Thursday, February 16, 2012

HONEY, MORE THEN JUST SWEET



For most of us honey is a nutrient rich alternative to refined white sugar, but there is so much more to this golden sweetness. Honey as a food and a health remedy has been around since ancient times and is now making a come-back. As a food honey will never go bad. Because of its low moisture content no organism can effectively multiply in substantial amounts and because of its high sugar content bacteria is unable to survive. Be aware that not all honey is equal, it can be made from a variety of plant, by the way it is collected and refined or not refind all contribute to its quality. Regardless of what type of honey you have it can be dangerous to infant so never feed it to anyone under 12 months old.

Today some are finding allergy relief from raw honey local to where they live. Why is this? As the bees are collecting pollen to make their honey they visit many of those plants that cause the allergy symptoms. When they return to the hive and transform the pollen into honey not all the pollen spores get converted but remain in the honey. When the honey is eaten the pollen spores then act as a homeopathic remedy or a vaccine does by causing an immune response. Antibodies are produced strengthening the immune system and ready to help you fight off the symptoms caused by the local foliage. There is no scientific analysis of this but it works for so many and what could it hurt to try.

But scientists are looking at honey for other health benefits, according to Science Daily, “Honey could be effective at treating and preventing wound infections.” (Jan. 30, 2012.) They are learning all about what makes honey so good as an antibiotic. That is good news with the growing antibiotic resistance that we have been seeing. The better news is that there are so many more health benefits then I mentioned here so go on and enjoy your honey.