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Honey is a valuable and useful product, but it is customary for us to idealize it, considering it a remedy for almost all diseases. But science looks at it skeptically, confirming some of its useful properties.
It has been established that honey has an antibacterial effect, due to which it reduces the unpleasant symptoms of viral and colds (reduces sore throat, nasal congestion, as it suppresses pathogenic microorganisms). Also, the product has some enzymatic activity, which stimulates the digestive processes in the human body. And when applied externally, it promotes wound healing, again due to the antibacterial action.
Honey will be really useful at the first sign of a cold and as an alternative to store-bought sweets. If you use it instead of sweets and cookies, the body will really thank you.
But it is important to remember that this product is 96 percent sugar. Therefore, its daily use in the morning can bring unexpected and not the most pleasant effects.
1. Weight gain
For some reason, it is believed that water with honey in the morning helps to lose weight. In fact, drinking this drink, you fill the body with a sugar solution. If after that you go for a run or do squats and push-ups for half an hour, the body uses the received glucose, transforming it into energy. And if you also have a hearty breakfast after water with honey, the number of calories may be too large and useless for the body. The body will have no choice but to store the excess in adipose tissue.
Honey does not promote weight loss. But water in the morning is really helpful. It starts the metabolism and makes it easier to part with those extra pounds. For weight loss, it is more useful to drink plain water, without additives.
2. Increase in blood sugar
Honey is a product containing simple carbohydrates. The body deals with them in the blink of an eye: only they enter the digestive tract, within a few minutes break down into glucose molecules and go into the bloodstream.
The body has to fight against a sharp increase in sugar levels, to produce the hormone insulin. If you make such “gifts” to the body every morning, over time, the cells will get used to the increased level of insulin in the morning and stop taking glucose from the blood (this is how cells become resistant to insulin).
This can lead to persistently elevated blood glucose levels and, as a result, diabetes mellitus.
3. Appetite increase
Previously, mothers forbade children to eat sweets between meals so as not to interrupt their appetite. Today, scientists have proven that sweet snacks do not reduce, but rather stimulate the need for food. The reason for this is the jumps in the level of glucose in the body.
Drinking honey water, you send a portion of glucose into the blood. This causes the release of the hormone insulin. It captures glucose molecules and carries them through the cells. Blood sugar levels drop, after which insulin levels also drop. Such “swings” stimulate the production of the hormone ghrelin. This is the hunger hormone that makes you want to eat, and you can hardly resist if something tasty, but not very healthy, comes to hand.
Honey water in the morning makes you feel hungry during the day and can lead to overeating in the afternoon and evening.
For these reasons, starting the day with such a drink is not recommended for those who are trying to lose weight, are obese, have diabetes, or want to form healthy eating habits. Moreover, it is difficult to recommend this drink to at least someone in the morning. But this does not mean that honey water cannot be drunk at all.
It is possible and even necessary, but at a clearly defined time - at about 16 hours. By this time, the body has used up the supply of glucose in the liver and needs a quick energy boost. You can eat something sweet or drink honey water without any harm. And if you don’t, you will most likely feel a breakdown. So honey water can be beneficial for the body, but if you drink it not in the morning, but in the afternoon.