Watching the winter Olympics always awakens the crazy athlete in all of us. My daughter decided she could be a figure skater. Everyone who sweeps the floor was suddenly an Olympic curler. I’ve always loved the downhill skiing myself, reminds me of racing through the woods on horseback jumping obstacles, much like weaving in and around the poles on the downhill; controlling your speed at the risk of losing a medal, the risk of wiping out and getting hurt.
So how does honey help these Olympic athletes? During training, on an average day, an Olympic athlete in training will burn anywhere between 4,000 to 6,000 calories per day. Consequently, they need to replenish those calories and they need to maintain a balance between carbohydrates and protein.
Before competitions, and during training, some athletes would take honey to boost their blood sugar when they started to feel weak and shaky. Kerry Walsh Jennings, an indoor and beach volleyball gold medalist, includes almond butter and honey sandwiches before competitions to give her energy.
But this is not new information. The Olympics originated in Olympia Greece back in 776 B.C., the ancient athletes used honey as an energy source, and the ancients knew that honey would help them achieve their fullest potential.
Recent studies show that honey is an excellent fuel source and can help Olympic athletes win gold. During clinical trials by the United States Honey Board proved that honey is an excellent fuel source for athletes and can boost athletic performance. The results were clear that the honey balanced out blood sugars and was an effective pre-workout energy sources. In another study, it showed that athletes who consumed honey sweetened shakes were able to sustain blood sugar levels for two hours after exercise.
Bee an Olympian! Go for the gold!
Bee Proactive 