10 Interesting Facts about Honey
1. Honey is the only food produced by an insect and edible for humans.
2. Although they have 5 eyes, honeybees use their sense of smell to locate food, to differentiate between varieties of flowers and to determine whether a flower contains pollen.
3. Raw honey contains all the nutritional elements needed to sustain life: enzymes, proteins, vitamins, minerals and water. Honey is unique because it also contains antibacterial, antimicrobial, antioxidant and antibiotic properties.
4. Stored in an airtight container, honey never spoils. Its naturally low pH makes it difficult for bacteria to thrive. This is why ancient Egyptians preserved the corpses and organs of royalty in honey. In fact, archaeologists have discovered sealed jars of honey up to 2000 years old -still edible!
5. The ‘buzz’ we associate with bees is actually the sound of their tiny wings flapping continuously at a speed of about 200 times PER SECOND!
6. Honey can be used to treat pimples! Strange but true. The antibacterial and antifungal properties of raw honey can assist to repair broken skin, reduce bacterial growth and lower inflammation in skin conditions like acne.
7. Honey was worshipped by ancient cultures across the globe. Historical records from various civilizations show honey used as an offering to the Gods and in sacred/spiritual rituals. Honey has been called ‘nectar of the Gods,’ and is referenced throughout the Bible as both sustenance and sacrifice. Indeed, the ‘promised land’ was called the land of milk and honey, and even now, we call honey ‘liquid gold’ - a measure of its unique value.
8. The taste, texture, colour and composition of honey differs depending on the plant source, pollens and geographical location of the hives. It’s known that darker honey is more antioxidant rich. Antibacterial and antifungal activity is highly influenced by floral sources, and the Manuka Plant is known to produce honey with the most potent health properties.
9. While raw honey is full of nutritious elements, honey that has been heated loses potency. Precious enzymes and active nutrients are destroyed in the heating process. Adding a spoonful of honey to hot liquids as a cold or cough elixir may provide comfort, but is unlikely change symptoms. To maintain the nutritional benefits of honey, it should be consumed raw – so choose your honey carefully!
10. New Zealand Manuka Honey has been used against superbugs in recent trials and is showing great results. A study at The University of Technology in Sydney* showed a combined treatment of Manuka Honey with antibiotics successfully inhibited the growth of MRSA – golden staph. More studies will follow, but it’s clear honey is finding a place in modern medical treatments.
1. Honey is the only food produced by an insect and edible for humans.
2. Although they have 5 eyes, honeybees use their sense of smell to locate food, to differentiate between varieties of flowers and to determine whether a flower contains pollen.
3. Raw honey contains all the nutritional elements needed to sustain life: enzymes, proteins, vitamins, minerals and water. Honey is unique because it also contains antibacterial, antimicrobial, antioxidant and antibiotic properties.
4. Stored in an airtight container, honey never spoils. Its naturally low pH makes it difficult for bacteria to thrive. This is why ancient Egyptians preserved the corpses and organs of royalty in honey. In fact, archaeologists have discovered sealed jars of honey up to 2000 years old -still edible!
5. The ‘buzz’ we associate with bees is actually the sound of their tiny wings flapping continuously at a speed of about 200 times PER SECOND!
6. Honey can be used to treat pimples! Strange but true. The antibacterial and antifungal properties of raw honey can assist to repair broken skin, reduce bacterial growth and lower inflammation in skin conditions like acne.
7. Honey was worshipped by ancient cultures across the globe. Historical records from various civilizations show honey used as an offering to the Gods and in sacred/spiritual rituals. Honey has been called ‘nectar of the Gods,’ and is referenced throughout the Bible as both sustenance and sacrifice. Indeed, the ‘promised land’ was called the land of milk and honey, and even now, we call honey ‘liquid gold’ - a measure of its unique value.
8. The taste, texture, colour and composition of honey differs depending on the plant source, pollens and geographical location of the hives. It’s known that darker honey is more antioxidant rich. Antibacterial and antifungal activity is highly influenced by floral sources, and the Manuka Plant is known to produce honey with the most potent health properties.
