Is raw honey more nutritious than processed honey?
In a recent article, ‘How are raw honey and regular honey different?’, Medical News Today explores the differences between raw and processed honey and whether there are any health benefits of eating on over another.
While people have been eating honey for thousands of years, there is still some debate over whether raw honey is better for you than regular honey. Raw honey is filtered only to remove small bits of debris, whereas regular honey is processed further, usually through pasteurisation and intense heating, leaving it clearer in colour.
While leaving the honey clearer in colour and can increase its shelf-life, pasteurisation removes bee pollen and bee propolis, the sticky substance that bees use to build their hives, and studies have shown that these two substances contain many healthful benefits such anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. That being said, the article highlighted that there have not been any large studies supporting these theories on raw honey as yet.
The health benefits of spirulina
Spirulina and spirulina products have boomed in popularity in recent years, with even a past Nutrition News touting its benefits, but a recent article entitled, ‘What Are the Benefits of Adding Spirulina to Your Diet? from Runner’s World has looked at the specific health benefits of the algae.
One of the specific health benefits of spirulina is its antioxidant content. In addition to this, it also has a comparatively high protein content by weight and levels of beta-carotene.
So, while there is no one reason to include spirulina in your diet, it does contain a number of vitamins and minerals and can support your diet to help make sure you get the optimum number of nutrients.
Can the Mediterranean diet curb hunger?
A recent study covered in the article, ‘Mediterranean diet can prevent overeating and protect against NAFLD, study claims’’ by Food Navigator, suggests that not only are there many nutritional health benefits to following a Mediterranean diet, but it can also help curb overeating.
The study carried out by scientists at Wake Forest School of Medicine in the US, found that despite comparable proportions of fat, protein and carbohydrates, when they got two groups to follow a Western and a Mediterranean diet, the western diet tended to overeat and gain weight.
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Alison is Director and Founder of Metabolics who writes about Metabolics updates, events and natural healthcare. Her experience and passion for natural supplements and healthcare comes from her years of experience as a practising osteopath, having founded Metabolics in her search for high quality, natural products in her own work. Alison has been a qualified and practising Osteopath since 1981 and regularly gives seminars on a range of healthcare subjects to the wider practitioner community helping share her knowledge and experience.