Honey is a type of honey brewed in a beehive by honey bees from the nectar obtained from flowering plants. It is an oversaturated solution of sugar, which can crystallize at low temperatures. The crystallizing component is glucose, while the part that does not crystallize is mainly fructose.
Honey not only serves as a food item but also has medicinal value. It is an excellent health food that many people like to drink with water.
After honey has been stored for a long time, some people may worry if it has gone bad. Will drinking water with such honey have any impact on health? If you are curious about this question, let’s explore it together.
What are the nutritional values of honey?
1. Boosting immunity
Honey can boost immunity to a certain extent. It contains minerals and various enzymes that can help regulate the weakened body and low immunity situations. However, if you have stomach diseases or high blood sugar issues, it is advisable to consume honey sparingly, as it may lead to increased blood sugar levels and irritate the stomach lining.
2. Delaying aging
Honey can help in anti-aging due to its high content of fruit acid components. It can maintain the stability of other hormone levels in the body and promote normal circulation, thus improving facial skin and achieving the anti-aging effect.
3. Alleviating menstrual pain
Milk with honey can effectively alleviate menstrual pain. Women suffering from menstrual pain can drink a glass of warm milk with a spoonful of honey before bedtime. This is mainly because the potassium in milk and magnesium in honey can help relieve menstrual symptoms.
4. Preventing osteoporosis
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Human Nutrition Center found that honey can prevent osteoporosis in middle-aged and elderly women caused by calcium loss. The fructose and glucose in honey can be quickly absorbed and utilized by the body, improving fatigue symptoms, making it a suitable health drink for middle-aged and elderly women.
5. Preventing constipation
Honey water indeed has a certain intestinal lubrication and laxative effect. This is due to the organic acids and enzymes richly present in honey water, which can aid in digestion. Additionally, the vitamins and minerals in honey water can improve gastrointestinal function. Moreover, the fatty acids and acetylcholine in honey water can promote gastrointestinal motility, helping to prevent constipation.
Can one consume honey after three years? Let’s hear what the doctor has to say.
Accidentally consuming spoiled honey can lead to health risks. Not only do the nutritional components of honey diminish with microbial reproduction, but the growth and reproduction of microbes can also produce harmful by-products, which may cause adverse symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting.
If it is pure honey without any artificial additives or processing, it generally does not spoil. This is because pure natural honey has very low water content, high sugar content, and contains substances that can inhibit bacterial growth. In this case, if stored properly, spoilage is unlikely to occur.
To determine if honey has spoiled, check if there is moisture in it. Spoiled honey may develop foam-like floating particles. The taste may also change when consumed, making it relatively easy to ascertain if honey has spoiled.
What are the characteristics of spoiled honey?
1. Sour taste
Spoiled honey often has a pronounced sour taste due to osmotolerant yeasts converting sugar substances in honey into ethanol. Under certain conditions, ethanol can further oxidize into acetic acid, resulting in a strong sour taste in honey. However, if there is only a slight sour taste, it may be considered normal, as honey itself contains a significant amount of organic acids and acidic substances.
2. Texture becomes thinner
Honey is usually thick in consistency before crystallization. If the texture of honey significantly thins, it indicates spoilage. The primary culprit for honey texture thinning is yeast, as yeast reproduction consumes the sugar in honey and produces excess water, resulting in the honey becoming thin.
3. Abundant foam
Enzymes in honey continue to act after honey is separated from the beehive, leading to some minor bubbles in honey, which is normal. However, when there is an abundance of bubbles in honey, it is abnormal and is caused by yeast breaking down the sugar in honey and producing carbon dioxide. If honey is stored in a sealed plastic bottle, the bottle may even swell.
What precautions should be taken when consuming honey?
1. Do not consume on an empty stomach
Avoid consuming honey on an empty stomach, as the sugars present in honey, such as fructose, can accelerate gastric acid secretion. Excessive gastric acid secretion can damage the gastric mucosa. Prolonged consumption of honey on an empty stomach can lead to increased acidity in the body, potentially causing gastric ulcers or other stomach problems.
2. Do not mix with tea
Drinking honey with tea can affect the digestion and absorption of nutritional elements, as tea is traditionally brewed with hot water. The nutritional substances in honey can be damaged at high temperatures, and the nutritional elements in tea may oxidize the components of honey, affecting the nutritional value of honey.
3. Avoid drinking honey water before bedtime
Consuming honey water, with a high solute concentration, close to bedtime may not fulfill the purpose of drinking water before sleeping. Additionally, honey contains a high amount of sugar. Consuming honey water before sleep can easily convert these sugars into fats, leading to weight gain.
4. Do not use hot boiling water
Avoid using hot boiling water to prepare honey water. Exposing honey to 67°C for an extended period can cause the starch enzymes present in honey to break down. When consuming honey, it is recommended to use lukewarm water, with a temperature not exceeding 60°C. Pouring hot water into honey not only destroys its rich nutrients but also changes its natural color, aroma, and taste.
5. Diabetics
Diabetic patients are not advised to consume honey. Although honey can provide the body with abundant minerals, energy, and moisture, it contains a high percentage of glucose and fructose. Consuming honey can significantly raise blood sugar levels in diabetic patients, leading to fluctuations in blood sugar levels. Therefore, diabetic patients are advised to refrain from consuming honey.
6. People with diarrhea
Diarrhea is mostly caused by inflammatory infections or acute enteritis from colds, consuming unclean or irritating foods, leading to symptoms of intestinal inflammation exhibiting mucosal bleeding, edema, and increased osmotic pressure, resulting in aggravated diarrhea.
Patients with diarrhea should avoid consuming honey, as it has a high content of dietary fiber, which can exacerbate symptoms of diarrhea, potentially intensifying the symptoms of bloating and excessive gas formation.
