Honey is a sweet substance made by bees using the nectar of flowers. Made up of more than 80% carbohydrates, it is a food that is rich in energy and relatively pure. In fact, it contains mainly two sugars: fructose and glucose, two simple sugars that do not require any digestion before their absorption and that are easily and directly assimilated by the body. Honey also contains a small amount of potassium, as well as traces of some other nutrients.
Active ingredients and properties
Prebiotic effect.
Prebiotics are carbohydrates not assimilable by our organism that play a role in the balance of intestinal microflora. Honey could possibly have a prebiotic effect on the human body by improving the growth, activity and viability of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli of the intestinal microflora, important bacteria for good health. This effect was observed in vitro using a fermentation system with fecal bacteria. The prebiotic effect of honey would be largely due to oligosaccharides, low molecular weight sugars1. Other studies in humans should be performed before concluding a significant effect of honey on intestinal health.
Flavonoids. Honey is a food source of antioxidants. The majority of these antioxidants are flavonoids. The latter interact in the neutralization of the free radicals of the body, thus preventing the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases, certain cancers and certain neurodegenerative diseases. The amount and type of flavonoids found in honey vary according to the floral source3. As a rule, darker honeys, such as those derived from sunflower and buckwheat, contain higher flavonoids than lighter honeys as well as greater antioxidant capacity. Moreover, for the same quantity, honey has an antioxidant power equivalent to that of the majority of fruit and vegetables. On the other hand, it is rare to consume the same amount of vegetables / fruits and honey. However, since the assimilation of these flavonoids by the human body has been little studied, further research is required. Alfalfa, wild flowers, blueberry (blueberry), goldenrod, apple or buckwheat, specialty products are multiplying: lime, sabal bay, thyme, lavender, rosemary, fir of the Vosges, aster, avocado, sage, bramble, raspberry, canola, cranberry, cotton, dandelion, eucalyptus, mint, pumpkin, rosemary, safflower , soya, vinegar, sunflower, orange, chestnut, etc.
Cancer. Few studies have examined the impact of honey consumption in relation to cancer. However, researchers have demonstrated, following a cell study, that honey consumption would provide protection against breast cancer. This protection would be attributable to the antioxidant power of honey, and hence to its flavonoid content. Dark honeys would therefore be more effective than pale honeys. Despite these very encouraging results, such effects have not yet been demonstrated in humans. It should be noted, however, that an observational study of more than 5,000 women revealed a direct link between a diet rich in sweet foods and sugar (including honey) and increased risk of breast cancer . On the other hand, it should be emphasized that this study did not make it possible to differentiate the impact of each of the sources of carbohydrates, which makes it impossible to draw conclusions about the role of honey alone. A recent review of the literature has demonstrated the promising effects of honey on breast, liver and colon cancers. Indeed, honey would have the capacity to modulate the proliferation of cancer cells by various mechanisms.
Flavonoids contained in honey have also been studied. These antioxidants are known to be very effective in deactivating naturally oxidized molecules in the body, for example free radicals. Since these molecules are involved in the processes of DNA damage and in the growth of cancerous tumors, their inactivation would slow down these phenomena and thus the proliferation of cancer cells. A cohort study in Finland of 10,000 men and women over 20 years showed that high intake of flavonoids would reduce the incidence of lung cancer.
Antibacterial effect. Certain characteristics of honey such as its low pH, its high viscosity which limits the dissolution of oxygen and its low concentration of proteins give it an important antibacterial effect. Moreover, the possibility of preventing and treating certain minor gastrointestinal disorders such as inflammation or gastric ulcer by oral administration of honey is not excluded. Indeed, the latter would reduce the adhesion of bacterial cells to the epithelial cells of the intestine, which would prevent the bacteria from binding and growing, in addition to taking advantage of its anti-inflammatory properties. However, no studies evaluating the therapeutic potential of honey as an antibacterial have been carried out to date.
Precautions
Honey is the only known food in Canada that can cause infantile botulism. Infant botulism is a rare disease caused by the ingestion of spores from the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. Because the intestinal microbial flora of a child less than one year old is immature, it does not allow a sufficiently rapid digestion of these spores to prevent germination. This germination in the intestine allows the production of a neurotoxin that causes various symptoms, which can go as far as the death of the child. The spores of Clostridium botulinum are probably transported by bees that would be in contact with them in the air, dust and soil. Unfortunately, the pasteurization treatment applied to honey does not allow their destruction and therefore does not prevent cases of infantile botulism. Consequently, Health Canada recommends that honey should not be given to infants under one year of age.
Honey over time
The term "honey", which appeared in the language in the tenth century, comes from Latin mel.
Honey is one of those foods that can not be imagined to have existed. Long before human beings had mastered the manufacture of tools or the construction of hives, they harvested honey in the wild, usually in hollow trunks, but also under mossy rocks, or even in small pits dug in the ground. This food has accompanied the most ancient civilizations in their evolution and, from time immemorial, has been associated with a rich symbolism, including that of being the substance of the gods. Sumerians and Babylonians used them in their religious rituals, while the Egyptians embalmed their dead. For the Hebrews, the promised land was that where milk and honey flowed.
According to crops, honey is elixir of long life, foodstuffs, beverage drink, medicine medication, and it has been lent many medicinal properties. They were also used to preserve food. Thus, in the fifth century, the historian Herodotus wrote that the Greeks going out to hunt the pheasant in what is now Georgia, immersed them in amphorae filled with honey for the return journey.
The bee, which appeared on Earth 80 million years ago, was just as venerated as the honey it makes: "messenger of the gods", "acolyte of the Great Goddess", "insect that is close to God" , "Solar light", no description was excessive to describe this insect which belongs to the family of apides and whose species most widespread in apiculture is Apis mellifera, for which there are four main races and many local ecotypes.
However, the honey bee is not alone in producing honey. In America, before its introduction by European settlers in the 17th century, the South American Indians raised the small mellipone (Meliponis spp.), Which is characterized by its absence of dart and by the peculiar flavor of its honey .
There are now dozens of varieties of honey. If the best known are acacia, clover, alfalfa, wildflower, blueberry (blueberry), goldenrod, apple or buckwheat, specialty products multiply: linden, bay sabal, thyme, lavender, rosemary, fir trees, aster, avocado, sage, bramble, raspberry, canola, cranberry, cotton, dandelion, eucalyptus, mint, pumpkin, rosemary, safflower, soybeans, vinegar, etc.