Top 10 benefits and uses for honey

Random fact – there are over 250 types of bee in the UK and we’re on a mission to promote these amazing little creatures and the benefits that they provide.

Bees are said to be adding up to £600 million per year to the value of UK crops (yes, really! We didn’t know that either but got the data from the House of Commons library*).

But of course, we mostly thank these humble insects for providing us with honey. People have been using honey nutritionally and medicinally since ancient times. References track back as far as Aristotle in 354BC!

But what benefits, tips and tricks can you use honey for today. Here are our top 10 favourite uses.

1.Ditch the refined sugar and use a teaspoon of honey instead. At around 22 calories per spoonful it may be slightly higher than refined but you will naturally lose less as its sweeter. It also contains many vitamins and minerals that we need in life and you’ll just feel better about your choices. Try acacia honey, as it doesn’t flavour your drink.

2.Start taking a teaspoon of honey today and your body will start to build its own immunity to allergens. Just think, this year you could be sitting outside your caravan, surrounded by flowers, and not a sneeze to be had!

3.Believe it or not, honey can help you sleep. Weird science happens in your body – your insulin rises, it sends a message to your brain to release serotonin and then your body turns it into melatonin - bingo, you’re off to the land of nod. Combine that with our new mattress package called Simply Better Sleep and you’ll wake up bouncing with energy every day.

4.You might however have forgotten to take your honey before you go to sleep because you were drinking another kind of drink – the alcoholic variety. If you wake up feeling a touch under the weather then honey can come to the rescue again! Mix a tablespoon with some orange juice and natural yoghurt and you’ll soon be fighting fit. It works by getting your liver to speed up oxidising the alcohol, which kicks out those pesky toxins.

5.Honey is also a great antibiotic, so if you accidentally cut or grazed yourself, you can apply it to the wound. Your body can then work repairing the damage instead of fighting off bacteria. Another benefit is it doesn’t (if you’ll pardon the pun) sting as much.

6.Make your own natural body moisturiser – and of course smell glorious into the bargain. Try combining around 5 tablespoons of honey, with 2 tablespoons of rose oil and 500ml of almond oil. Shake it all together and apply liberally to restore natural moisture to your body.

7.Measuring honey can be tricky – but a useful tip is to coat the spoon or jug with vegetable oil first and it’ll just slip out.

8.Our graphic designer in the marketing team is addicted to a well-known energy drink and consumes as many as 3 cans a day. We’re worried for his health so we’ve got him trying a new natural recipe. All you need is a blender and 2 minutes. Peel an orange, 300ml of coconut milk, a tablespoon of honey, a Muller light vanilla yoghurt, flax seed (if you can get it) and some ice. Bung it all in, whizz, pour and drink. He is loving it -probably because he has a group of slaves making him drinks…

9.Let’s be honest, sometimes you just want a snack. Our particular favourite is very simple. Get a round of goat’s cheese and put it in a little dish like a ramekin. Sprinkle over some honey and some chopped walnuts. Pop it into the oven at 180°C until it’s soft and then serve with crackers. Delicious!

10.Feeling exhausted by all this talk of honey? Then take a bath. Our new Sheraton Elite has a bath in the fantastic en-suite, which means you can add a few tablespoons, sit back and relax and have skin like a new baby by the time you’ve finished.

Why we love the bee - Our founder, Walter Allen, had a flash of inspiration in 1946. Instead of building beehives he’d build caravans – and Willerby was born.

Now over 70 years later we’re still going strong so we created the Willerbee as a nod to say thank you to the man who made beehives.

Willerby supports the Bumble Bee Conservation Trust. Find out more about there work here.

*http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CDP-2017-0226