Every day, millions of people worldwide sweeten their tea, oatmeal and other foods throughout the day with honey. But, what many might not realize are the healing powers of honey.
Honey is the sweet substance produced by bees and related insects extracting the nectar from flowers and other plants, which they store in those waxy-patterned honeycombs. For more than 8,000 years, humans have been foraging for honey, and today we collect honey from wild colonies as well as from domesticated colonies from beekeeping (or, apiculture).
While honey is one of our ancient forms of sustenance, it also has medicinal properties that has been the study of more and more research today. In this week’s article, I’m going to cover the healing properties of honey along with differences between honey types and where you can find honey around Alexandria, Virginia.
Different Honey Types
Honey is graded in terms of constituency, color and processing. To start, honey can be found in golden amber (more expensive) to deep dark brown (less expensive). The color of the honey mostly comes from its constituency, or the source of blossom from which the bees extracted the nectar to produce honey.
Here in the United States, we get a majority of our honey from mixed-source honey (a/k/a multifloral) and so the constituency is fairly consistently medium darkness and taste from the honey blends. Some of the blossoms frequently used for honeybees are alfalfa, avocado, blueberry, buckwheat, clover, wildflowers, and more. Honeys that are unifloral (which is from just a single source) tend to be pricier.
One of the most sought-after honeys in recent history is manuka honey, which comes from the New Zealand Manuka bush. It’s prized for its medicinal qualities and unique flavor.
Finally, we distinguish honey based on its processing; whether it’s been sourced “raw” or pasteurized and filtered. Raw honey has not been heated and filtered to deactivate yeast and prevent fermentation. “Regular” or pasteurized honey has gone through this process and filtered for clarity so it looks more uniform when bottled for purchase. Proponents of raw honey state that the healthy enzyme, amylase, is removed when regular honey is filtered, among other beneficial qualities.
No matter what type of regular honey you’re eating, if it’s from a high-quality, reputable producer, you should be able to enjoy it for normal uses. But when we need to consider the healing powers of honey, it may be worth considering raw honey, and even Manuka honey, for the most healthful impact.
Healing Properties and Uses of Honey
Antioxidant-Rich Food to Combat Disease
Free radicals in our body contribute to heart disease, cancer and other maladies throughout our lives. Antioxidants (mostly sourced from plant-based foods) are the superheroes capable of squashing those free radicals in our system before they can do us harm.
Honey is packed with, according to “[a] University of California-Davis study [explained in Natural Awakening’s “Honey Almighty” article] detected higher levels of polyphenolic antioxidants in participants after just one month of honey supplementation. Other studies confirm that honey contains numerous antioxidants. They include chrysin, pinobanksin, vitamin C, catalase and pinocembrin, which all help to prevent and repair cellular damage from disease-causing free radicals.”
So, not only does its low glycemic index help you stay fuller longer for possible weight loss benefits, the antioxidants in honey are doing double and triple duty to fight off free radicals trying to cause disease in your body. From honey on the inside, let’s see what honey can heal on the outside.
Soothe Wounds and Burns
In addition to ample discuss and use of honey as a part of natural cosmetic and beauty products, honey has been studied with regard to burns and other types of wounds. While hospitals likely won’t use honey for severe burns and wounds, as an in-home remedy that’s cost-effective and simply effective, it can do wonders.
According to the review of 26 studies covering 3,000 individuals’ burns and wounds, when honey is applied, “[t]here is high quality evidence that honey heals partial thickness burns around 4 to 5 days more quickly than conventional dressings.” While more research needs to be done to validate the science on this, it’s a very positive step in finding out more healing properties of honey.
Make sure to clean and disinfect wounds and burns, before applying honey. And, if you see it get worse after a few days, it’s best to consult a licensed medical professional.
Honey May Be a Superbug Fighter
Speaking of medical professionals, published in the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research 2011 study, “Antimicrobial Activity of Honey with Special Reference to Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Methicillin Sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA),” honey is able to fight off some pretty nasty superbugs. This has been confirmed in multiple other studies outside of human use, and now researchers are looking to further study how it might be applied in real situations. This could decrease mortality rates in hospitals where these superbugs thrive and attack patients in vulnerable health states.
This may be related to why honey has been shown to decrease the duration of diarrhea, and even acid reflux. This can be especially helpful after certain types of surgical procedures.
Clear Fluid Diets After Surgery
After surgery, such as gastrointestinal (GI) surgery, your body needs to recuperate in every possible way, including the food you digest. Frequently, your doctor will give you instructions on what you can eat and sometimes that’s with the nutrition plan of a “clear fluid diet” for a period of time after the surgery.
Honey, it turns out, is one of those chosen options to ease through your body’s system while your body is aided in healing. Honey is not only easy to digest, its aforementioned antioxidant-richness and antibiotic properties, make it a go-to option for post-surgery recovery.
Possible Seasonal Allergy Relief With Local Honey
If you suffer from seasonal pollen allergies, many people suffer right along with you. And, you might have heard about the folk remedy of eating local honey to be able to build up an immunity, of sorts, to the pollen in the air.
The science is conflicted over this subject and more rigorous studies need to be conducted to really test this hypothesis. Honey, especially processed honey, has filtered out much of the pollen that would remain and possibly contain the benefits of helping you build such an immunity. So, if you are going to test this on yourself, make sure to go for raw honey from a reputable, local honey producer.
Even if it’s benefits are limited for seasonal allergies or placebo effect, local honey is delicious and comes in so many varieties. And two words of warning: for a small population they can have an allergy to honey itself, and never give children under one year of age honey for risk of botulism (which is a type of food poisoning). Other than that, honey’s worth checking out for local varieties!
Where to Buy Quality Honey Near Alexandria, Virginia
As we’ve detailed before, our local Alexandria City farmers markets have honey for sale. So, check out their vendors and schedules to pick up some honey from quality, local farms.
If you’re looking for specialty honey, you can check out this list of local beekeepers in the region, as well as some DC local honey (which is even more rare) if you want to cross the Potomac River.
And, if you’re interested in learning more about apiculture and getting some sweet honey, check out The Bee Store down in Lake Ridge, Virginia (just 30 minutes from Alexandria), and their beekeeping classes.
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Honey has a wide variety of uses both for food and health. The healing powers of honey may be understated, but it doesn’t make it any less worthwhile to stockpile some great honey in your cabinets year-round.
What’s your favorite type of honey? Do you have any family home remedies and uses to share? Let me know in the comments!