9. While raw honey is full of nutritious elements, honey that has been heated loses potency. Precious enzymes and active nutrients are destroyed in the heating process. Adding a spoonful of honey to hot liquids as a cold or cough elixir may provide comfort, but is unlikely change symptoms. To maintain the nutritional benefits of honey, it should be consumed raw – so choose your honey carefully!
10. New Zealand Manuka Honey has been used against superbugs in recent trials and is showing great results. A study at The University of Technology in Sydney* showed a combined treatment of Manuka Honey with antibiotics successfully inhibited the growth of MRSA – golden staph. More studies will follow, but it’s clear honey is finding a place in modern medical treatments.
Feed your face – Beauty masks with Manuka Honey!
Honey isn’t just for eating; it’s a delicious way to nourish and improve the appearance of your skin. Antioxidant, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory Manuka Honey is even better! With live active enzymes and vitamin C, B1, B3 and B6 and zinc you can literally feed your face with a good honey mask!
Salty oat and honey exfoliating scrub:
Ingredients
1 teaspoon finely ground quality salt (eg. Himalayan rock salt, Maldon sea salt)
1 tablespoon ground oats
1 tablespoon Natural Life Manuka Honey
Small amount of water, oat or almond milk to blend
Method:
Mix the ground oats and salt together in a mortar and pestle. Add the honey and enough liquid to form a smooth paste. Store in an airtight contain in the refrigerator for up to week.
Application:
Apply the scrub to your face in soft circular motion. Don’t add pressure with the fingertips – the grains of salt and oats do the exfoliating work for you. Rinse off with warm water and pat dry.
Tiny granules of salt and oats remove dead skin so fresh new skin beneath shines through. Manuka Honey helps reduce inflammation and promotes healing of irritations at skin surface. On a deeper level, the vitamins and antioxidants in the Manuka Honey support skin growth and renewal so skin appears more lively, fresh and healthy.
Sweet Nutty Moisturiser
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon Macadamia Nut Oil (or almond oil or similar nut oil)
1 tablespoon Natural Life Manuka Honey
Method:
Let the coconut oil soften at room temperature – it should be soft enough make a creamy texture. Add the nut oil and Manuka Honey and stir until completely combined. Store in an airtight jar at room temperature.
Application:
Smooth cream generously over the skin (avoiding eye area) and leave for 10-15 minutes. Rinse off with warm water and pat dry.
This hydrating mask gives your skin a concentrated dose of vitamins and moisture to nourish, heal and support new skin growth. The wonderful natural oils form a protective barrier to retain moisture for longer. Manuka Honey may help reduce the appearance of small scars and redness on the skin surface. Antibacterial actives in the Manuka Honey and coconut oil can help prevent the outbreak of pimples and health any existing. Apply this treatment several times each week for well hydrated, glossy and super healthy skin – without a chemical in sight!
7 Incredible Health Benefits of Bee Pollen
If science could replicate the amazing nutrient value of Bee Pollen, it would be sold everywhere as a miracle pill. Science can’t, but nature has.
Here are 7 incredible health benefits of Bee Pollen:
1. Bee Pollen is a natural multi-vitamin with SO MUCH MORE! In addition to vitamins, Bee Pollen contains about 25 trace minerals including potassium, magnesium, selemnium, calcium, sulphur, zinc and manganese. It has 18 amino acids, essential fatty acids and a range of enzymes and co-enzymes needed for proper body activities. Many of these work in conjunction with the various vitamins so we get the proper benefit of each.
2. On the topic of vitamins in bee pollen, the list reads like this:
• Provitamin A (beta-carotene) - (carotenoids)
• Vitamin B1 - (thiamine)
• Vitamin B2 - (riboflavin)
• Vitamin B3 - (niacin)
• Vitamin B5 - (pantothenic acid)
• Vitamin B6 - (pyridoxine)
• Vitamin B12 -(cyamocobalamin)
• Biotin
• Vitamin C - (ascorbic acid)
• Vitamin D & Vitamin E
• Vitamin K
• Choline & Inositol
• Folic Acid
• Rutin
• Vitamin P
3. Bee Pollen is approximately 25% protein. Gram for gram, bee pollen contains more protein than other animal products like beef, chicken or eggs, making it a useful daily supplement for vegetarians.
