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The Sweet Truth About Honey And Its Positive Effects To Health

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It can be hard to avoid sugar or sugar-laden food items because there are just too many of them around. Chocolates, cakes, ice creams, and other sweet treats are affordable and readily available. Still, many health enthusiasts, including medical professionals, urge people to stay away from sugar and other sweet treats since these are not healthy. In fact, high-sugar food items contain little to no essential vitamins and minerals. But indulging in sweet treats doesn’t have to be all bad. There is a way to satisfy your cravings – have some honey instead.

Why Honey?

Like sugar, honey also contains fructose, which is considered to be glucose’s evil twin. While glucose is important and easily metabolized by the body, fructose is a non-essential component. If there is a large amount of fructose in the body, more than what the liver can process, it is transformed into fat; and most people do not want any extra fat on their body. Although honey also contains fructose, it has less of it than regular sugar. Honey also has glucose and antioxidants. All in all, honey has a more positive impact on health than table sugar has.

Honey and Its Antioxidant Properties

Why are antioxidants good for you? Antioxidants, like beta carotene and vitamins C and E, are elements that help in protecting the body from free radicals, which are volatile atoms or molecules that could cause cancer and other serious diseases. Fresh fruits and green, leafy vegetables contain high amounts of antioxidants. What about honey? Honey is also a wonderful source of the same. When you consume food sources that are rich in antioxidants, you make yourself healthier and you reduce your risk of getting sick.

Honey and Its Positive Effects on Cholesterol

Levels of cholesterol can be classified into two general groups – good (HDL) cholesterol and bad (LDL) cholesterol. Honey is known to increase the level of HDL and lower LDL. What is the significance? If there is a high amount of LDL in your bloodstream, this will attach to the walls of your arteries. In time, it will block and harden major blood vessels, which can result in atherosclerosis. Once there is a blockage to the arteries, there is a good chance that a heart attack will occur. Aside from this, honey also lowers blood triglyceride. This is a type of fat, and a high amount of triglycerides is linked to diabetes and some forms of heart disease.

Honey and It’s Capacity to Lower CRP

CRP or C-reactive protein increases when a person has an inflammatory condition, like a bacterial infection or a neoplastic condition, wherein there is an abnormal increase of certain tissues that could result in tumors. In addition, high CRP levels are indicative of heart disease. Honey can help reduce CRP. In a way, the action of honey is quite similar to that of statin medications for those at risk of heart disease. Statin meds are lipid-lowering compounds, such as atorvastatin and simvastatin, which aid in reducing blood cholesterol levels.