Make Your Body Healthier and Happier With Honey
September is National Honey Month! While most of us love the exquisite flavor and heavenly sweetness, honey has more to offer the human body than a great taste. Its wonderfulness actually extends well beyond its usefulness as a food.
Swipe through to learn how honey is good for the body in so many ways.
Honey is a wonderful skin moisturizer. It’s a humectant, which means it draws moisture to the skin. You can apply unprocessed honey directly to your skin or mix it with yogurt, olive oil and lemon for a hydrating face mask. Add it to your bath for happy skin all over, or smear a thin coat on your lips to moisturize them.
Honey’s moisturizing properties extend to the hair and scalp, too. Use a honey hair mask to reduce frizz, add shine, and soften your hair. Simply mix 1/2 cup of honey with a 1/4 cup of olive oil and massage into the scalp and hair. Leave it on for 30 minutes, then shampoo it out.
Honey’s antibacterial and calming qualities mean it’s also useful as an acne treatment. Raw, unprocessed honey is best here, and you’ll want to apply it to inflamed areas using a cotton swab.
Studies have demonstrated that taking 2 teaspoons of honey at bedtime helped reduce nighttime coughing and improve sleep, which is especially helpful for fussy youngsters. While mixing honey with warm water is a time-honored cough treatment, straight honey might be a better solution.
Gastrointestinal issues have been successfully treated with honey. In fact, studies have shown that honey can have a positive effect on prebiotic activity, which promotes favorable changes in the composition and function of gut microorganisms.
Honey’s natural antioxidant, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory qualities make it a terrific antiseptic. Apply honey to a sterile dressing and then place the dressing over a wound, sealing it on all sides to avoid leakage.
This golden nectar is known to calm nerves and relax the mind. If your mind races at bedtime, and sleep is elusive for you, consider mixing a teaspoon of honey into a cup of chamomile tea at bedtime.
