Honey - the New Super Food

28 September 2006

Honey is “Much more than a liquid sweetener.” That’s the verdict from the doctor who has added honey to the “Super Foods” list - nutritional powerhouses we can’t afford to ignore if want to prevent and reverse chronic diseases as we grow older.

In his latest book Super Foods Health Style, Steven Pratt MD named honey as a New Super Food, joining a list of more than 20 powerhouse foods that dramatically improve health, vigor and longevity. What makes honey so special? What are the other Super Foods and how easy is it to add them to your daily menu?

Super Food No 1 – Honey

Why Honey?
Because of its anti oxidant power, effectiveness in increasing good bacteria in the colon, reducing toxins in the intestine, helping reduce cholesterol and blood pressure, it sustains good blood sugar levels, and because it inhibits viruses, yeasts, bacteria and fungi.

How Much Honey Should I Eat?

1 to 2 teaspoons multiple times a week.
Ways to Use Honey
• Add a tablespoon to smoothies and shakes
• Snack on sliced apple or pear drizzled with honey sprinkled with cinnamon
• Make a honey-mustard salad by mixing a few tablespoons of honey with Dijon mustard, a drizzle of lemon juice and about a 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil. Delicious served on peppery greens like arugula (rocket)
• Steep 2 green tea bags in 3 ozs of hot water for 3 minutes. Squeeze the tea bags into the water and add ½ to 1 teaspoon of honey plus 4 to 5 ozs of soy milk. Stir and enjoy.
• Toast 1 slice of whole grain bread and spread with natural peanut butter and dark honey, sprinkled with cinnamon.
• Use Honeybalm in any of the ways suggested above and get the additional benefit of relief for muscle and joint pain.
• In terms of antioxidant power, not all honeys are created equal. In general, the darker the honey the more antioxidants it contains.

The Other Super Foods and How To Use Them

Best selling author Steven Pratt is an ophthalmologist who wanted to prevent his patients getting age-related blindness (Macular degeneration.)

The Super Foods listed in his book SuperFoods RX have research-proven effectiveness to prevent or reverse the chronic illnesses of aging – cancer, Type II diabetes, hypertension, obesity and Alzheimer’s.

Some of his practical suggestions for how to include them in your life:
• Keep separate plastic containers in the frig with dry roasted sunflower seeds, almonds, walnuts, dry-roasted peanuts, pistachios and pumpkin seeds, and have a handful of two different nuts and seeds every day.
• Take generous servings of full fruit berry preserves on toast (blueberry and boysenberry)
• Drink lots of green and black tea.
• Drink full grape juice or pomegranate juice with sparkling water with main meals
• Eat a cup of berries every day.
• Put ground flax seed on cereal or dessert.
• Have a daily salad with spinach, bell pepper, cabbage, tomato, and chickpeas or beans.

Find out more about other Super Foods – the power packed nutrients which help combat aging – they include Beans, Blueberries, Broccoli, Oats, Oranges, Pumpkin, Salmon, Soy, Spinach, Tea, Tomatoes, Turkey, Walnuts and Yoghurt – and how to use them in Super Foods and How to Use Them - Part II.

* For more on SuperFoodsRX – including the other New Super Foods Kiwi, garlic, dark chocolate, onions and cinnamon - see Dr Pratt’s website.

Order Honeybalm - a creamy dark bush honey from New Zealand with added bee venom - and discover its antioxidant power.

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