Delicious honey can add the perfect sweetness to satisfy your sweet tooth while offering some health benefits too! The antioxidants contained in honey help lower blood pressure, which aids in reducing your risk of heart attacks, some types of cancer, and strokes. These properties also help improve cholesterol by reducing the ‘bad’ cholesterol and raising your ‘good’ cholesterol.

Fun fact: Honey has other purposes as well!  Honey can be applied topically to help heal wounds and burns. It contains antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties that help nourish the skin and promote healing.

Have a cough? Honey can help with that too! Stubborn coughing can make it hard to sleep.  Next time you find yourself awake with a nighttime cough, try a spoonful of honey and let it slowly melt in your mouth to help sooth a sore throat and suppress coughing.

Here are a few ways you can easily incorporate honey into your day:

  • Add a spoonful of honey to 1 cup of hot decaffeinated tea
  • Drizzle honey on top of your yogurt
  • Drizzle honey over a slice of peanut butter toast
  • Add a spoonful of honey to your smoothie

Honey can be a wonderful healthy addition to help boost your immune system, but be cautious of how much honey you add to your daily routine, as it is higher in calories.  A spoonful each day is more than enough to benefit from honey’s many qualities without adding too many additional calories to your diet. Let’s give a moment of gratitude for all the flowers, bees, and farmers that allow us to easily obtain our honey.

Written By: Rachael Omdoll, Campus Dietitian