We are so blessed to “bee in a world” where honey exists. Can you “bee-lieve” that this superfood is made by little fuzzy yellow insects? Honey is made from our friendly neighbourhood pals, collecting nectar and pollen from different flowers. Not only is honey a yummy ingredient to add to our hot lemon teas, cookies, cakes, candies, and more, but honey helps with anti-aging, and provides moisture, nutrients, antioxidants, and healing compounds to our skin.
However, don’t be fooled by the cute cartoons on the bottles at your local grocery stores. It’s best to use raw honey in your diet and everyday beauty routines because the antioxidants and enzymes are more active which lead to better results. Here are some of the weirdly unique uses that you can try. I think most of them are as sweet as honey.
1. Raw Honey Face Wash
Honey is a natural humectant, which means that it does an excellent job in drawing in moisture from the air around you and into your face. As well, it’s a great agent to fight and heal existing acne, scars, blemishes, redness, and unhealthy looking skin. By using raw honey, it soothes your skin in a gentle and healthy way, and naturally cleanses your skin with antibacterial properties.
Once a day (preferably in the morning because that’s the first moment in your day where your skin is completely untouched), take 1/2 teaspoon of honey and massage it in your fingers. You can add a few drops of water to give it a better texture.
Then, slowly apply it onto your face, spreading it as smoothly as possible onto your skin. Leave the honey on your skin for a maximum of 10 minutes, then rinse with warm water and pat your skin dry with a soft towel.
2. Raw Honey Emergency Kit
This is a simple, but extremely important way to use honey. In case we don’t make it to 2020, it’ll be very useful to have some finger-licking goodness in our emergency kits! Honey never spoils, so whenever you’re running out of food in these emergency situations, you can always count on this sweetness.
As well, honey includes glucose and fructose, so if you ever need to re-energize or make a quick getaway, honey will instantly keep your sugar levels in tack.
3. Get Sweeter Sleep
According to Healthy Wild and Free, mixing raw honey and salt helps you sleep better because it gives your body the best essential minerals to re-fuel and relax during the night. All you need is five teaspoons of raw honey and one teaspoon of Himalayan sea salt.
Simply mix these two ingredients together in a jar (which you can store for a whole week’s worth). Take a bit of the mixture and put it under your tongue just before you sleep. Inception-like dreams, here you come!
4. Raw Honey Cough Syrup
It’s flu season. What does that mean? It means that people beside you on the bus or skytrain will be coughing left and right. I don’t know about you, but I think coughs can be just as contagious as smiling.
If for some reason you are unfortunate enough to catch the flu, try this simple yet helpful raw honey cough syrup recipe so you can skip the manufactured and yucky-tasting ones from your local drugstore.
5. Raw Honey By Itself
My aunt swears by this, but whenever you’re feeling even a hint of the cold plaguing your body, take a big spoonful of raw honey and you’ll get all the natural antibacterial properties into your body without having to prepare anything. She says it always clears up her clogged throat, fights a deadly sore throat, and warms up her body. Medicine never tasted this sweet.
If you’ve ever watched The Bee Movie, you’ll learn that bees, despite the humorous fictional society they are portrayed in, actually play important roles in our everyday lives — they create this beautiful yet delicious superfood that we simply cannot live without. What could “bee” better?