4. Bee Pollen is an alkaline food so it can help you reach the important acid/alkaline balance required for a healthy body. Better yet, Bee Pollen can ‘give back’ essential minerals like magnesium, calcium and potassium that are often lost from a diet high in acid-forming foods.
5. Many people report increased sex drive when taking bee pollen daily. Naturally, bee pollen is sometimes promoted as an aphrodisiac. While there is no substantiating evidence scientific evidence to support this, anectodal evidence suggests bee pollen does have a positive impact on hormone regulation.
6. Many athletes and even body builders take Bee Pollen as a natural way to increase protein and muscle mass and at the same time provide more natural energy in order to maximise physical endurance.
7. Bee Pollen may even assist weight loss. Too good to be true? The reason is the 15% lecithin content of bee pollen. Lecithin is a natural fat that helps improve the metabolism of fats, and remove unwanted fats (like cholesterol) from the blood. This, along with the amino acid phenylanaline which helps control appetite.
Honey isn’t just for eating; it’s a delicious way to nourish and improve the appearance of your skin. Antioxidant, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory Manuka Honey is even better! With live active enzymes and vitamin C, B1, B3 and B6 and zinc you can literally feed your face with a good honey mask!
Salty oat and honey exfoliating scrub:
Ingredients
1 teaspoon finely ground quality salt (eg. Himalayan rock salt, Maldon sea salt)
1 tablespoon ground oats
1 tablespoon Natural Life Manuka Honey
Small amount of water, oat or almond milk to blend
Method:
Mix the ground oats and salt together in a mortar and pestle. Add the honey and enough liquid to form a smooth paste. Store in an airtight contain in the refrigerator for up to week.
Application:
Apply the scrub to your face in soft circular motion. Don’t add pressure with the fingertips – the grains of salt and oats do the exfoliating work for you. Rinse off with warm water and pat dry.
Tiny granules of salt and oats remove dead skin so fresh new skin beneath shines through. Manuka Honey helps reduce inflammation and promotes healing of irritations at skin surface. On a deeper level, the vitamins and antioxidants in the Manuka Honey support skin growth and renewal so skin appears more lively, fresh and healthy.
Sweet Nutty Moisturiser
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon Macadamia Nut Oil (or almond oil or similar nut oil)
1 tablespoon Natural Life Manuka Honey
Method:
Let the coconut oil soften at room temperature – it should be soft enough make a creamy texture. Add the nut oil and Manuka Honey and stir until completely combined. Store in an airtight jar at room temperature.
Application:
Smooth cream generously over the skin (avoiding eye area) and leave for 10-15 minutes. Rinse off with warm water and pat dry.
This hydrating mask gives your skin a concentrated dose of vitamins and moisture to nourish, heal and support new skin growth. The wonderful natural oils form a protective barrier to retain moisture for longer. Manuka Honey may help reduce the appearance of small scars and redness on the skin surface. Antibacterial actives in the Manuka Honey and coconut oil can help prevent the outbreak of pimples and health any existing. Apply this treatment several times each week for well hydrated, glossy and super healthy skin – without a chemical in sight!
7 Incredible Health Benefits of Bee Pollen
If science could replicate the amazing nutrient value of Bee Pollen, it would be sold everywhere as a miracle pill. Science can’t, but nature has.
Here are 7 incredible health benefits of Bee Pollen:
1. Bee Pollen is a natural multi-vitamin with SO MUCH MORE! In addition to vitamins, Bee Pollen contains about 25 trace minerals including potassium, magnesium, selemnium, calcium, sulphur, zinc and manganese. It has 18 amino acids, essential fatty acids and a range of enzymes and co-enzymes needed for proper body activities. Many of these work in conjunction with the various vitamins so we get the proper benefit of each.
