6 Amazing Health Benefits of Local, Raw Honey
From a sleep remedy to a healing salve, read how this natural, powerful antioxidant is a must-have in your home.
We all know honey is a delicious sweetener for your tea, but did you also know it has wonderful health benefits, as well? Local, raw honey is known to be a powerful antioxidant and contains bee pollen and propolis, substances produced by bees that have been used medicinally by humans since ancient times. Check out this impressive list of all the things honey can do!
6 Amazing Health Benefits of Honey:
- Make your own healthy, rehydrating sports drink. Add a spoonful of raw honey and protein powder, and a pinch of Himalayan sea salt to a glass of spring water, stir vigorously, and drink to replace electrolytes, increase energy, and athletic performance.
- Need to soothe a minor sunburn? Try this relieving remedy. Mix ½ cup of honey and 1 cup of milk. Apply the mixture to the sunburned area. Leave on as long as possible to ease the pain and to prevent skin from peeling. Reapply as needed to ease discomfort and to promote healing. Severe sunburn can produce swelling, blisters, nausea, fever, and chills. Seek professional medical attention if these symptoms arise.
- Healing salve for minor burns, cuts, or scrapes. Applied topically, honey is a natural antiseptic, containing 3 powerful wound-healing components: sugar, hydrogen peroxide, and propolis. The nectar-based compound propolis kills bacteria, while hydrogen peroxide disinfects. The sugar absorbs moisture, creating an environment in which bacteria cannot survive. Another plus, as the honey dries, it forms a natural bandage.
- Eating unfiltered, unheated, raw honey produced within your area, (50-mile radius or less) is like receiving a natural anti-allergy shot! Quercetin, a component of honey, has been found in studies to reduce inflammation and pollen allergy symptoms. It stabilizes the cell membranes that release histamine, which triggers allergic reactions. Raw honey also contains bee pollen and bee propolis, which boosts the immune system, and builds immunity to allergens.
- Cough suppressant – Mix apple cider vinegar and honey to taste in a small glass jar. Take a tablespoon as often as needed to relieve minor coughs, colds, and sore throats.
- Promote relaxation and restful sleep. Take a spoonful of raw honey at bedtime.
For best results, use raw, unfiltered, unheated, unprocessed honey raised within a 50-mile radius or less of your home.
Note: Never feed honey to an infant younger than one year old. Honey can contain spores of the bacteria that cause botulism. While this poses no problem for adults and children, the spores can colonize in an infant’s digestive tract and produce the deadly botulin toxin.
Did you know there are more than 300 varieties of honey?
Deborah Tukua
Deborah Tukua is a natural living, healthy lifestyle writer and author of 7 non-fiction books, including Pearls of Garden Wisdom: Time-Saving Tips and Techniques from a Country Home, Pearls of Country Wisdom: Hints from a Small Town on Keeping Garden and Home, and Naturally Sweet Blender Treats. Tukua has been a writer for the Farmers' Almanac since 2004.
-
Deborah Tukua#molongui-disabled-link
-
Deborah Tukua#molongui-disabled-link
-
Deborah Tukua#molongui-disabled-link
-
Deborah Tukua#molongui-disabled-link
love the benefits of honey, I have used honey my entire life, it works better for us than over the counter cough meds It has so many benefits my son was 3 and needed allergy shots but I tried 6 weeks of honey for him and it worked he is now 23 and most of his allergies are minimal I know there is a time and place for doctors but Honey has helped us more than the pharmacy, My son didnt have to do allergy shots wither the honey worked to help his immune system . The doc ask what I had given him at his check up I said honey and cinnamon Nature has a way to help us through , I am not a doc just saying it worked to lessen our allergies .
Is local honey beneficial for sinus sensitivity?
Hi Barbara, usually sinuses get inflamed when allergies act up, and sometimes local honey can help. Give it a try, provided you’re not allergic to it.
How much honey should you have every day if doing local honey to help with immune system?
Hi Danielle, Take small daily doses, a tablespoon per day.
Either consume a tablespoon by itself or apply the honey directly to other foods, like on cereal. A cup of tea should be fine. Do not consume honey if you are allergic to bee stings, or administer to a child under the age of 1 year. Keep in mind that you may be allergic to the grasses around your home or other airborne pollens.
I buy a big 10$ thing of honey still in the comb so yummy even with the wax I also feed it to my sugar gliders they love it and my 7 year old loves it to on my way to market to pick up my weekly honey actually today lol
I buy a big 10$ thing of honey still in the comb so yummy even with the wax I also feed it to my sugar gliders they love it and my 7 year old loves it to
Raw honey is the best for allergies–the bees collect the pollen from the weeds, flowers, hay etc. When you take at least a tablespoon a day year round, you will not have all those allergy problems. Trust me I had sever allergies to all of the above until I found out about honey!!
jobishop@hughes.net I started beekeeping this year and I love it! I love watching the bees and the fact that I will be able to eat really local honey very soon. Thanks for all the good information.
I became a Beekeeper this spring. I can’t wait for first harvest!
Two teaspoons of honey and 2 tps. apple cider vinegar in 8 ounces of water 2 or 3 times a day are great. taken in evening helps me to sleep, also.
I would like to become a bee keeper, how do I go about accomplishing this?
