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It was late at night when I was about to go to bed with a cup of warm milk with honey in it, and a book tucked under my arm, when I got a call from my mother.
After making the usual small talk, she asked me what I put in my milk and when I told her, she asked me to throw the milk away.
Taken aback by this sudden reaction of my mother's, I asked her the reason. She explained to me that she had read in the newspaper that very day, that mixing it with hot beverages not only reduces health benefits of honey, but even makes it toxic!
Not entirely convinced about the veracity of this claim, I decided to probe it further.
Does Honey Become Toxic In Warm Milk?
Honey is used in a number of home remedies for beauty treatments for healthy skin and hair, and even for treating small wounds.
However, the ancient Indian practice of Ayurveda stressed on the fact that honey should never be cooked with or heated.
Some people are convinced that consuming heated honey can be fatal!
That's because heating anything with sugars can release a chemical called 5-hydroxymethylfurfual or HMF, which is believed to be carcinogenic in nature.
So it's established that heating honey can certainly increase its toxicity. But is it toxic enough to actually harm your body?
A study conducted by National Center for Biotechnology Information on the adverse impacts of heating honey as well as mixing it with ghee, advises against both. The study concludes, "..heated honey (>140°C) mixed with ghee produces HMF which may produce deleterious effects and act as a poison in due course." Note that the temperature increase allowed for honey is less than 140 degrees, which is far less than the optimum temperature at which your glass of milk is probably going to be.
The best way to enjoy milk with honey is to make sure the milk is cooled down a bit, before shaking in that spoonful of the natural sweetener in it.
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