2. On the topic of vitamins in bee pollen, the list reads like this:
• Provitamin A (beta-carotene) - (carotenoids)
• Vitamin B1 - (thiamine)
• Vitamin B2 - (riboflavin)
• Vitamin B3 - (niacin)
• Vitamin B5 - (pantothenic acid)
• Vitamin B6 - (pyridoxine)
• Vitamin B12 -(cyamocobalamin)
• Biotin
• Vitamin C - (ascorbic acid)
• Vitamin D & Vitamin E
• Vitamin K
• Choline & Inositol
• Folic Acid
• Rutin
• Vitamin P
3. Bee Pollen is approximately 25% protein. Gram for gram, bee pollen contains more protein than other animal products like beef, chicken or eggs, making it a useful daily supplement for vegetarians.
4. Bee Pollen is an alkaline food so it can help you reach the important acid/alkaline balance required for a healthy body. Better yet, Bee Pollen can ‘give back’ essential minerals like magnesium, calcium and potassium that are often lost from a diet high in acid-forming foods.
5. Many people report increased sex drive when taking bee pollen daily. Naturally, bee pollen is sometimes promoted as an aphrodisiac. While there is no substantiating evidence scientific evidence to support this, anectodal evidence suggests bee pollen does have a positive impact on hormone regulation.
6. Many athletes and even body builders take Bee Pollen as a natural way to increase protein and muscle mass and at the same time provide more natural energy in order to maximise physical endurance.
7. Bee Pollen may even assist weight loss. Too good to be true? The reason is the 15% lecithin content of bee pollen. Lecithin is a natural fat that helps improve the metabolism of fats, and remove unwanted fats (like cholesterol) from the blood. This, along with the amino acid phenylanaline which helps control appetite.
Health Update:
Are You Making These 7 Dieting Mistakes?
You've started a new diet. You've been good all week, making sensible meals, managing your portions, even exercising a little...then the weekend hits. You eat too much. You drink too much. You give up.
Not so fast! A couple of slipups won't undo all your hard work. The key is to know the dieting pitfalls you¢re likely to make and plan ahead to avoid them.
Here are the top seven dieting mistakes. How many are you making?
- Skipping breakfast.Research shows that people who don't eat breakfast actually weigh more than those who do. There's a mistaken belief that if you skip breakfast, you're saving calories. Problem is you end up snacking and eating more at other meals because you're body is so starved for food. Always begin your day with a healthy breakfast. Black coffee, an egg, whole wheat toast and a half grapefruit has only 250 calories and will stave off hunger pangs till lunch.
- Too many liquid calories. Did you know that a regular soda can pack on 15 pounds in one year? Not to mention lattes, fruit smoothies and alcohol. These liquid calories do little to satisfy any hunger and the calories add up fast.
- Not exercising. If 30 minutes is too much to even think about, start with 10 and see how it goes. If exercising is a drag to you, try something fun like bowling, playing ping-pong, or dancing. The idea is to get moving and have so much fun you'll stick with it.
- Using extreme diets. These don't work and can be very detrimental to your health. When you deprive your body of food two things happen: your metabolic rate slows down to make up for few calories and your desire to binge increases. In addition extreme dieting may lead to the bloating of fat cells, shrinking of muscle cells, accumulation of toxic fats and fatigue. Rather than thinking "diet" think lifestyle change.
- Mindless munching. Even if it's not on a plate, it still counts. A couple of cheesy crackers before dinner, test-tasting a sauce, finishing food from your kids¢ plates while washing dishes, all adds up to more calories. On average figure 25 calories per bite. Do that 4 times in a day and you've just added 100 extra calories to your waistline without even realizing it.
- Going overboard on low fat. It's psychological. You pick a low-fat snack and you justify eating more of it because it IS low fat. Research backs this up. More food, even if it is non- or low-fat still means more calories.
- Not taking vitamins and supplements. In a perfect world, we'd get all the nutrition, vitamins and minerals from our three perfectly balanced daily meals. Truth is, few of us do. Even if you think you're eating right, modern food processing can deplete whatever nutrients were in the food originally. That's why many take daily vitamins and supplements. While it's important for everyone, it's especially important for those who are trying to lose or maintain weight. It starts with a good, high-quality multivitamin.
As quickly as the pounds add up, they can also come off. The key is knowing what your pitfalls are and how to avoid them.
For great vitamin choices, visit Botanic Choice.