Honey has a special place in the Ayurvedic lifestyle. It's magic is related to two important concepts: Ojas and Sattva.
Ojas translates to "vital sap" or "vigor". Deepak Chopra explains that "Ojas is the pure and subtle substance that’s extracted from food that has been completely digested. Ojas circulates throughout the bodily tissues and heart, sustaining the physical self, bringing clarity to the mind and balancing the emotions."
This is directly related to the energetic quality of sattva, which is pure, balanced energy. Enhancing the ojas in our system helps create sattva, and as Mr. Chopra so eloquently states, "when the body produces ojas, the vital nectar of life, we feel blissful. The cells sing with happiness because both the mind and the body are receiving the nourishment they need."
So, what does honey have to do with these two important ingredients to good health and happiness? According to Chopra, the most sattvic foods include organic milk, almonds, sesame, rice, fruits and honey.
John Immel, a certified Ayurvedic practitioner and the creator of the Joyful Belly website concurs. "Consuming honey daily as a food is advocated in Ayurveda to promote good health and strength.
Bees actually pre-digest honey, giving it qualities of heat, astringency, and a little dryness, qualities you won't find in any other sweetener. Yet, these qualities are essential to balancing the normally cold, damp weight gaining properties of other simple sugars."
These heating and drying qualities help to balance the Kapha dosha, which manifests as heaviness and lethargy. The warmth of honey stimulates your tongue, raises your heart rate and metabolism, and warms your entire body. These qualities make it a perfect sweetener for the cold, damp winter and spring seasons.
Dr. Immel notes that the metabolic stimulating effects of honey helps the body burn fat. Honey also has a cleansing effect. Because of these two qualities, he suggests combining honey and lemon juice with lukewarm water and sipping in the morning as a detoxifier.
The heating and metobolic-enhancing qualities of honey make it a key ingredient in many rejuvenating and re-energizing formulas, and it's often used medicinally to enhance the healing properties of other herbs. Try a spoonful of honey as a pick-me-up when energy is low.
Now, all of the above come from the Ayurvedic lineage, and may not yet be supported by western medicine and science. However, honey's benefits as a cough suppressant and a tonic for sore throats is recognized more broadly, and it doesn't carry the side-effects of narcotics. In addition, honey's drying qualities help it function as an expectorant, breaking up mucus in the upper respiratory system. It's one sweetener that won't lead to clogging mucus.
Two notes about honey: it's a known fact that children younger than 1 year should never be fed honey, as their systems cannot tolerate natural bacterias that may be present. Also, honey should not be subjected to high heat or be cooked, as this changes the structure. Ayurveda suggests that this change makes the honey actually toxic to the system.
To learn about honey produced in our own local area and ecosystem, and to experience some helpful recipes using this honey, join us at the studio Saturday, 11/23 from 9:00 - 11:00am. Frank Saballus will be there to discuss his bees and hives, and Judi will be sharing uses of honey. This is free.
Ojas translates to "vital sap" or "vigor". Deepak Chopra explains that "Ojas is the pure and subtle substance that’s extracted from food that has been completely digested. Ojas circulates throughout the bodily tissues and heart, sustaining the physical self, bringing clarity to the mind and balancing the emotions."
This is directly related to the energetic quality of sattva, which is pure, balanced energy. Enhancing the ojas in our system helps create sattva, and as Mr. Chopra so eloquently states, "when the body produces ojas, the vital nectar of life, we feel blissful. The cells sing with happiness because both the mind and the body are receiving the nourishment they need."
So, what does honey have to do with these two important ingredients to good health and happiness? According to Chopra, the most sattvic foods include organic milk, almonds, sesame, rice, fruits and honey.
John Immel, a certified Ayurvedic practitioner and the creator of the Joyful Belly website concurs. "Consuming honey daily as a food is advocated in Ayurveda to promote good health and strength.
Bees actually pre-digest honey, giving it qualities of heat, astringency, and a little dryness, qualities you won't find in any other sweetener. Yet, these qualities are essential to balancing the normally cold, damp weight gaining properties of other simple sugars."
These heating and drying qualities help to balance the Kapha dosha, which manifests as heaviness and lethargy. The warmth of honey stimulates your tongue, raises your heart rate and metabolism, and warms your entire body. These qualities make it a perfect sweetener for the cold, damp winter and spring seasons.
Dr. Immel notes that the metabolic stimulating effects of honey helps the body burn fat. Honey also has a cleansing effect. Because of these two qualities, he suggests combining honey and lemon juice with lukewarm water and sipping in the morning as a detoxifier.
The heating and metobolic-enhancing qualities of honey make it a key ingredient in many rejuvenating and re-energizing formulas, and it's often used medicinally to enhance the healing properties of other herbs. Try a spoonful of honey as a pick-me-up when energy is low.
Now, all of the above come from the Ayurvedic lineage, and may not yet be supported by western medicine and science. However, honey's benefits as a cough suppressant and a tonic for sore throats is recognized more broadly, and it doesn't carry the side-effects of narcotics. In addition, honey's drying qualities help it function as an expectorant, breaking up mucus in the upper respiratory system. It's one sweetener that won't lead to clogging mucus.
Two notes about honey: it's a known fact that children younger than 1 year should never be fed honey, as their systems cannot tolerate natural bacterias that may be present. Also, honey should not be subjected to high heat or be cooked, as this changes the structure. Ayurveda suggests that this change makes the honey actually toxic to the system.
To learn about honey produced in our own local area and ecosystem, and to experience some helpful recipes using this honey, join us at the studio Saturday, 11/23 from 9:00 - 11:00am. Frank Saballus will be there to discuss his bees and hives, and Judi will be sharing uses of honey. This is free.
