Honeycomb and its importance in promoting health

A honeycomb is a structure made of hexagonal wax cells created by bees, where each cell is filled with raw honey. This structure contains hollow prisms stacked in an arrangement to form a beehive, which is made of beeswax. It is produced by the 8 glands present in a honeybee. Waxy cells can also be chewed like gum.

In each compartment of the hive, the queen honeybee lays an egg. You can munch out the wax, and honeycomb, and even consume honey, which is worthy of a taste delight. Raw & Pure Honey is better than commercial honey, as it’s not pasteurized or filtered. Sometimes, honeycomb might also contain propolis, royal jelly, and bee pollen, which are additional products with health benefits.

Medicinal Benefits of using honeycomb -

1. Promotes Heart Health – Honeycomb boosts your heart’s health. According to research, alcohol, and long chains, fatty acids present in beeswax can reduce anyone’s blood cholesterol levels. High cholesterol is the root cause of heart disease. Another research highlights how beeswax alcohols lower bad LDL cholesterol by 29 percent and increase good HDL cholesterol by 8 to 15 percent. Also, honey has been found to provide similar benefits when used as an alternative to sugar. Moreover, antioxidants present in them can help in the dilation of arteries which leads to your heart.

2. May help in protecting against infections – Honeycomb can boost your immunity and help you fight certain fungi and bacteria. Some of them include Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus, Candida Albicans and E.coli. Honey also has antimicrobial properties; it might help you protect the gut from the intestine’s parasite Giardia lamblia.

3. May help improve liver function – Honeycomb contributes to a healthier liver. In a study followed for 24 weeks, a group of people was daily given a mixture of beeswax alcohols suffering from the liver disease. 48 percent of those present in this group found a decrease in symptoms like nausea, bloating, and abdominal pain. Whereas, in comparison, only 8% were in a placebo group. Also, 28% of them found their liver functioning returned to normal.

4. Might reduce Coughing in kids -- It can also help in reducing coughing in kids. They are more susceptible to upper respiratory tract infections which result in coughing. As per research, honeycomb and its products may help in suppressing the cough. Having 2.5 ml of buckwheat honey before bedtime was found to be more effective in comparison to cough syrup.

Potential Dangers of Honeycomb

It is generally safe to consume. However, as it contains honey there is a contamination risk from Botulinum spores. Which is harmful, particularly for children under the age of 12 months and pregnant women. Also, in certain cases, eating a large quantity of honeycomb can cause obstructions in the stomach. So, to minimize the risk of this, you can limit your consumption or just spit out waxy cells in between. Moreover, if you are prone to allergies from bee pollen or venom then some precautions must be taken to prevent an allergic reaction.