey, natural airborne yeasts can become active in the honey water. So your honey water will turn bad eventually.
The honey made can be eaten simply. Children love honey. Even adults like it. The sweetness is very natural and is loved by almost everyone around the world,and me too!
you?
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