Don’t give honey to children because of the Botulism bacteria found in it. Find out other interesting facts about honey

The National Honey Board has done extensive study and research about the history, nutrition and medicinal properties of honey and have compiled huge resource of information. For more information about honey, please visit the National Honey Board website.

Honey is a supersaturated sugar solution with approximately 17.1 percent water. Fructose is the predominant sugar at 38.5 percent, followed by glucose at 31 percent. Disac- charides, trisac -charides and oligosaccharides are present in much smaller quantities. Besides carbohydrates, honey contains small amounts of protein, enzymes, vitamins and minerals. Honey is known to be rich in both enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants, including catalase, ascorbic acid, flavonoids and alkaloids. Although appearing only in trace amounts honey also contains about 18 different amino acids.

· The ancients considered honey a divine substance. Mythmakers linked it to nectar and ambrosia, the heavenly dew that miraculously flowed from the celestial regions, dripped from the world tree, and fortified the gods.

· Each variety of honey has characteristics that make that each one unique. Some of the main characteristics are color, granulation, moisture content, Levlose (fructose sugars) levels and Dextrose (glucose sugars) levels. Honey color is always graded with a number. A low number indicates a light color and the higher the number the darker the honey. Granulation is also given a number value to rate at which point the honey tends to crystallize or granulate. Levlose, dextrose and moisture levels are based on a percentage.

· Honey is 80% sugars and 20% water.



· To make one pound of honey, the bees in the colony must visit 2 million flowers, fly over 55,000 miles and will be the lifetime work of approximately 768 bees.

· A single honeybee will only produce approximately 1/12 teaspoon of honey in her lifetime.

· A single honey bee will visit 50-100 flowers on a single trip out of the hive.

· Honey is the ONLY food that includes all the substances necessary to sustain life, including water.




· Honey never gets spoilt. It is one of the few foods known to have an eternal shelf life. There are even reports of edible honey being found in several-thousand-year-old Egyptian tombs. Honey’s longevity can be explained by its chemical makeup.

· Honey’s substance is naturally acidic and low in moisture.

· In transforming nectar into honey, bees flap their wings so hard that they draw excess moisture out of the initially water-filled substance.

· Bees also have a special enzyme in their stomachs that helps to break the nectar down into gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide, the latter of which acts to further prevent the growth of bacteria and other organisms in the honey.

· Bees make a lot of honey. A typical beehive can produce anywhere from 30 to 100 pounds of honey a year.

· Bees survive on honey in winter. They work hard all summer to ensure they’ll have enough honey to sustain the hive through the winter.



· I know this is the part you’ve been waiting for…Honey is highly medicinal!! Because the substance is so inhospitable to bacteria, it was often used as a natural bandage to protect cuts and burns from infection. Honey has long been used for medicinal purposes. Due to its anti-bacterial properties, honey has been used for a variety of ills including cuts, burns, infections, stomach ulcers, and more. Honey is the only known food which has all the ingredients needed to keep you alive.

· In case you don’t know, honey is used as a natural treatment for dandruff, stomach ulcers, and even seasonal allergies.

· I bet you don’t know there are different flavours and colors of honey. Honey’s depth of flavor is determined by the source of the nectar it was made from.



· But then, not all bees make honey. There are 20,000 species of bees on earth and only a small fraction of them make honey. The species of honey bee used for commercial beekeeping in the U.S. is known as Apis mellifera.

· Honey contains water, vitamins, minerals, and necessary enzymes to give the body energy. Pinocembrin, an antioxidant is also found in honey and is effective at improving the functioning of the human brain. Honey also has antioxidant levels similar to that of apples, spinach, strawberries, and oranges.

· Honey kills internal parasites. There are several parasites which can invade the human body and cause illness. A mixture of equal parts honey, vinegar, and water is all you need to kill off the parasites. Drink this concoction for several days if you suspect you have parasites or even as a general body cleanse.

· Honey is a common remedy for insomnia, one of the main symptoms of anxiety. In fact, the University of Cambridge Counseling Service suggests eating bread with honey or drinking warm tea with honey before bedtime to alleviate anxiety.

· It’s the only food that contains “pinocembrin“, an antioxidant associated with improved brain functioning.

· There is a type of food fraud where honey is cut with cheaper sugars and syrups and then sold as pure honey. This is called ‘Honey Laundering’.




· 3000-year-old honey found in an ancient Egyptian tomb hadn’t spoiled and was still edible.

· Beekeepers in France discovered blue and green honey, the result of bees foraging in the waste created in the production of M&Ms.

· Honey is more effective at cough suppression than many over the counter cough syrups.

· Honey is a natural reservoir for the Botulism bacteria. Honey should not be consumed by infants under one year of age or those with a compromised immune system. Adult bodies can normally process it. This is why you shouldn’t give babies honey.

· Honey can be used to treat wounds because it reacts to release Hydrogen peroxide.

Nutrition Facts
Amount per 1 tbsp (21 g)
Calories	60	Calories from Fat   0
			% Daily Value
Total Fat 0g			0.00%
Saturated Fat 0g			0.00%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg			0.00%
Sodium 0mg			0.00%
Potassium 0mg
Total Carbohydrate 17g			6.00%
Dietary Fiber 0g			0.00%
Total Sugars 17g
Added Sugars 0g			34.00% †
Protein 0g
Vitamin D	0.00%	* Iron	0.00%
Calcium	0.00%	* Potassium	0.00%
* The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. † One serving adds 17g of sugar to your diet and represents 34% of the Daily Value for Added Sugars.