Nature’s Exclusive Wonder Food| APN News

By Suresh Unnithan

An oz of honey a day can prevent from infections, says Raju, an apiculture skilled from the hill district of Idukki in Kerala.  Raju, a farmer by custom took to beekeeping at an early age of 12, finding out in fifth customary.  Now he’s 55, and in full steam, popularizing his “Honey Mission” throughout the state.

Raju lives in a non disruptive distant village, Thoppipala, about 15 Kms from Kattappana city.  With enduring efforts he has developed a “Honey Nagar” right here with services for manufacturing, purification and promotion of this candy viscous liquid-HONEY.

“It was unintended I took to beekeeping.   It was throughout a summer season trip, I heard somebody speaking to my father about honey and bee holding. I used to be simply 12 years or so at the moment.  I used to be wanting to have just a few bee cages for myself in our farm.  My intention was quite simple and private. Style the candy honey at my will with out spending from my pocket. However as time handed I discovered it a greater means of incomes. After I realized in regards to the healing and medicinal values of honey I made a decision to take up apiculture as my occupation.”   

 Raju, as talked about, has not confined himself to beekeeping or honey manufacturing.   He has established a facility for enriching the standard of honey and producing worth added merchandise. “From consultants I may be taught that consumption of uncooked honey may generally result in well being points, significantly in youngsters. So I began purifying honey to take out impurities like pollen grains, wax and in addition maintain the moisture and water content material at fascinating degree.”  In accordance with medical consultants uncooked honey could include “dangerous micro organism equivalent to Clostridium botulinum. That is significantly harmful for infants. Uncooked honey ought to by no means be given to an toddler lower than a 12 months outdated.”

Raju has a purifying unit that may course of over a ton of honey per day.  Claims to course of over 100 tons of uncooked honey a 12 months.

  Honey is not only one other candy edible meals materials. It has a protracted and credible medical historical past.  In accordance with a analysis paper revealed in 2017 “proof from Stone Age work reveals remedy of illness with bee product equivalent to honey originated from 8000 years in the past. Veda s, Koran, Bible, and Hippocrates (460–357 BC) illustrated that honey had been extensively used as a drug. Qur’an vividly indicated the exercise of therapeutic worth of honey.”  The paper additional says that in historic days “Honey was used for number of illness situations together with eye ailments, bronchial asthma, throat infections, tuberculosis, thirst, hiccups, fatigue, dizziness, hepatitis, constipation, worm infestation, piles, eczema, therapeutic of ulcers, and wounds in conventional medication.”

In accordance with the analysis paper there are roughly 300 sorts of honey. “These varieties are associated to the several types of nectar which might be collected by the honeybees.”   The principle composition of honey is carbohydrates that contribute 95–97% of its dry weight. Moreover, “honey contains major compounds, equivalent to proteins, nutritional vitamins, amino acids, minerals, and natural acids. Pure honey additionally consists of flavonoids, polyphenols, decreasing compounds, alkaloids, glycosides, cardiac glycosides, anthraquinone, and risky compounds.”

Research have detected the roughly 600 risky compositions in honey that contribute to its potential biomedical results, say the analysis paper.  “The risky compounds of honey are typically low however embody aldehydes, alcohols, hydrocarbons, ketones, acid esters, benzene and its derivatives, pyran, terpene and its derivatives, norisoprenoids, in addition to sulfur, furan, and cyclic compounds. Flavonoids and polyphenols, which act as antioxidants, are two major bioactive molecules current in honey. Latest proof has proven the presence of practically thirty sorts of polyphenols in honey. The existence and ranges of those polyphenols in honey can range relying on the floral supply, the climatic and geographical situations. Some bioactive compounds, together with galangin, quercetin, kaempferol, luteolin, and isorhamnetin, are current in all sorts of honey whereas naringenin and hesperetin are discovered solely in particular varieties.  Basically, probably the most phenolic and flavonoid compounds in honey encompass gallic acid, syringic acid, ellagic acid, benzoic acid, cinnamic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, isorhamnetin, ferulic acids, myricetin, chrysin, coumaric acid, apigenin, quercetin, kaempferol, hesperetin, galangin, catechin, luteolin, and naringenin. The substances of honey have been reported to exert antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative, anticancer, and antimetastatic results.”

The analysis papers additionally stress the necessity of purifying honey for uncooked honey could include many pollution together with “some heavy metals equivalent to lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and arsenic (As).”

It has been proved, “honey is an effective supply of antioxidants.  Pure honey incorporates a number of plant chemical compounds that act as antioxidants. Some sorts of honey have as many antioxidants as vegatables and fruits. Antioxidants assist to guard your physique from cell injury attributable to free radicals.”

In accordance with medical consultants, “free radicals contribute to the growing old course of and can also contribute to the event of continual ailments equivalent to most cancers and coronary heart illnesses.”  Researches  reveals that antioxidant compounds in honey known as polyphenols can stop coronary heart illnesses even.”

It has been recorded that in historic China, through the Xin dynasty of Shen Nang round 2000 BCE honey was popularly used for therapeutic functions. “Most significantly, a guide which had launched through the Qin dynasty round 220 BCE encourages using honey every day to maintain one match and wholesome.”

As Rudolf Steiner stated “Nothing is healthier for the human being than so as to add the correct quantity of honey to his meals.”