HealthyTips - For centuries, cultures all around the world have used honey to guard health and cure illness, as well as a sweetener. Through the ages, honey has been a “cure-all” for just about everything, from complaints like sleeplessness and indigestion to serious conditions like wounds. As unusual as this may sound to us, science has recently discovered that these ancient medical doctors may have been onto something: results have shown that many of honey’s properties can indeed be used to cure a wide range of diseases inside and outside the body. These conditions include wounds and burns, as well as internal ailments such as coughs and sore throat.
The amount and type of antioxidants in honey depends on the flower that is the honey’s source. Generally, darker honeys (such as buckwheat honey) are richer in antioxidants than lighter honeys.
Honey as a Prebiotic
Our gastrointestinal tract contains many types of “good bacteria” that help to regulate digestion and ensure good health. One type of good bacteria is called bifidobacteria. Research has shown that one way to increase the presence of bifidobacteria is to consume foods containing prebiotics, which help the good bacteria to replicate and grow. Honey contains a variety of substances that can act as a prebiotic and encourage the growth of good bacteria. In one recent study, scientists at Michigan State University found that adding honey to yogurt can increase the efficacy of good bacteria.
Honey as an Antimicrobial
Honey’s “miracle cure” quality is due largely in part to its role as an antimicrobial agent. Antimicrobial means that honey helps to kill harmful bacteria without damaging fragile tissue. Recently, research into the abilities of honey as an antimicrobial agent capable of killing bacteria has increased due to the rise in “superbugs”. Superbugs are illnesses caused by strains of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. In some cases, without the aid of conventional treatment, these superbugs can be fatal.
In the article “The sensitivity to honey of Gram-positive cocci of clinical significance isolated from wounds” Dr.’s Cooper, Molan and Harding described how honey can be useful in treating wounds unable to heal because they are infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The study found that, when three types of antibiotic-resistent bacteria (methicillin-resistant Staphylo-coccus aureus, MRSA; vancomyacin-sensitive enterococci, VSE; and vancomyacin-resistant enterococci, VRE) were exposed to honey, that honey halted the growth of the harmful bacteria. This suggests that honey may be useful in treating wounds that resist conventional antibiotic treatment.
In another study “Local application of honey for treatment of neonatal postoperative wound infection,” Dr. Vardi and his colleagues found that honey can also be effective in helping wounds to heal even in the most vulnerable of patients: infants. During this study, honey was used to treat open, infected wounds in nine infants who were recovering from surgery. The infants had been treated with antibiotics, but the wounds failed to heal. Dressings soaked in honey were applied to the wounds and changed twice daily. After five days of treatment, all infants showed improvement. After 21 days, the wounds had closed in all of the infants. There were no adverse reactions to the treatment with honey.
These results indicate that, with further research, honey could be an important treatment for individuals of any age who have wounds infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria.