Honey, a sweet liquid food produced by honeybees that collect nectar from flowers and store it in hives, contains many nutrients and is a tasty part of natural diets. Some people prefer the taste and natural aspect of honey to refined sugar; however, the Mayo Clinic warns parents not to give honey to infants younger than 1 year, due to a small threat of botulism contamination.
Production
Honey may have been the first natural sweetener, according to the Draper Bee website, and it was valuable enough in ancient civilizations to earn the name "the nectar of the gods." Today, honeybee farmers construct wooden hives, complete with brood chambers and honey supers, that contain frames on which bees construct honeycomb and store their golden harvest.
Types
Natural honey is available as an extracted liquid, readily available on grocer's shelves, and as creamed honey, which is thick and spreadable. Comb honey contains part of the wax honeycomb, often sold in a jar with additional honey included.
Benefits
Honey is more healthful than sugar, although neither is low in calories, according to the Medical Health Plus website. Honey reportedly can boost immunity, soothe ulcers, treat insomnia and bladder infections and even ease toothaches. Clinical evidence supporting these claims, however, is lacking as of 2010.
Glycemic Index
The glycemic index is a list of foods, ranked by the effect they have on the body's blood sugar level. The lower a food ranks on the index, the less likely it is to produce a blood sugar surge. Foods ranked at 55 or less are low on the GI scale. Honey has a GI ranking of 62, putting it in the middle range on the glycemic index, and making it potentially inappropriate for those following a low glycemic diet. Consult your doctor about eating honey if you're on a low-GI diet.
Nutrient Content
One ounce of honey weighs just over 42 grams and contains 128 calories and 0.12 g of protein. Honey is relatively high in carbohydrates, weighing in at almost 35 g per ounce, but it does not contain any fat. Honey provides B vitamins, vitamin C, folate and pantothenic acid, according to the World's Healthiest Foods website.
Additional nutrients include boron, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium and zinc. Honey also provides a trace of the amino acids aspartate and proline.
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