Honey is considered a great alternative to Sugar and is actually a medicine. But, there are many myths surrounding it. Hope this blogpost can clarify some of the myths. There are also different kinds of honey basis the season and we must also alter our consumption accordingly !
Mr. Japgal Phogat is a bee keeper and a part of the Living Without Medicine group. We have been getting organic honey from him for nearly a year now. The quality is outstanding and we know that it is pure. A simple test of purity is – ants, which don’t eat honey. If there are ants surrounding your bottle of honey then its probably got sugar.
…… शहद खाने के तरीक़े …… Ways to consume Honey
इस महामारी के संकट में शहद काफ़ी हद तक आप को अंदर ( इम्यूनिटी)से मज़बूत करता ह आइये जाने शहद का सेवन कैसे -कैसे कर सकते ह। (Translation – During this pandemic, eating honey provides you with immunity. Lets see the different ways in which you can consume it)
शहद एक पचा हुआ भोजन होता ह। शहद को पचाने के लिय किसी प्रकार के अमल की ज़रूरत नहीं होती। एसलिय शहद ना गर्म होता ह ना ठण्डा होता ह। शहद आप जिस पदार्थ के साथ खाओगे वेसी ही तासीर ( nature) अपना लेता ह। जैसे की आप शहद को गर्म दूध के साथ खाओगे तो गर्म करेगा और ठंडे दूध के साथ शीतलता परदान करेगा। तो आप ऋतु अनुसार शहद का प्रयोग पुरे वर्ष करे। (Translation – Honey is a pre-digested food. No enzyme is required to digest it. So the intrinsic quality, “taaseer” of honey is neither cold nor hot. Whatever food product you eat it with, it assumes that intrinsic quality. For instance, if you have it with warm milk, it will provide heat to the body, if you have it with cold milk, it will cool your body down. So you can use it according the season, right through the year.)
1-शहद को दूध में डाल कर पी सकते ह। You can have it with milk.
2- शहद को दही में डाल कर खा सकते ह। काफ़ी लाभदायक ह। चेहरे की झूरिया कम करताह। You can have it with curd, its extremely beneficial as it reduces wrinkles.
3-banana शेक में शहद डाले – With banana shake !
4-मेंगो शेक में, पपीता शेक , बेल का जूस में आप शहद का उपयोग करे। पुष्टि कारक ह। – Mango, papita, Bael juice – it can be had with all of them.
5-wheat grass बनाने के बाद एक चमच शहद मिला ले। – with Wheat grass.
6-दूध बादाम लस्सीमें खाँड़ की जगहअप्प शहद का उपयोग करे ताक़त का ख़ज़ाना ह।
7-निम्बू शिकंजी में शहद taste भी बढ़ाता ह और गुण भी – with lemon juice and shikanji.
8-ब्रेड के ऊपर , रोटी के ऊपर , सलाद के ऊपर हम शहद डाल कर खा सकते ह। with bread, rotis and salads
9-ग्रीन टी में शहद का प्रयोग करे। green tea can be sweetened with honey
10- चाय कप में डालने के बाद चीनी के बजाए आप शहद डाल कर पी सकते ह। With Tea ofcourse
11- सुबह – श्याम १-१ चमच शहद सीधा खा सकते ह। Morning and evening, you could just eat one spoonful.
शुद्ध शहद मंगवाने के लिय सम्पर्क करे आपका अपना किसान – To order pure honey contact your farmer
जगपाल सिंह फौगाट – Jagpal Singh Phogat; Mob -9416661961
Some Honey Myths Debunked
- Heating honey makes it poisonous – I had this misconception for the longest time. Actually it shouldn’t be heated because it loses all its medicinal properties, but its totally safe to consume.
- Weight gain ? – A much dreaded consequence. The misconception was that if you eat honey by itself or with cold water/milk, it will lead to weight gain. Well, as Mr. Phogat says its medicinal and doesn’t lead to weight gain whichever way you eat it.
- Processed/pasteurised is cleaner – Wrong again. Raw honey is the best as it retains all the nutrients. Raw honey is simply extracted from the hive using a filter like a muslin cloth. It comes loaded with anti-oxidants, Vit A and C, besides traces of Calcium and Magnesium. None of these are present in the processed version. So ditch the label. Also Pasteurisation means high heat… all the nutrients would be lost.
- Crystallised honey is bad – wrong ! During winters, pure honey does crystallise and its perfectly safe to eat.
Winter Special – Mustard Honey
Mr. Jagpal had posted about the Mustard honey right at the start of winters. As we have never eaten it before we ordered a bottle and have been eating it nearly every day. Its addictive. Creamy and sweet, its like eating fudge, but without the empty calories from sugar.
During summers I had also got Prosopis Juliflora Honey from Mr. Hemanth of Kiyora Life. This is only available during a short window. Prosopis Juliflora is known as Vilayati Babul or Jungli Kikar in Hindi. Its an invasive shrub native to Mexico, South America and the Caribbean. Thanks to Mrs. Indira Gandhi, all of Aravalli hills (what’s left after “development”) is covered with this.
This honey has a slightly different aroma. Its also has a greenish tinge.
Hemanth Ji had written the following about this honey –
“..Many of you have not heard honey of Prosopis juliflora. It is not available everywhere and period of Flower and Falli is hardly 2 months. Unlike other honey which are from flowers, Prosopis juliflora Honey is from its Falli. Honeybees extract sweet nector from these kikkar falli and convert it to honey.
So what is so special of Prosopis juliflora Honey ? Kikkar honey is very sweet in taste yet it does not have any after taste like ajwain, eucalyptus, lychee etc.
As most of you are aware kikkar is good for joint pain so honey from it also has some good effect of joint pain like “mustard honey”.
Prosopis juliflora is locally known as vilayati babul one of the most common tree of the Indian desert belonging to family Mimosacea. It has been reported that the plant contains anti bacterial, antifungal, anticancer, antioxidant, antimicrobial activity. It’s a wonderful tree for fuel, charcoal, firewood, and Timber. It serves as one of the main sources of fuel for the rural people due to its excellent burning qualities.
The extract of leaves shows very high antimicrobial activity. Prosopis juliflora is a deep rooted, sand dune stabilizers, multipurpose tree endemic to the hot deserts of India. Despite of number of uses it is known as serious invasive weed in most of the parts of world.”
Moringa Honey
This is an “Aushadi” or medicine. Mr. Patanjali is part of the Living Without Medicine group and has this amazing, no-till food forest called “Vanya” in Madhya Pradesh. All the Vanya products are as pure as they come because the land has never been tilled and no pesticides have ever been used.
Do try the Neem Giloy and Turmeric from Vanya. They are sold on this website – Svaguna.
The Moringa honey is very light and hasn’t crystallised at all. Tastes awesome.
Hope the day is as sweet as the topic of this blogpost.
Note : None of the honey mentioned in this post is expensive. They are very reasonably priced. So everyone can afford to try them and get the health benefits.
#Honey #GoOrganic