For countless generations, honey has been used as a sweetener, a beverage, a beauty product, and a health boon. Norsemen fermented it into mead, and the Greeks referred to it as the main ingredient of ambrosia, the drink of the gods that imbued imbibers with immortality. It was even used in ancient Egypt as a form of currency for trade (110 pots of honey were worth an ox or a donkey).
More recent history has seen honey supplanted as the sweetener of choice in favor of cane and beet sugar, but more and more people are returning to using it as a primary go-to ingredient for everything from a tea additive to a cooking substitute for corn syrup. As honey returns to the spotlight, many remarkable health-enhancing properties are being rediscovered.
Health Benefits
Honey has naturally antibiotic properties, a substance called inhibine, and it really shines as a topical salve for skin injuries. It can be smoothed over burns, sunburns, wounds, and lesions to both ease pain, reduce swelling, and to prevent infection. It creates a thick shield to protect skin irritations and openings from external pathogens while simultaneously providing support to the body’s natural immune responses. This same skin support also makes it an excellent remedy for acne flare-ups, and many natural skin products use honey for this purpose.
For sore throats and coughs from colds and flu, there are few substances that help ease discomfort as well as honey. Again, the antibiotic properties come into play in helping to fight off illness in the lining of the mouth, throat, and esophagus. It is also an excellent carrier for additional herbal remedies that your naturopathic physician might recommend to address a specific condition.
When allergy season hits, a spoonful of locally-produced honey can relieve symptoms far more quickly than over-the-counter remedies. It soothes the lining of the throat (often irritated by post-nasal drip), and it re-acquaints the body with the indigenous pollen from the immediate environment, relaxing the histamine response. It is important, however, that only local honey is used for this purpose – imported honey will not have the same balance of pollen influences and could actually trigger additional symptoms with its alien constituents.
Some of the more specialized uses of honey include mixing it with cinnamon and eating it daily on bread to help control blood sugar in diabetics; a mixture of honey, garlic, and apple cider vinegar is reported to help any sluggish immune system, including reducing cholesterol significantly; and a simple mixture of apple cider vinegar and honey has been known to soothe stomach ailments as well as helping to clear up blocked sinuses.
Whenever honey is discussed, it is important to remember that honey should never be given to children under one year of age, although a child with known immunological or gastrointestinal deficiencies should probably wait even longer. There is a very slight chance of botulism infection because the stomach acids of a child are not strong enough to break down Botulinum spores that are often found in honey. Older children and adults have no problem with this, however. It was at one time suggested that only raw honey was capable of passing along these spores, but more recent tests are showing that Botulinum can survive the temperatures required to qualify honey as “pasteurized”. For this reason, all honey is considered dangerous to children younger than twelve months old.
Enjoy your honey on toast and biscuits, but also keep it in mind when medical needs arise.
 |
