Whether for skin care, as a remedy or for weight loss - honey is healthy and a real all-rounder.
It's always worth having some in the house.
Honey
is a popular home remedy.
It is used for colds and as a care product.
Honey
therefore doesn't just belong on the breakfast table.
Offenbach
honey
helps in every situation: It relieves coughs and sore throats and strengthens the
immune system
.
But
honey is
also used as a slimming agent and as a
care product
for skin and hair.
We explain why you should always have some in the house.
The cold season is approaching and you've
caught
a
cold
.
Honey
is a tried and tested
home remedy.
It soothes
coughs, sore throats and hoarseness.
People have been relying on its effectiveness for centuries.
Dissolved in hot tea, warm milk or straight on a spoon, the sweet wonder drug is easy to take and even tastes good.
But honey not only has a soothing effect on sore throats and dry mucous membranes: it is also said to have antiseptic, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects.
But: honey is and will remain a
food
and not a medicine.
Nevertheless, honey is said to have a better effect on coughing than some common medicines, as researchers from the Pennsylvania State University in Hershey in the USA found out in a 2007 study with 105 coughing children.
Warning: honey is not for babies under one year old
But be careful - as healthy as
honey
may be for children and adults, babies under one year of age are not allowed to have honey.
The natural product can contain certain toxins that are harmless for small children from one year of age and adults because they are easily digested.
In infants, however, they can - albeit in rare cases - lead to
infant
botulism.
According to a guidebook from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), this disease can lead to paralysis of the muscles; in severe cases, swallowing and breathing problems can occur.
Honey: recipe for strengthening the body's immune system
There are several simple recipes made with
honey
that can help boost the immune system.
We have chosen a particularly tasty one:
Golden Milk - for one serving
300 ml milk (vegan variant: oat or almond drink)
1 cm of fresh ginger
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons of honey
And this is how it works: Warm milk, but don't boil it.
Finely dice ginger and add.
Add the turmeric and cinnamon.
Finally sweeten with honey.
Pour through a sieve, froth and enjoy.
Cool alternative: use
orange juice instead of milk, do not heat, but mix everything in the mixer.
Honey is a real all-rounder: it also helps with skin care
Honey
has long been established in beauty and body care.
Even if honey cannot
heal
blemishes
directly
, it has antibacterial, anti-fungal and moisturizing effects.
That is why honey should also help against blemished and dry skin and have a calming effect.
Applied neat to
chapped lips
, honey works as a lip balm.
We have put together further care tips:
Honey for acute pimples:
apply honey to the affected areas with a cotton swab, leave it on for about 15 minutes and wash off with warm water.
The honey is said to have a disinfecting and anti-inflammatory effect and to alleviate redness.
Honey quark mask: The honey quark mask has a
moisturizing and nourishing effect.
To do this, simply mix two tablespoons of honey and quark with two teaspoons of olive oil.
Leave it on for 15 to 20 minutes on the face and décolleté.
Rinse thoroughly with warm water.
Honey peeling:
Mix a little honey with sea salt and massage gently into the skin.
Rinse well.
The salt has a peeling effect on the mixture: dead skin cells and excess sebum are removed, the skin becomes softer and has a good blood supply.
For sensitive skin, the salt can be left out and a little coarser honey can be used pure - if the honey has already formed crystals in the jar, for example.
Works like cosmetics: honey nourishes and strengthens the hair
Honey
is a true wonder weapon will be for the hair: He
maintains, strengthens,
gives
moisture
and provides
softness.
Thanks to its antibacterial effect, it even cleans the scalp and is an effective remedy for dandruff.
It is even said to
help
as a secret ingredient against hair loss and
hair growth
, as reported by the beauty website "Elle".
We have put together some recipes for homemade honey hair treatments:
Care and suppleness: Mix
a few spoons of honey with a dash of olive oil to form a paste and heat.
Spread the mixture in damp hair, cover with a shower cap and leave on for 30 minutes.
Rinse thoroughly.
Shine:
Mix five tablespoons of honey with two cups of water and apply to washed hair.
Leave on for 30 minutes with a shower cap.
Then rinse thoroughly.
Hair growth:
Mix two tablespoons of honey, one tablespoon of coconut oil, and one tablespoon of peppermint oil.
Apply to dry or wet hair.
Leave on for a short time and rinse with apple cider vinegar diluted with water.
Then massage in a small amount of conditioner.
If the hair still sticks after the applications, rinse again with water.
Honey
also mixes well with whatever hair conditioner you're using anyway.
Honey to support wound treatment
Honey
can
even be used to treat wounds
.
Due to its
anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effect
it is a good
wound healing
rumored.
It protects the wound, cleanses and heals.
This also applies to wounds after operations or burns.
The honey removes water from germs, keeps the wound moist and acts as a barrier against new bacteria.
However, when treating wounds, one does not rely on commercial honey, but on special medical honey, as recommended by the “Apotheken Umschau”.
Recognized wound honey is, for example, New Zealand manuka honey, which is said to have an exceptionally strong antibacterial and healing effect.
This should also have a positive effect on the immune system.
Weight loss honey
Although
honey
is not said to have a direct slimming effect, there are studies according to which the test persons lost a few kilos during a honey cure or with regular consumption of honey.
The reason for this is simple: honey is made from natural sugar, which
makes
blood sugar levels
rise steadily rather than skyrocketing.
The result is less cravings due to lower insulin release and a more constant blood sugar level.
Because a rising insulin level promotes appetite.
Your
own natural sweetness should also
change
your snacking behavior
- without any diet and in any case healthier than some weight loss pills.
The fitness magazine “Fit-for-Fun”, for example, recommends
honey water as a slimming agent
.
They recommend dissolving a teaspoon of honey in a glass of lukewarm water and drinking it in the morning before breakfast.
The combination of cinnamon and honey is also supposed to help you lose weight by getting your metabolism going, according to a practical article by “Focus”.
Here, the positive effect is also due to the
lowering of the insulin level
.
The combination is recommended as a warm drink dissolved in water.
If you have an appetite for honey, you will find the test winners at our honey check.
(By Jessica Sippel)