Honey has always been one of my favorite foods, for me it is a sweet nectar that I never tire of. It contains vitamins A, B and C as well as minerals such as iron, calcium, copper and iodine. According to Ayurveda honey brings strength and beauty to the body and has many health benefits.
As a major tea connoisseur I naturally sweeten my tea with honey rather than sugar, a substance I prefer not to indulge in. During my panchakarma treatment at the Arya Vaidya Sala, naturally I have been learning Ayurvedic tips and I was told that when you add honey to hot water it becomes toxic. I verified this with one of the chief Ayurvedic Doctors and unfortunately it is true. Natural devastation.
Honey when heated above 40˚ C becomes toxic to the body, it creates excessive heat as toxins from the pollens are released and in turn unbalances the three doshas: vata, pitta and kapha. Honey should never be heated or mixed with hot foods or with alcohol. To think that all of these years I have been poisoning myself and unbalancing my doshas that I work to keep in balance, creating an unnecessary potential energy drain.
Knowing this may curtail my chai drinking habit I am sure. I also have a fondness of drinking white tea when I feel the need for caffeine stimulation though there is something about the synergy of milk and tea and the spices of masala chai that is so divine, especially on a cold and rainy Vancouver day. I will be in search of a new sweetener, we all need our vices, though I am not sure it will be locally sourced.
wow i did not know this and i luv honey and currently am taking propolis! in abundance here, and another amazing thing made by bees. THANKU rosalee ur writing is so sweet,informative, and makes me feel like i am taking honey with ur words.
I have been taking a lot of honey in my tea for about two months. Maybe 8 spoonfuls a day! Over the last few days I have become quite debilitated and my head has ached. This is very unusual for me as I consistently enjoy really good health. Then last night I began to lose the strength in my voice and couldn’t wait to get home to lie down. Scary!
I immediately stopped using honey and today I’m feeling much better!
very interesting about honey.
The sweetener I use in hot drinks, specifically liver cleanse tea, is blue agave. It looks very similar to honey but is much less fragrant.
Your stay in India must be coming to a close. Would love to get together sometime in Feb & hear more about it.
Jo
I was surprised to hear Agave is not a suitable alternative, check this out: http://www.westonaprice.org/modern-foods/1604-agave-nectar-worse-than-we-thought.html
In Ayurveda they suggest unrefined sugar as a sweetener.
Good post, thank you! i have at least two common things with you – I love honey and I did panchakarma at Arya Vaidya Sala too:) namaste:)
Thank-you Zoya for stopping by! It is a pleasure to *virtually* meet you!
Does that mean I should not not Honey into my hot coffee at all ?
I would say that in moderation a little honey in your coffee would be ok but when a known toxin is consumed daily it would be wise to cut that consumption back.
Thanks so much for the confirmation. I’ve been sweetening my coffee, rooibos tea and so on with honey for years. I knew that honey should not be used for baking or cooking, but recently I began to suspect that even the heat of a hot drink would cause some kind of mutation to the molecular structure of honey. I know that in Ayurveda it is said that heated honey becomes toxic to the nerves. I’ve stopped my practice of adding honey to hot drinks this morning. Let’s see what happens!
thnx a lott… i hd started drinking HALDI ka dudh for bttr..but had opted on honey rather than sugar…i ws doubting if i ws right..cz i hd heard frm my frnd dat honey n hot water creates poison..i didnt knw wat i ws doing for better would actuly is harming my body…thankfully its been only 3 days i v consumed it… thanku so much <3