Honey is a very special kind of food. If you’re not familiar with the many benefits of honey you should be. Honey is the only manufactured food product known to have a shelf life of thousands of years. Remember that the next time you feel tempted to say that bees are stupid. So far they have achieved more in food science than we have.
Honey not only has a worthy shelf life it also has antibacterial and antiviral properties. Most any natural honey could be used as a wound dressing, and in fact some hospitals now use honey in their wound dressings. But if you want to use honey as an oral medicine you have to be careful.
First, remember that honey is largely made of sugar. 1 tablespoon of honey contains about 17 grams of sugar. You should not feed honey to young children because they could develop Reye’s Syndrome, which causes swelling in the brain and liver damage. People with Type II diabetes should be careful about how much honey they ingest. It’s a great flavoring but it’s a carbohydrate that goes right into your blood sugar. If your blood sugar crashes a teaspoon of honey can get you back up quickly. But there may also be some good news for Type II Diabetes: some studies show that honey helps lower blood sugar. Discuss the possibility of including honey in your diet with your doctor. And check your blood sugar levels regularly.
Second, remember that not all honeys are the same. If you are on a quest to find the best available medicinal honey you should be aware that relatively few honeys have strong enough antibacterial or antiviral properties to be taken as oral medicines. Also, cooking or heating honey destroys its natural healing abilities. If you are tempted to purchase a honey that has a milky texture to it, consider that the texture means it has been cooked. Processed honeys are just not as healthy as unprocessed honeys.
Some people become concerned when they find “particles” in their honey. The particles might simply be crystallized honey (it has been exposed to air). You can decrystallize honey a little bit by stirring it. You could heat what you’re about to serve just a little (warm it gently) but that is probably more trouble than it is worth. You may also see traces of pollen in the honey. Remember that bees collect nectar from plants and turn that into honey, so you’ll naturally find some traces of what they gathered in the wild. In fact, many honeys are labeled by the types of pollen their bees are most likely to collect.
In general, the darker honeys have the highest medicinal quality. There is only one honey in the world that has been rated for use as a pure medicine. That is Manuka honey, which only comes from New Zealand. You will find, though, that there are many Manuka honeys on the market. It seems unlikely that all these companies are getting their honeys from New Zealand. To be sure you’re buying a legitimate Manuka Honey from New Zealand, check the label for the Unique Manuka Factor (UMF). You can learn more about it here. The UMF rating for Manuka Honey is controlled by a non-profit association. No legitimate retailer will knowingly sell a product that is using the UMF rating without proper authorization.
You may find some brands through online retailers that claim to have UMF ratings, but for which you have no way to verify their authenticity. Be careful. Try to verify the brand by looking for it in a local health food store (preferably one large enough to be considered a “national” brand). We have purchased legitimate Manuka Honey products from Sprouts, Trader Joe’s, and Whole Foods Markets so most people in the United States should be able to find Manuka Honey products with good UMF ratings.
Other dark honeys that have been found to be of medicinal quality include Black Forest Honey and Buckwheat Honey, but there are no rating systems for these types of honeys. You can try them but we don’t know how much they will help.
You will also find that dark honeys, especially those of medicinal value, have a strong, strong taste. This is not the sweet golden honey you are accustomed to. It’s not really bad but it’s different. Don’t expect to fall in love with the taste of any of these dark honeys.
How to use medicine honey as an oral treatment. If you are prone to developing respiratory infections a strong medicinal honey treatment may help you. Take 1 tablespoon in the morning and 1 tablespoon in the evening. If you are diabetic check your blood sugars carefully. If you don’t feel better after 3-4 days you really should see a doctor. If you do experience improvement you should continue the honey treatment for about 1 week. Stop taking the honey if your blood sugars rise too high.
For respiratory infections you should keep your head elevated, especially when you sleep. You may have to pile 3-4 pillows together to get it right.
You’ll also want to drink hot tea (caffeinated) a few times per day. Herbal teas can help with some of the symptoms but hot caffeine opens your bronchial tubes. Some people drink coffee instead of tea. Just be careful about how much caffeine you consume. These are strong drinks.
Eating honey may assist with some other types of infections but results vary. Remember, you’re eating a lot of sugar, too.
Reduce other carbohydrates in your diet when you take honey. Complex carbs such as you get from green beans are probably okay. Stay off breads and cereals as much as possible. Don’t eat donuts. Don’t eat cake and pie. Two tablespoons of honey per day can be quite a lot of sugar going directly into your blood stream. You might be thinking, oh that’s only about 310 calories but remember your body doesn’t need to process honey. You should treat it as pure sugar in your diet.
People who take strong antibiotics may experience some gastrointestinal problems including gas, indigestion, constipation, and/or diarrhea. If there is a way to feel uncomfortable down there, a good antibiotic will often do that for you. Remember that antibiotics kill “good” gut bacteria along with other bacteria. Honey is no different. If you eat a strong enough honey that it begins to kill bacteria inside your body, it’s going to kill the good guys, too.
You may want to take a probiotic supplement or eat some Greek style yogurt, or drink kefir, to offset the discomfort you can feel when taking an antibiotic cycle. Consuming a lot of honey can do more than just raise your blood sugar.
Discuss a honey treatment with your health care provider. When you see your doctor or nurse practitioner, or if you visit a clinic or emergency room, let whomever examines you know that you have been treating yourself with honey. Sometimes home remedies work. Sometimes they don’t. But don’t hold back important information. Some doctors advise their patients not to use home remedies because they need stronger medicine. Some doctors suggest to their patients that they try a well-trusted home remedy to save money. But always remember that if you don’t start to feel better within a couple of days your home remedy is probably not going to be enough.
Also, if you have a fever that doesn’t come down you should seek medical attention. If you have a severe rash or reddening of the skin, don’t wait. Some bacterial infections can grow right up your veins and arteries and if they reach your heart, you probably won’t live. Staph infections most often grow on the skin but they can grow under the skin and become very serious. Dog bites sometimes cause bacterial infections as well. Sure, your dog loves you and was just playing, but if s/he broke your skin you should wash the wound thoroughly and watch it for discoloration.
Honey can help but it’s not a miracle cure. You may be curious about how effective a medicinal honey treatment can be. Sometimes it will save you from having to see a doctor. Sometimes it’s just not going to be enough. Your body will tell you when the medicinal honey treatment is not working. Be sure to listen to it.
For a list of current UMF rated Manuka Honey providers click here. If you can find any of these brands in your market you should be able to try them. The higher a UMF rating is the more powerful the antibacterial and antiviral properties of the honey will be. Anything with a UMF 10 or better is considered to be medicinal strength.
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