Cool Things about Honey and Maple Syrup
Doing Well
Honey and maple syrup are two of nature's best sweeteners, although technically I must concede that maple syrup is not really a "natural" sweetener. After all, to produce maple syrup you have to boil the sap from the maple tree and condense it. I believe there are other parts of the process, too. So maple syrup is not really "natural" but at least we're not adding anything to it (I hope).
Unlike sugar both maple syrup and honey have flavor. I guess sugar has a flavor but all I can taste when I eat pure sugar is sweetness, which is not a flavor to me. Even molasses has some sort of flavor but I don't like that very much. Maybe that is why I am not fond of brownies.
Honey and maple syrup both share a few things in common that make them great foods. Both have antibacterial properties.
A paper presented to the American Chemical Society showed that an extract made from maple syrup enhances some antibiotics used to treat illnesses. This is great news to people who turn to pancakes and waffles when they are taking antibiotics that cause stomach problems. Just use a teaspoon of maple syrup and it helps you feel better while helping you get healthy again.
And now if you have pain in the joints here is another reason to enjoy a little bit of real maple syrup on those pancakes and waffles: researchers also discovered that maple syrup fights inflammation. Oh, my joints are aching right now!
What I think is most fascinating is just how complex maple syrup is. One scientist and his team found 54 compounds in maple syrup, including 20 that had not been found in nature before. And so despite the fact that maple syrup is a source of dietary sugar, researchers now recognize that it can help fight disease (including diabetes). In other words, not all sugary foods are just empty calories.
The darker maple syrups tend to have more healthy compounds in them, too. I believe that is because they are harvested later in the growing season than the lighter maple syrups. In fact, I find the flavor of dark maple syrup to be more intense and satisfying. Unfortunately there is a lot of confusion around maple syrup. The international standards for grading maple syrup were changed in 2015. What used to be called "Grade B Maple Syrup" (the best, in my opinion) is now "Grade A Dark with Robust Taste" maple syrup. This new nomenclature struck me as stupid at first but I am growing accustomed to it. And it does describe the quality of the maple syrup better.
Although I would not suggest you start chugging maple syrup as a home remedy for your ailments, it is definitely a much healthier food than anti-sugar activists would have you believe. That is what comes of people practicing pseudo-science.
And honey is also a great food. Everyone knows that bees have been making honey for about 100 million years. It's a great food for them and it also lasts a really long time. In fact, honey is the only food that -- when properly stored -- will last for thousands of years.
Like maple syrup honey also has antibacterial properties. In fact, it is also an antiviral and antifungal food. The reason why you cannot give honey to very young children is that natural honey has spores in it. The spores won't grow in the honey but it preserves them. The spores can turn into botulism when consumed and very young children don't yet have sufficient immunity to deal with that.
Scientists have found that the darker a honey is the more powerful its medicinal effect is. But it also depends on where the bees get their nectar. The Manuka plant in New Zealand has some amazing natural compounds that make Manuka honey the most powerful medicinal honey in the world.
Other dark honeys that are used for medicinal purposes include buckwheat honey and black forest honey. Although light colored maple syrup and honey are delicious, they are not considered suitable for treating bacterial infections. You could probably take normal table honey and put it on an open wound like a cut and then put a bandage on it but hospitals like to use Manuka honey for serious wound treatment.
I like honey and maple syrup. When I began to learn about how healthy they can be I was happy. I realize that you don't want to consume a lot of these foods. They are still sugary foods. You need to limit how much sugar you take in every day and many of our foods are already packed with sugars. But if I ever have to evacuate my home for a long period of time, like during a global apocalypse, I think I'll take some honey or maple syrup with me just in case.