Book Review: The Honey Revolution

What is the Honey Revolution? It's a growing awareness of the amazing benefits of daily consumption of honey. In The Honey Revolution, authors Ron Fessenden, MD, MPH and Mike McInnes, MRPS, present a multitude of research that supports the claim that eating Honey everyday will lead to better sleep, balanced blood sugar and a reduction in metabolic stress.

The first point the authors make is that honey is the ideal fuel for the liver:
The near one-to-one ratio of fructose to glucose found in honey - nature's perfect ratio - actually facilitates glucose intake into the liver. Fructose optimizes the conversion of glucose to glycogen in the liver by prompting the release of glucokinase from the liver nuclei. Glucokinase converts glucose to glycogen, which is then stored in the liver. Thus a large glucose load is prevented from entering the circulation and causing a sharp elevation in blood sugar. Consuming natural energy-packed honey with it's ideal ratio of fructose and glucose is an ideal way to replenish liver glycogen and at the same time control blood glucose levels.(from The Honey Revolution, pg 29)

Glycogen is what fuels the brain and it is stored in the liver. If the liver is not stocked up with glycogen, the brain sends out signals for muscle proteins to be broken down and sent to the liver to be converted into glycogen. If you are like me, I would like to keep my muscle! Fueling the liver with honey can prevent that muscle break down.

One of the times our brain is most at risk of low fuel is during the night fast. Sleep is when our body recovers and restores itself--fueled by body-fat. If our liver is not stocked, the brain triggers the adrenal glands to release cortisol and adrenaline. This puts that repair process on hold and the opposite is done--muscle is broken down to fuel the brain.

The other critical time for the brain is during exercise where the same scenario plays out. If the liver is not stocked, muscle is broken down to fuel the brain. This is definitely not the desired effect people want from exercise.

Now obviously, we can't survive on honey alone. A balanced diet that draws for fresh ingredients is key to a healthy lifestyle. A rule I try to go by come from Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels: "If it comes from the ground or has a mother, you can eat it." Fake foods (highly processed and modified) reek havoc on our metabolism. No amount of honey is going to be beneficial if all you eat is junk!

If you would like to check out this book you can order it here. Another work of note is The Hibernation Diet which gives some recipes as well as an excercise program to optimize the effects of the honey-filled diet.

**I was provided with a copy of both The Honey Revolution and The Hibernation Diet by my friend Nate Brown at RevHoney for review on my blog. The opinions expressed are my own and I was not compensated in any other way for this review.**

Next Review---U-Tubes!! Stay tuned!!