- Composition and benefits
- Contraindications
- Methods of use
- Helpful tips
- Best recipes
- Questions and answers
Honey contains many carbohydrates and no fats. Due to its high volume of vitamins, it is used as a medicine to treat many illnesses. Thanks to its antioxidants, it is actively used in cosmetology. It is quite calorie-rich, as it contains about 330 kcal per 100 g, however, despite the sweetness and high energy value, it is still used in many diet methods.
It is time to reveal the secrets: is honey actually helpful for losing weight, or is it a modern-day ploy to make everyone slim and fit?
Composition and benefits
Due to the unique composition of this beekeeping product, its properties can also be used for weight loss, despite its high calorie composition and the presence of glucose and fructose. Besides these, it contains a very large amount of vitamins and other substances that activate metabolism, blood flow, stimulate the functioning of excretory systems and, most importantly, help burn subcutaneous fat reserves.
If you do not overeat, follow the proportions, and know how to combine honey with other dietary products, you can achieve excellent results.
- Antioxidants
When a person loses weight, the fat molecules in his body gradually decay. This results in free radicals becoming unbound, which are known for their negative effect on health. This is why doctors unanimously oppose any diets that deplete the body.
Consuming honey during this period enriches your cells with antioxidants (including catalase, halogens, pinocembrin, chrysin and pinocembrin), which can neutralize those harmful free radicals. From this point of view, nutritionists strongly recommend choosing dark varieties of honey for weight loss. Compared to light types, they contain more antioxidants.
- Nutrients
In the process of losing weight, a person loses not only kilograms, but also beneficial substances along with energy. This often leads to weakness, decreased performance, dizziness and other unpleasant side effects. If you eat a small amount of honey every day during your diet, this can be avoided. After all, it contains many vitamins (pyridoxine, riboflavin, acids – ascorbic, pantothenic, and nicotinic) and microelements (iron, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, zinc, etc.).
- Glucose
Another component of honey, glucose, successfully combats the problem of fatigue that is described above. Along with fructose, they become a useful, natural and very necessary source of energy for the body during difficult weight loss periods. The main thing is not to overdo it, otherwise all their benefits will turn into fat reserves.
- Glycemic index
Any product consumed by a person affects the level of sugar in his blood in one way or another. If it rises within minutes of the food entering the stomach, nutritionists refer to it as having a high glycemic index (hereinafter referred to as GI). This leads to an increase in appetite and the accumulation of fat. If the GI of the food is low, sugar enters the blood slowly and in portions, without causing hunger and without provoking the formation of extra rolls.
The glycemic index of honey is approximately 50 to 70 (the rate depends on the variety), and it is considered one of the lowest. Therefore, it is recommended to actively use it for losing belly fat, which is the most problematic area of the female body.
So the benefits of honey as a tool for intensive weight loss are far from a myth, despite all its sweetness and high calorie content. This is a scientifically proven fact that is beyond doubt. So why can you read comments that say that this product only leads to weight gain? Most likely, it is simply being consumed incorrectly.
Etymology. According to one version, “honey” is a word of Greek origin: “μέθυ” translates as “intoxicating beverage”. This is connected to the fact that it was previously considered almost the only product from which fairly strong alcoholic beverages could be prepared. Some scholars find ancient Hebrew roots in the word and translate it as “magic spell”.
Contraindications
In order for weight loss with honey to justify the hopes placed on it, contraindications must be taken into account for its active consumption. One sandwich per month is unlikely to lead to serious changes in your body. However, a diet course involves its regular use: in dishes, drinks (for example, with ginger water), as an external anti-cellulite agent.
The result is that its impact will increase every day. Organs and systems that cannot fully function due to a medical condition begin to fail – well-being worsens – and one must admit defeat in the fight against excess weight.
So remember the contraindications for this method of losing weight:
- diabetes;
- allergies;
- any pulmonary diseases: pneumosclerosis, emphysema, pulmonary infarction, bronchial asthma, tuberculosis, obstructive bronchitis, bleeding of any origin;
- cardiovascular problems: cardiac asthma, heart disease, myocarditis;
- improper functioning of the stomach: pancreatitis, peptic ulcer of any part, enterocolitis, gastritis;
- cholelithiasis/nephrolithiasis;
- rheumatism;
- cholecystitis;
- any types of dermatosis and diathesis.
Each of these diseases is so serious that their complications will not pass without harm to health. So no figure, even the slimmest, is worth such sacrifices. First, undergo an examination, make an appointment with a doctor if you have any doubts. If you have one of these contraindications, you will have to give up losing weight with honey and choose another way to correct your body.
Interesting fact. Honey is one of the few products that does not spoil. For example, an amphora with this amazing product was found in the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun (1330 BC) – and over all these centuries it has not lost its taste or beneficial properties.
Methods of use
To use honey as a weight loss tool, you need to understand the methods of its use. There are quite a few of them, and each has its own distinctive features.
Independent dietary product
Honey can be used as an independent dietary product for weight loss. In order for it to start the necessary processes in the body, it can be used according to specially developed schemes:
- drink honey in the morning on an empty stomach: 1 tablespoon, washed down with a glass of water;
- honey water half an hour before breakfast;
- honey tea between meals;
- a tablespoon of honey at night will make the stomach work at full strength, leaving no fat in reserve.
However, you need to understand that if you do not restrict yourself in nutrition, none of these schemes will work. And we are not talking about strict diets. It is enough just to follow the daily routine and adhere to the principles of proper nutrition. The absence of harmful products in the diet, supported by regular consumption of honey, will show you excellent results on the scales in just a month.
Within the framework of a diet
If in the previous case the lost kilograms will not be so many (3-4 per month), then much more can be achieved by consuming honey on a diet for weight loss. Moreover, it can be any diet: protein, carbohydrate, fat, etc.
This product will be excellent support for the body during this difficult period for it. At the very least, it will not feel a lack of nutrients and will not provoke a decline in strength. Possible regimens:
- instead of sugar to sweeten tea or coffee;
- drink raw honey water in the morning on an empty stomach or in the intervals between meals;
- as a relaxing agent – in the evening;
- a teaspoon at breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Regular and correct consumption of honey against the background of any diet is a 100% guarantee of weight loss.
