Health Benefits of Honey Products

We all have a sweet tooth for honey and honey products which are collected and made by honey bee. In search of rich nectar of flower, honey bee travel from one flower to another. These nectar are collected by bees and mixed with enzymes to produce honey. Finally, honey is stored in bee hives thereby keeping it protected from dust, moisture and sunlight.

Honey is a sweet, sticky and yellowish-brown fluid which is recognized as a premium natural food. Honey is a natural sweetener which has a great taste and nature's goodness. Easy to digest and free from calories, honey is considered as a great energy source for all age groups. The versatility of honey along with countless health benefits and myrial floral taste can bring joy and happiness in every day's life.

Wide Variety Of Honey Products

All thanks go to the honey bees for great natural treasures (in the form of honey products) provided by them for making our lives a little better. Beside from the honey, they provide naturally occurring beeswax, pollens, royal jelly, mead, propolis and bee bread. These varieties of honey products are either consumed directly by humans for health benefits or supplied to industries for processing of goods.

1) Bee Pollens are the male seed of flowers that are collected and mixed with bees' digestive enzymes by honey bees. Unlike other pollens, these bee pollen rarely shows any allergy symptoms. Rather, these pollens are rich source of amino acids, proteins, minerals, vitamins, enzymes and carbohydrates. Bee pollens are considered as "greatest builder on earth" as they have enough quantity of beneficial fatty acids and have a tendency of lowering blood cholesterol.

Bee pollens also have following properties,

Anti-viral bioflavonoids and anti bacterial
Capability of stabilizing & strengthening capillaries
Ability of rejuvenating body and stimulating organs
Accelerating rate of recovery and enhancing vitality

2) Royal Jelly is one of the honey products which is created by worker bees. It is a blend of secretion of honey bee which is often referred as "Milk of bees". Producing a replica of this royal jelly in the laboratory is next to impossible due to its complex chemical structure and nutrient content. That is why, royal jelly is fed to all bee larvae for their initial 3-4 days of life. Queen bee also eats this royal jelly for her lifetime.

Royal jelly is a very rare and precious honey product which contains high concentrates of vitamin B5, B6 along with amino acids, antioxidants for promoting tissue growth and cell regenerations. Royal jelly is consumed as a health and energy tonic for following reasons,

It improves digestion
Treats stomach ulcers
Helps in lowering cholesterol
Eases menopausal symptoms
Protect from colds and flu
Have anti-aging properties
Reduce stress and anxiety

3) Organic Honey is the purest form of honey available in the market. The manufacturers of organic honey have to meet standards and certifications during the production of organic honey. These standards are based on sources of nectar, type of foraging area of honey bee along with methods of bee management. The standards also include the guidelines for extracting, processing, storing, packaging and transporting honey. Hence, organic honey is claimed to be tested and guaranteed to be free from pesticides and environmental pollutants.

4) Bee Bread is also a source of food for most larvae and bees as they comprise of all essential nutrients like amino acids, enzymes, vitamin K and flavanoids. Honey bee made bee bread by mixing pollen with honey, bee wax and their digestive enzymes. Bee bread has many health benefits and are used for the following purposes,

Treating anemia, hepatitis, insomnia, digestive tract disorder
Reducing stress
Improving memory
Reducing cholesterol
Promoting physical and mental growth in kids
Fighting weight gain and obesity

5) Propolis is one of the honey products which is collected by honey bee from the buds of trees and conifiers. These are sticky in nature and are used as a glue by bees for filling the gap in their hive. Bees chew and mixes with saliva and other substances with propolis prior using them as sticky glue.

Propolis provides protection against a number of diseases and climatic changes - wind & cold. Like other honey products, propolis is also marketed for its nutritional content and healing properties. Some are as follows,

It has antibacterial, antiviral, anti-cancer, antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties
It is also a good source of antioxidants
It shows healing properties against a number of illnesses
It is a good source of ointment for cuts and wounds.

6) Bee Wax is also a natural secretion of honey bee through their wax glands. Bee uses this wax to build honeycomb cells for raising bee larvae as well as storing honey and pollens.