This weekend as I watched my youngest son play soccer I chatted with another mom about my weight-loss experience. I haven’t seen her since the early fall, so she was quite surprised when she saw me. We discussed proper diet and nutrition, and one of the foods we discussed in detail was honey.
Honey has become my sweetener of choice. With sugar being a refined carbohydrate that can lead to weight gain and with low-calorie sweeteners having possible health risks, I have opted to choose God’s natural sweetener—honey.
Honey is a great nutrient source. Not only is it sweet, but it is a powerful antioxidant, an antibacterial, and an antifungal. It gives me energy that sustains me throughout the day and helps me to fight off allergy symptoms when local bee honey is used.
In Genesis 43 honey is referred to as a balm. In fact, honey is an antibacterial and antifungal which is great for topical use to aid in healing wounds, scrapes, burns, and acne. It contains many vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that help nourish the skin and help the skin stay hydrated.
Deuteronomy 32 refers to honey as nourishment. Since honey contains a large amount of enzymes it aids in digestion and although it contains more calories than sugar it digests at a much slower rate, so it is less likely to cause sugar spikes in the bloodstream. Studies have found that honey is not a contributing factor of weight gain, unlike its counterpart sweeteners.
In Proverbs 24, God commands us to eat honey, as it is good and sweet. He even compares His word to sweet honey. Just as I try to begin each day in His word, I try to begin each day with honey. I often use it in my coffee, but my favorite quick and easy breakfast is peanut butter with honey (rather than jelly) on whole wheat. This quick easy sandwich is high in nutrients, low in calories, and sustains me for several hours.
It’s no wonder that God led the children of Israel to a land flowing with milk and honey. With so many health benefits honey is a relatively inexpensive sweetener that we all can enjoy and gain from.
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