Health Benefits of Raw Honey
What’s in Honey?
Honey is primarily composed of carbohydrates, mostly the sugars fructose and glucose, and water. In addition to these two main components, raw honey has over 300 other constituents including phytochemicals, which are compounds in plants like flavonoids and carotenoids, phenolic acids, ascorbic acid, proteins, enzymes, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals.
Human use of honey dates back at least 8,000 years to paintings depicting its use from the Stone Age. Honey has been used for medicinal purposes since ancient times. Particularly in ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, and China honey was a very popular medicine for wound treatment, gut diseases, pain, illness, and more. (Oskouei and Najafi, “Traditional and Modern Uses of Natural Honey in Human Diseases: A Review”)
While government agencies, like the FDA, have made no formal claims about the health benefits of honey, there is plenty of scientific literature on honey’s biological actions and rich medical history on honey’s therapeutic applications. Let’s dive in!
Raw Honey’s Health and Medical Benefits
The bioactive compounds occurring naturally in honey can be credited with many of raw honey’s health benefits. The effects of these compounds lend honey the following capabilities: antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and prebiotic.
Antimicrobial (antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal) Benefits
Raw honey’s antimicrobial capabilities have made it historically popular for wound management. These antimicrobial properties have also made honey a capable agent in fighting and preventing oral diseases (like periodontitis, gingivitis and halitosis), fighting coughs brought on by infection, and resolving upset digestion.
How does honey get its antimicrobial benefits?
Honey is hygroscopic and facilitates moisture absorption from infected sites; this action dehydrates bacteria, yeasts, and other microbes.
Honey is acidic and its low pH can inhibit a great deal of bacterial or microbial growth.
Enzymes in honey, primarily glucose oxidase, naturally act to produce hydrogen peroxide, which further contributes to honey’s antimicrobial properties.
Antioxidant Benefits
What are antioxidants?
Antioxidants are capable of neutralizing harmful free radicals in the body. Free radicals occur naturally when our bodies convert food into energy, and they can also generate from exposure to certain environmental agents, like pollution and sunlight. In large numbers, free radicals can cause oxidative stress which can lead to cellular damage and illness. Antioxidants are found in food and help to “feed” free radicals electrons, which they would otherwise “steal” from our bodies. Antioxidants are also involved in repairing cells and overall cellular health.
These protective qualities are why antioxidants have the health world all a-buzz! They do a lot of good for your body, and honey introduces antioxidants into your diet via phytochemicals like flavonoids and phenolic acids.
Anti-inflammatory Benefits
In broad terms, inflammation is the immune system’s response to irritants and detrimental stimuli. Uncontrolled inflammation, which often occurs alongside oxidative stress, can lead to a range of chronic diseases or disorders, including psychiatric disorders, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, kidney disease, and cancer. Protecting one’s body against chronic inflammation is one step to improve health and potentially reduce the likelihood of certain ailments.
There is growing evidence that honey, in addition to alleviating oxidative stress, has the ability to reduce inflammation as an immune-modulatory agent. In cell cultures, animal models, and clinical trials, honey has demonstrated an ability to suppress the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (proteins released by cells to initiate and regulate the inflammatory response).
To learn more about honey and its anti-inflammatory activity, please refer to the following:
Akim et al., “Honey and its nutritional anti-inflammatory value,” BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies
Ahmed et al., “Honey as a Potential Natural Antioxidant Medicine: An Insight into Its Molecular Mechanisms of Action,” Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity
Prebiotic Benefits
Probiotics are microorganisms – bacterias and yeasts – that are essential to a healthy gut. These “good” bacteria help to digest food, produce vitamins, and destroy disease-causing cells. The most common probiotics are Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. (“Probiotics: What you Need to Know,” NIH, NCCIH)
Prebiotics, found in food, are nondigestible compounds that stimulate the growth or activity of probiotics. Raw honey contains a high amount of prebiotics. Experimental trials have shown that its prebiotic components (inulin, oligofructose, and oligosaccharides) promote the growth of both Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. Thus adding honey to your diet can stimulate probiotic activity and encourage health benefits associated with probiotics.
Conclusion
Raw honey is made up of an array of constituents that have awarded it many, ranging health benefits. In addition to its preventative health benefits, like its prebiotic ability, raw honey is also capable of reducing oxidative stress and inflammation as well as protecting the body against harmful microbes. Raw honey continues to be investigated for its various medical applications in cancer treatment, cardiovascular health, liver health and more.
For further reading:
Pasupuleti et al., “Honey, Propolis, and Royal Jelly: A Comprehensive Review of Their Biological Actions and Health Benefits,” Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity.
Ajibola, “Novel Insights into the Health Importance of Natural Honey,” Malays K Med Sci
Read more about raw honey and its properties!