Honey to the Rescue

Well, I got completely knocked down with a cold this past weekend and I’m finally starting to feel normal again. Even though I was scarfing down vegetables last week, my immune system was no match for a group of people at my work who came in and spread their cold and flu germs. Note to others: please stay home if you are hacking and coughing all over the place. : )

Anyways, I found some solace over the past few days with hot tea and honey. It feels great on my throat and unlike artificial sweeteners and regular sugar, honey has cold-fighting antioxidants that help your body fight back. If you’re having a major coughing attack, try eating a spoonful of honey to coat your throat. It certainly tastes better than traditional cough syrup! Look out for darker varieties of honey (like buckwheat) because they are likely to contain higher levels of antioxidants than lighter varieties.

Oh, and don’t worry about honey having more calories than regular sugar. A recent study found that overweight or obese people who consumed 2.5 ounces of honey every day for 30 days reduced their LDL and total cholesterol while maintaining or losing their current weight.

Here’s a few ways to add honey to your daily diet: put a spoonful in your coffee or tea, eat it on a piece of wheat toast with almond or peanut butter, drizzle it over the top of any chicken dish or salad, or add it to oatmeal as a sweetener. The possibilities are endless.