Honey is the product of the transformation, carried out by the bees, produced by the secretions of the flowers (that is the nectar) and the secretions of some insects (the honeydew).
In Father Zago’s Aloe juice, in percentage terms, honey accounts for almost 60% of the total product. It is clear that honey is one of the essential elements of the juice and for its good effectiveness it is necessary that the honey is organic and of excellent quality.
“But exactly why is honey used?
Honey has always been considered an excellent energizing food, able to enhance our immune system and to perform many beneficial actions on the body, properties that I will explain soon.
In Father Romano Zago’ s recipe, organic bee honey is used for several reasons.
- The first and most important reason is that honey acts as a carrier, allowing Aloe to penetrate deep into the body. Without honey, Aloe would not have the same effectiveness;
- The second reason is that honey acts as a preservative. You may already know that honey is the only food that never expires, by mixing it with Aloe, even the latter will be preserved for much longer (usually about a month);
- Honey it is sweet, while in the opposite, the Aloe is terribly bitter and there are very few people who can bear its taste. That’s why honey also has a sweetening action, facilitating the intake of Aloe also for the most delicate palates.
For those who suffer from diabetes
In his book, Father Romano Zago underlines how both honey and Aloe are two foods that by their nature can help the patient to cure both cancer and diabetes.
For this to happen, however, it is important to choose and use products of the highest quality, buying only genuine organic honey, produced by serious beekeepers who do not use neither antibiotic on bees, nor pesticides on plants.
It is also important that honey has been well covered from the sun’s rays and that it has not been overheated becoming liquid. Both the heat and the sun’s rays are enemies of honey, as they destroy many of its active ingredients.
Can I replace honey with something else?
It would be better not to, as already mentioned, honey is an essential element of the recipe.
However, some people are allergic to honey.
In this case, Father Zago recommends replacing it with fruit (to be blended, or already squeezed), or with vegetables, or with legumes.
Properties of Honey
Organic honey by itself is an extraordinary food that, if taken in certain doses, can help the body to stay healthy and to recover from several ailments.
Let’s see its properties.
1. Antibiotic
Honey is an excellent natural antibiotic that for centuries has been used to alleviate various health discomforts. For example, it is very effective when dissolved in a cup of warm water (not in the milk!), adding lemon juice, to disinfect the upper respiratory tract, preventing and counteracting cough, cold and sore throat. For the same reason, honey is also useful spread on wounds to disinfect and speed up the healing process.
2. Anti-inflammatory
Honey is an excellent anti-inflammatory, it can even be used on wounds and insect bites to mitigate the pain.
3. Rich in antioxidants
It is rich in polyphenols, natural antioxidants that help the body in preventing numerous diseases and slowing down the aging process, for which free radicals are mainly responsible.
4. Easy to digest
Honey compared to most foods has the property to be more digestible. The assimilation of honey does not require any effort. It contains almost 99% almost exclusively simple sugars (glucose-fructose), as well as vitamins, mineral salts and enzymes.
Beware of liquid honey
Not everyone knows that honey, except for some cases, crystallizes within a few days. So always be wary when you find at the supermarket glass containers with liquid honey.
Some types of honey crystallize more slowly, remaining liquid for many months. An example is acacia honey and fir honey.
In the honey industry it is often used pasteurization to make the product liquid. During this process the honey is brought to temperatures exceeding 60 ° C. At these temperatures, many of its active ingredients are irreparably destroyed, compromising their quality.
For the same reason, to fully enjoy the properties of honey, for those who use it as a sweetener in tea, or in other drinks, it is advisable never to add it when they are hot, but only and always when they are drinkable, because too much high temperature takes away most of the honey’s properties.
