5 ways you can sweeten your life with honey
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It’s delicious on hearty toast and delightful in herbal tea… there’s a reason why honey has been popular across the world for millennia.
Thankfully, it turns out honey’s exceptionally good for you too – packed with antioxidants and antibacterial properties, it’s one of nature’s natural healers.
So try out these five ways to get more of the sweet stuff in your everyday life and see if you feel the difference.
1. Nourish your hair
Honey is a humectant, which means it extracts moisture from the air and seals it in to maintain hydration. That’s why Herbal Essences has used it as the main ingredient in its new Bee Strong with Honey Essences and Conditioner.
The rich, creamy formula helps to repair any damage to the protective outer layer of the hair, while replenishing silkiness to leave your hair feeling strong and irresistible.
2. Soften your skin
Honey has long been used as a cleanser and moisturiser, thanks to its near-magical ability to soften and heal the skin. Try combining it with almond oil and brown sugar to make a rich face scrub, or use on its own as an effective moisturiser for dry patches – washing off after 20 minutes or so. Or you could just combine it with a little warm water to make a lovely face wash.
3. Work out better
If you find you need a little extra energy for your workout, don’t turn to energy drinks or gels – just have a little honey, either on its own or in a drink. Taken before or during exercise, it’ll give you a boost that’s just as effective as expensive dextrose gels – but is a much more natural option.
4. Save on waste
Did you know that honey can last centuries? In fact, even the honey found with Egyptian mummies was stable enough to eat. That means, theoretically, you’ll never have to throw any out – no matter how long it’s been sitting in your cupboard. So even if you just have a little dollop on your porridge every now and then, you can keep coming back to the same trusty bottle time and again.
It’s also traditionally been used to treat wounds and has now been proven to have natural antibacterial properties, so pop some in your first-aid box – it will keep in there too!
5. Sort out your cough and cold
When you’re feeling under the weather, the soothing effect of honey on a sore throat and stuffed sinuses is undeniable. In fact, even the NHS recommends using honey at the first signs of acute coughs or respiratory infections, in anyone over the age of one. The NHS’s recipe: squeeze half a lemon into a mug of boiled water, add 1-2 teaspoon of honey and drink while still warm.
Do you have any great ideas for using honey? We’d love to hear them – why not leave them in the comments box below.