People have been using honey to sweeten food and drinks for thousands of years. But honey is more than a tasty treat – it’s also good for you, inside and out. Here are just a few reasons to consider adding honey to your diet as well as your beauty routine.
Lower-Calorie Sweetener
For those who want to avoid artificial sweeteners, honey can be a great healthy – and natural – alternative to sugar. It’s true; there are more calories in a teaspoon of honey (around 22) than in a teaspoon of sugar (about 16). However, honey tastes much sweeter than sugar – which means you’ll need to use less of it! Plus, the fructose in honey is more likely to convert to energy, while in sugar it’s more likely to be stored as fat.
Vitamins
Raw honey – which is completely unprocessed – contains vitamin B, calcium, and magnesium, as well as antioxidants. While it won’t be enough to give you a full daily dose of these vitamins and minerals, their content is high enough to make honey a delicious way to give your body, immune system, and energy level an extra boost. In fact, some experts suggest that a bit of honey before your workout will help increase your stamina and performance.
Shiny Hair
The idea of pouring sticky, gooey honey into your hair might not sound very enticing. And of course, rubbing pure honey into your hair would likely just wind up making a big mess. However, when honey is mixed with olive oil – or with your own conditioner – it can leave locks soft and shiny. Why? In addition to the vitamins in honey, it also draws in and holds moisture. A mixture of half a cup of honey with a quarter cup of olive oil slightly warmed up works as an intensive conditioner – just leave it on for 30 minutes and shampoo out.
Soften Dry Skin
Your hair isn’t the only thing that can benefit from honey’s ability to hold moisture; it can be a great way to moisturize and soften dry skin, too. The next time you take a soak in the bath, add a cup of raw, natural honey to the warm water for soft and moisturized skin. For even greater effects, honey mixed with avocado or with olive oil and lemon juice can give you a naturally moisturizing lotion.
Protect and Heal Lips
Of course, honey’s moisturizing ability also makes it the perfect ingredient for a natural – and tasty – lip softener. But Among the many incredibly properties of raw honey is the fact that it is also an antiseptic and antibacterial. Because of this, honey can also help sooth and heal cracked, chapped or sunburned lips. Just swipe a bit of honey across chapped lips, and then remove with a cotton swap or damp washcloth after a few minutes.
