Did you know human beings have had a love affair with honey for more than 9000 years? In this blog post, we unpack 10 reasons why honey makes you happy:
It’s better than the white stuff
Sugar and honey both contain fructose and glucose, but honey comes with the added benefits of water, pollen and minerals such as potassium and magnesium. Honey is higher in calories than sugar but it’s also sweeter, which means you could use less of it.
It teams up with your happy hormones
Honey has anti-inflammatory properties and it increases the spread of serotonin and dopamine. If you add a spoonful of this liquid gold to your green tea, it can help to improve your mood… in other words, honey really does make you happier.
It just might stop that night-time cough
Give that cough medicine a skip and rather take two teaspoons of honey to relieve the cough and possibly improve sleep. Although not medically proven, parents around the world swear by it for alleviating coughs and allergy symptoms – for kids and adults alike. (A word of caution: Children younger than one should not be given honey.)
It’s adds some kick to your immune system
Research indicates that honey helps boost your immune system. In addition to potassium and magnesium, honey contains iron and calcium and because it’s slightly acidic, it could help prevent bacterial growth.
It’s Old School Cool
Honey is so Old School, in fact, that the ancient Egyptians even loved it. They used it as an embalming fluid and as a dressing for wounds. Even today holistic practitioners recommend honey for mild wound treatment, thanks to honey’s antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.
Hard-working bees create work for hard-working humans
Bees and humans work together to put honey in your home! For every 500 hives, four jobs are created to manage the day-to-day responsibility of taking care of the hives. Each Fedgroup Hive is manufactured by hand in South Africa. Jobs are also created to package and label the honey before it is sent to the distribution centres.
The Queen Bee
Powerful woman commanding a strong workforce of up to 70,000 workers, producing liquid gold. Need we say more? What’s not to love?
Local honey sources can be traced
When we hear news reports of donkey meat being sold in our supermarkets, it’s refreshing to know that local honey from reputable farmers such as Menno’s Apiaries, is fully traceable and when you buy quality honey, you can trust that you’re getting what you pay for.
Honey consumption is on the rise in South Africa
The demand for honey continues to grow with many people interested in the health benefits. South Africa doesn’t produce enough honey to meet demand, which is why so much of our honey is imported from China and Argentina and then blended. As consumers become choosier, they will opt for locally produced premium honey meaning now is a great time to invest in a local hive.
If we have honey, we have bees
Bees are arguably the most valuable species on our planet. Without bees, flowers do not turn into fruit and vegetables… and what will happen to the vegans?! But it’s not only the vegans who will suffer, because cows and other edible mammals need plants for survival, too!
Time to get happy – go and sample some local honey today.
