Honey has been known as nature’s superfood for centuries. Humans have been harvesting and culturing nests for a long to get nectar from honey bee’s nests. But there are a lot of myths surrounding this amazing gift of nature.
Here are some of the myths and facts to clear your misunderstanding about it:
1. Honey can be used even by diabetics
Diabetics are contraindicated in foods with a high glycemic index, which, as we have already found out, include some types of honey. In connection with the fructose contained in honey, there is not only the erroneous opinion described above that it is useful for losing weight but also another: that fructose does not lead to a sharp rise in blood sugar and does not require insulin to be absorbed. People who hold this opinion believe that diabetics can eat varieties of honey with a high fructose content. A distinctive feature of the latter is late crystallization.
2. As a sweetener, honey is better than sugar
3. Honey is a strong allergen
Doctors do not advise giving honey to children under 18 months, but not at all because of allergies: Clostridia of botulism can get into live unpasteurized honey. Although they are unable to multiply in it and release dangerous toxins. In this form, they do not pose a threat to an adult but are unsafe for young children, whose immune systems are still too weak. In the case of pregnant women, there are no contraindications – the placental barrier will protect the fetus.
4. Honey – a storehouse of vitamins
Honey contains very small amounts of vitamins B 2, B 6, E, K, C, carotene, and folic acid. Thus, for example, vitamin B 2 in honey is almost four times less than in red meat, and 79 times less than in the liver but vitamin B is 6 – is four times less than in tomatoes and less than in boiled potatoes – up to 11 times. In 100 grams of honey, there is not even a twentieth part of the vitamins a person needs on average per day.
5. The most useful honey is May
In different countries, different varieties of honey, due to traditions, are valued completely differently: for example, in the USA and Western Europe, they like honeydew because of its mineral composition, which cannot be said about the CIS countries, where it is often considered low-grade. In Russia, May is extolled, apparently because of its rarity. The fact is that it is simply unprofitable for beekeepers to collect honey in the spring when brood increases in the hives and the swarm requires a lot of nectar for their own needs.
