Lim Sin Nee BST 13/14
What is HONEY ?
Honey is a sweet, thick sugary solution made by bees.
The composition of honey consists of varying proportions of fructose, glucose, water, oil and special enzymes produced by bees. (Glucose and fructose are types of sugar)
The first step in making honey begins when field bees fly from flower to flower collecting the sweet juices or nectar that a flower provides. With their tongues, the field bees suck out the nectar and store it in sacs within their bodies. After filling their sacs with these sweet juices, the field bees fly back to their bee hive and regurgitate the stored nectar into the mouths of house bees.
These house bees are assigned the job of adding enzymes from their bodies to the nectar.
The enzymes cause the water in the nectar to evaporate-thereby turning the nectar into honey. Lastly, the nectar is stored in a cell of a honeycomb. Overtime, the nectar ripens and becomes honey.
The buzz on honey...
· Honey is one of the easiest foods to digest.
· Honey is used in many cough syrups because its smooth, thick texture soothes throats.
· As a result of honey's unique ability to readily absorb air, it is often used as a moistening agent in baking.
· Honey comes in all types of colors and flavors. The color and flavor of honey depends on the how old the honey is and the kind of flower that the nectar was extracted from.
· Honey is laid down by bees as a food source. In cold weather or when food sources are scarce, bees use their stored honey as their source of energy
· Ripe honey, as removed from the hive by the beekeeper, has a long shelf life and will not ferment
· Topical honey has been used successfully in a comprehensive treatment of diabetic ulcers when the patient cannot use other topical antibiotics
· Antioxidants in honey have even been implicated in reducing the damage done to the colon in colitis Such claims are consistent with its use in many traditions of folk medicine
