Great Reasons to Take Local Honey Every Day

You've probably been hearing about the benefits of local honey. It's one of the best sellers in the specialty produce shop where I work. We're talking about RAW honey here, not the pasteurized stuff that has had all the good enzymes zapped out of it. Local honey can be found at farmer's markets, small local specialty stores (like the Butter Bean in Huntersville, NC) and anywhere farmers and growers sell their goods. Do not mistake the generic honey you see in big box stores for local honey. Check the bottle so you know exactly where the honey is from. The so-called honey at most big box stores is actually imported from China, Argentina, India, Bulgaria and Canada.

Honey contains small amounts of pollen. By taking a teaspoon of honey twice a day, you are introducing pollen spores into your body in small amounts. That is why honey is often taken to relieve seasonal allergies. Unlike over the counter allergy medications, there are no side effects when you consume local honey. Take a teaspoon of honey twice a day to help fight allergies. My favorite way to take the honey is to mix with a generous sprinkling of cinnamon and microwave this mixture for 14 seconds. Then drink it like tea.

Local honey can also be used as a cough suppressant when taken before bed, an energizer to give you a boost for your workout, a digestion aid to help treat ulcers and diarrhea, and even to prevent colon cancer. Honey is even supposed to help with short term weight loss. How could a simple, natural source of sugar do all that? I admit that preventing colon cancer sounds a bit over-the-top but the claim is very logical. Raw honey (remember...honey that has not been pasteurized) contains propolis. Propolis is what bees use to seal their hive off from invaders and harmful substances. Propolis are chemicals which fight inflammation in the body. Propolis plus other substances (with names too long to remember) react with the body to prevent enzymes from growing tumors that lead to colon cancer.