Many people drink a glass of hot water with honey as soon as they get up in the morning, and some add a little lemon as well. Honey is very good for health: its antioxidants boost the body's immunity, and eating honey regularly also eases colds and coughs. Taken in hot water, however, honey can become a cause of harm. Here is why Ayurveda experts advise against mixing honey into very hot water.

According to Ayurveda experts, honey mixed into very hot water slowly turns into a kind of poison, which can lead to various illnesses in the body. Its long-term effects are not at all good for health. Honey in hot water also causes digestive problems.

Honey should therefore be taken in water at normal temperature. Nor is it only hot water: honey should not be mixed into any hot drink, including tea or coffee.

Nutritionists, on the other hand, usually advise mixing honey into lukewarm water. In their view, honey in mildly lukewarm water helps keep weight under control. At higher temperatures the goodness of honey is lost, but, they say, there is no risk of any other harm from that.

Source: Dhaka Tribune. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.