1.0 Honey mentioned in Quran
يَخْرُجُ مِنْ بُطُونِهَا شَرَابٌ مُخْتَلِفٌ أَلْوَانُهُ فِيهِ شِفَاءٌ لِلنَّاسِ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَةً لِقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ –النحل: 69
There emerges from their bellies a drink, varying in colors, in which there is healing for people. Indeed in that is a sign for a people who give thought.
1.1 Complete Context
وَأَوْحَى رَبُّكَ إِلَى النَّحْلِ أَنِ اتَّخِذِي مِنْ الْجِبَالِ بُيُوتًا وَمِنْ الشَّجَرِ وَمِمَّا يَعْرِشُونَ – النحل: 68
And your Lord inspired to the bee, “Take for yourself among the mountains, houses, and among the trees and [in] that which they construct. (Quran 16:68)
ثُمَّ كُلِي مِنْ كُلِّ الثَّمَرَاتِ فَاسْلُكِي سُبُلَ رَبِّكِ ذُلُلاً يَخْرُجُ مِنْ بُطُونِهَا شَرَابٌ مُخْتَلِفٌ أَلْوَانُهُ فِيهِ شِفَاءٌ لِلنَّاسِ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَةً لِقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ –النحل: 69
Then eat from all the fruits and follow the ways of your Lord laid down [for you]. There emerges from their bellies a drink, varying in colors, in which there is healing for people. Indeed in that is a sign for a people who give thought. (Quran 16:68)
2.0 How honey is made?
Bee experts assert that to make one pound of honey, it takes approximately 60,000 bees traveling to possibly 2 million flowers (around 55,000 miles) to extract enough nectar. The following video shows the process of making honey.
3.0 Health Benefits of Honey
3.1 Heals skin wounds and burns
After application of honey to wounds and infections, the number of inflammatory cells was shown to be reduced, suggesting honey’s benefits in wound treatment applications (Molan, 2002)
Honey has been used frequently as a topical treatment on skin wounds, burns and abrasions (Molan, 2001).
3.1.1 Darker Honey heals faster
Darker honeys generally have been shown to exhibit stronger antimicrobial capacities (Alvarez-Suarez, 2010).
3.2 Antidiabetic Properties
The use of honey in Type I and Type II diabetes is associated with significantly lower glycemic index than with glucose or sucrose in normal diabetes. Due to the low glycemic index of the honey, it helps to reduce the absorption of digested food (Arcot et al. 2005).
3.3 Good for the heart
Natural wild honey may exert its cardioprotective and therapeutic effects against epinephrine-induced cardiac disorders and vasomotor dysfunction directly, via its very pronounced total antioxidant capacity and its great wealth of both enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants involved in cardiovascular defense mechanisms (Rakha et al. 2008).
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4.0 References
- Arcot J, Bran-Miller J. A Preliminary Assessment of the Glycemic Index of Honey. Australia: Publication of Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation; 2005.
- Alvarez-Suarez, J. M., Tulipani, S, Díaz, D, Estevez, Y, Romandini, S, Giampieri, F, Damiani, E, Astolfi, P, Bompadre, S, and Battino, M. (2010). Antioxidant and antimicrobial capacity of several monofloral Cuban honeys and their correlation with color, polyphenol content and other chemical compounds. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 48(8), 2490–2499.
- Molan, P. C. (2001). Potential of honey in the treatment of wounds and burns. American journal of clinical dermatology, 2(1), 13–19.
- Molan, P. C. (2002). Re-introducing honey in the management of wounds and ulcers-theory and practice. Ostomy Wound Management, 48(11), 28–40.
- Rakha MK, Nabil ZI, Hussein AA. Cardioactive and vasoactive effects of natural wild honey against cardiac malperformance induced by hyperadrenergic activity. J Med Food. 2008;11(1):91–98.