Ever wonder why the raw honey you have in your kitchen can sit in the cupboard for months on end (or even years) without going bad?
It’s because of GOx.
GOx is short for glucose oxidase.
Protein With a Punch
Glucose oxidase is an enzyme that oxidizes glucose into glucolactone which converts oxygen into hydrogen peroxide in the process.
What this means is: it acts as an antioxidant – or preservative.
In short, GOx is an all natural bactericide – built right into the chemical composition of raw honey.
Aside from keeping honey from going bad, it has scads of other uses. In fact, glucose oxidase is the center of a 5 billion dollar biotech industry.
GOx Rocks
Among many other things, glucose oxidase is used for measuring blood glucose. It works by turning the glucose in blood (which is difficult to measure) into hydrogen peroxide (which is easy to measure). This makes it an ideal biosensor for diabetes.
Here’s a short-list of some of its other uses.
GOx Uses:
food preservative
in baking: helps increase dough consistency and quality
color stabilizer
in wine production (lowers alcohol content and adds bactericidal effect)
antimicrobial agent in oral hygiene products
acidity regulator in food production
biofuel cells
in packaging: removes oxygen from food packaging
Honey on The Skin and Hair
No wonder raw honey is so fabulous for skin. You can use it to wash your face or leave it on as a moisturizing, cleansing mask.
If you have time, try leaving a honey mask on the skin (and in the hair) for as long as you please. I’ve experimented with the leave-on time, and a 2 hour honey mask is a real treat for the skin.
Because honey easily dissolves in water, the mask rinses out like a dream.
Bonus Tip: if you decide to do a lengthy honey mask, don’t steam iron anything (so I learned after having to re-wash my freshly ironed, honey-dripped tablecloth)