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Honey is one of the mysterious foods that have tickled the imagination of tech savvy people in this age. It is difficult for them to fathom how hordes of nondescript insects can produce such an amazing product. This wonder food is fascinating for more reasons than one, and scientists are trying to find out more uses of honey than those known so far. Ancient civilizations also recognized honey as a truly marvelous food with many excellent qualities. At one point in time during the Roman Empire the Romans paid honey as taxes. This reflects the importance of this wonder food in their lives, even if it was not for the entire thousand years of their rule. However, human civilization and honey existed much before the Roman Empire. Archeologists have found paintings dating back over 9,000 years in caves that have honey depicted in them. Human beings cherished honey since it was the only means of sweetening the food until refined sugar and molasses were discovered. There are roughly 300 different types of honey available to consumers today. Honey is available in a wide assortment of colors and flavors. The color and taste of honey is determined by the flowers that the bees collected the nectar from used in making the honey. The chemical composition of honey is nothing but that of a naturally refined sugar. But there is a slight difference. It has 38 percent fructose, 31 percent glucose, 1 percent sucrose, and 9 percent other sugars. It also has essential nutrients like vitamins, minerals, water and small amounts of amino acids. These nutrients namely, vitamins, minerals, and amino acids make honey particularly interesting for the scientists trying to find its medicinal benefits. You would be surprised to know that the honey found beside the mummies had not spoilt and was absolutely safe to eat. The reason this honey did not spoil is because honey is known to have a bioactive agent in it that inhibits the action of germs and bacteria on it. This also makes honey a very good topical treatment in case of burns and other wounds. It can prevent the wound or burn from becoming infected. However a thing to be remembered here is that the bioactive agent of honey breaks down in heat and light. So honey should always be preserved in a cool, dark place if you wish to retain its ability to repel bacteria. The most common form of honey is liquid honey though honey is available in different varieties as well. The process of collecting honey involves removing it from the comb using a centrifuge, straining, or just simple gravity. You may want to filter it to remove all the impurities and air bubbles. If you strain it, chances are that the smaller particles and air bubbles will remain. Honey is undoubtedly one of the sweetest substances on the earth and a perfect treat for taste buds. It is the only naturally refined sugar. It has loyally served the humanity from time unknown. It has properties to repel bacteria that made it safe to eat even after it laid buried beside the mummies for centuries. It indeed is a marvelous food. The scientists are busy discovering new medicinal uses of honey. Who knows what miracles lay hidden in it that can further benefit the humanity!!
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Gillian Stell is the owner of F honey, the web's premier resource for information about honey, For questions or comments about this article visit: www.flahoney.com/articles Visit our honey article directory for a completely unique version of this article.
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