Hope, Google beekeeping clubs in your area or check with your county extension agent. There are tons of beekeeping groups and pages on Facebook too. We started beekeeping this spring and love it! It’s thrilling to eat honey from the same hive I see looking out my dining room window. Good luck! the
I have used raw honey off and on for years. I get lazy and forget how wonderful it is. However, I got a UTI (urinary tract infection) and antibiotics are horrible for me so I did some natural remedy research. Guess what? A TBL of honey a few times a day for a couple of days and then a teaspoon of honey in the morning first thing and one at night will get rid of an infection while in the early stages. If this doesn’t help, PLEASE go see your Dr. However, in 3 days I no longer had a problem. So I take 2 tsp a day, one AM, one PM and I have found that I actually feel better. I have IBS and arthritis with Poly Myalgia. I don’t seem to hurt as bad from the myalgia, I don’t expect it to help my knees at this point though. I will NOT be without raw honey, ever. It is my “medicine chest” for almost everything. Awesome on a burn. Thank you for your columns. Fantastic.
I’ve once heard that you can put raw honey in your eye to treat a whole array of infections as well as allergies -itchy eyes,runs down your tear duct into your nasal passage.
CHECK OUT ROYAL JELLY (APILAC), THE FOOD OF THE QUEEN BEE!!! A MYRIAD OF HEALING/VITALITY/LONGEVITY WONDERS!!!!!!!!! IT IS BEST PRESERVED IN NATURAL HONEY…….
Believe it or not: Fresh, liquid honey will STAY liquid if put in freezer!
I too, would like to know if honey or anything else would help fibromyalgia and/or neuropathy. I didn’t see an answer to Jackie Jones question. For I only get 2 or 3 days a month where the fibromyalgia it’s not so bad. I could really use your help. Thank you for your time, Michele
I had fribromyagia for 10 years the 90’s. My doctor sent me to pain management. I learned about pain meds and how inefficient they are. I also learned about bio-feedback and went through 2 procedures where the nerves in my lower back were zapped. I was told it could work for 6 months or completely cure me. I can say that I have been cured since 2000.. 16 years without pain. Ask your doctor to send you if he hasn’t already. I would never wish this horrible condition on anyone..
Hi Michelle, I hope by now you have found a natural cure. However if not I make a neuropathy alternative. I have clients that the pain has left and only remain in foot after just one jar.
Would love to own a beehive but know very little about bee keeping. To have one’s own honey is very appealing. Live in a very rural area with a huge garden and lots of flowers.
Any suggestions as to how to make a start would be appreciated, also any downsides to the idea.
Wendy,
I started beekeeping 5 years ago, and now am Vice President of our local beekeeping club. My best piece of advise is to join a club near you. You can call your State Beekeepers Association and get a list of clubs near you. Learn before you get your bees and you will be successful! Our club host beginning beekeeping classes every year in the spring. Free of charge!
Good luck in your beekeeping journey!!!
Loretta Klosky
Does raw honey have any helps with fibromyalgia?
Local is not important. A honeybee typically has a radius of only a mile anyway. So unless u live a mile from the hive… So long as the honey comes from ur general region ur doing good.
Honeyndoes not go bad and do not keep in fridge.
Honey does not spoil and do not keep it in fridge. Raw honey will crystalize. Just decrystalize in warm water.
How long does local raw honey last and should I store it in the frig?
Usually you can find local, organic honey at a local farmer’s market.
To find local honey – Google it @localhoney”yourcityname”.com. You will probably get several returns for local honey hives. They will have your combs and fresh honey. I’m no Dr., but I’ve read that the local honey is what works as it is made with the pollen from the plants in your area. Hence, giving you sinus relief from the local plants that bother you.
Where can I buy honey comb
Where can I buy raw honey
Where can I buy honey comb honey in Woodstock il
Do I just eat raw honey for my allergies? Also yes I am curious if you are prediabetic if it’s harmful. Thanks and I love this site
Hi Terry, thank you for the compliment! If you suffer from seasonal allergies (not dander, dust, etc.) it is recommended that a teaspoon of local honey will help your immune system “adjust” to the local pollen. If you are prediabetic, you want to treat honey as you would any sugar. Check with your doctor about what’s best for your health.
Hi Shari Belles, for some of the other remedies listed (topical uses, for example), you can use processed commercial honey from a store, but to reap the very best results, local bees making your honey will give you the best health benefits.
Can Honey bought from a grocery store work just as well?
Thank you. I started 15 years ago taking a table spoon of local honey everyday for my sinuses and it made a drastic improvement. Then I decided about 10 years ago instead of sugar I would sweeten my coffee everyday with honey. I would like to know if the honey loses the potency in the coffee?
Hi Charles, coffee and tea are generally made with water that is either boiling or close to it, which is around 212 degrees F. That temperature is high enough to destroy the nutrients in raw honey. Letting your tea or coffee cool to a drinkable temperature will help keep raw honey’s nutritional benefits.
I am a diabetic can I take I take a spoon full of honey at bedtime. I have heard that honey does not spike you blood sugar like regular sugar. I love raw honey my favorite is sourwood honey. Thanks for the information love this site.
Thank you for all the good information you have been sending me.
Hi Bill Hardy, you are welcome! We appreciate all our fans and readers, thank you for your support!