Uses for Honey
You are probably aware of the bliss of licking rich, thick honey
from the spoon. But did you know that there are numerous other uses for
honey besides using it to sweeten foods and beverages?
Quality counts, so buy raw honey
Most
store brand honeys (you know… those ubiquitous honey-filled plastic
bears) are an extremely processed product. Pasteurized at very high
heat, the enzymes are denatured and probiotics killed. Additionally,
these processed honeys are often completely stripped of the beneficial
pollen. Finally, there is great controversy about the production methods
of mass-produced honey and the well being of the bees.
The
worst part about processed honey, however, is not what is removed but
what is added. Processed honey is often cut with corn syrup,
antibiotics, and heavy metals, even if the product is labeled “pure
honey.”
Always buy raw honey, which may be labeled “unpasteurized.” If at all possible, buy it from a local beekeeper. If you are not able to source honey from a nearby beekeeper, I recommend Y.S. Eco Bee Raw Honey.
Without further ado, here are 10 unusual but really cool uses for honey!
1. Wash your face with it
Dump your face wash and switch to raw honey. I use honey cleansing
every morning because, since it gently cleanses without stripping the
skin, this method reduces acne and normalizes sebum production. Raw
honey also provides natural antibacterial and healing properties to
soothe and clarify the skin.
2. Wash your hair with it
Raw honey provides a moisturizing hair and scalp cleanser
to leave your locks silky and smooth. Sudsing shampoos strip your scalp
of protective oils, causing your hair to overproduce oil to compensate
for the harsh cleaning. Honey Poo, however, balances the oil production
and is also pH balanced for a healthy scalp.
3. Make healthy marshmallows
Store bought marshmallows typically contain the following ingredients:
corn syrup, sugar, modified corn starch, dextrose, water, gelatin, tetrasodium pyrophosphate, artificial flavor, and blue 1
Umm…
YUCK! Talk about artificial, processed, GMO-laden ickyness. If you want
to enjoy the puffy, ooey-gooey deliciousness of marshmallows without
the nasty ingredients, make honey-sweetened marshmallows. As a bonus, these boast the healing properties of grassfed gelatin.
4. Stock your emergency kit
I
put away a gallon of raw honey in my family’s emergency food supply
because it is a perfect emergency food. First, it never spoils…
archeologists have found edible honey in Egyptian tombs! Second, it
provides quick energy in its perfect balance of glucose and fructose.
Finally, it contains beneficial vitamins and live enzymes.
5. Make a soothing, natural cough syrup
Quickly relieve a cough with this three ingredient cough syrup. Kids (and adults) love this stuff, and it works!
6. Make a sweet lip balm
Homemade lip balm is on of the easiest DIY beauty projects. This replenishing lip balm recipe uses a bit of honey for a shiny finish.
As a side note, hand wash all the dishes you use to make beauty recipes if they contain beeswax. Do not
accidentally put these dishes into the dishwasher, where the wax will
clog up the valves. I may or may not be speaking from experience.
7. Enjoy better blood sugar
Evidence
suggests that honey, in comparison with sugar-free sweeteners and table
sugar (sucrose) may improve blood sugar control and insulin
sensitivity. In another study, diabetic patients consuming honey had
lower blood sugar than the diabetic patients consuming sucrose and
dextrose.
8. Make a heavenly, three ingredient caramel sauce
Three ingredients creates a thick, dreamy caramel sauce free of dairy and refined sugar.
Yes please.
9. Make homemade dark chocolate
These adorable dark chocolate cups
are make with raw honey, coconut oil and cocoa powder. You can also
pour the chocolate mixture into molds to make homemade chocolate bites.
Delicious, healthy, and so easy!
10. Make homemade taffy
Everyone should experience taffy pulling in their lifetime. Grab your friends, make a batch of honey and cream taffy, and let the fun begin!
11. Make a healthy sports drink
The raw honey and sea salt in this homemade sports drink
lowers the harmful stress hormones that rise during anaerobic exercise.
As a bonus, this herbal sports drinks has a base of tulsi tea, an
adaptogen which helps your body adapt to stress and may boost athletic
endurance. I sip this sports drink every time I work out.
12. Get a good nights sleep
Do
you frequently wakeup between 2am and 4am? These wakeups often mean
that your levels of stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol are out of
whack. These hormones are supposed to follow natural peaks and dips as
part of the circadian rhythm, but when there is hormonal disbalance they
can spike to abnormal levels.
Health researcher Matt Stone in his book Eat for Heat (which I highly recommend!) suggests sprinkling a little bit of salt and sugar on the tongue to go quickly back to sleep after these wake ups.
Why
salt and sugar? Both these ingredients combat rising levels of stress
hormones to reduce the adrenaline spikes. I prefer raw honey over the
processed sugar, however, so I recommend keeping a little jar of salted
honey on your nightstand instead of the salt and sugar mixture. A little
honey and salt on a spoon and you will quickly fall back asleep!
13. Make herbal cough drops
Sore throat? Skip the corn syrup laden cough drops and make these easy honey-based herbal cough drops instead. The slippery elm and marshmallow root, paired with the healing raw honey, soothes and coats the throat.
14. Reduce seasonal allergies
Many
folks find impressive relief from seasonal allergies by taking a few
teaspoons of local honey each day. The small amounts of pollen in the
honey supposedly builds up an immunity to the pollen… like an allergy
shot, but much tastier and without the needle! This has not been widely
studied, but one immunology journal published research
that showed birch pollen honey decreased symptoms in those allergic to
birch pollen. Additional studies show that honey rarely produces
allergic symptoms in individuals who are allergic to pollen.
15. Use it for burn treatment
Surprisingly,
raw honey has been extensively studied for the treatment of burns. Not
only does it soothe and heal the skin, but the natural antibacterial
properties effectively prevent infection. Here is how to treat a mild burn with raw honey
(warning: the article shows pictures of a mild burn). I also use raw
honey instead of Neosporin when I get little cuts and scrapes for a
natural antibacterial gel.