HealthyTips - For decades, singers
have used honey to soothe their throats before an important performance. But
anyone can use honey to ease a sore throat. Try a spoonful of honey as often as
is needed for sore throat relief. Honey’s slow-moving liquid quality will coatyour throat and help relieve irritation.
In the study titled
“Effect of Honey, Dextromethorphan, and No Treatment on Nocturnal Cough and
Sleep Quality for Coughing Children and Their Parents,” researchers found that
when children had two groups of ages 2-18 with a cough were given cough-medicine DM (Dextromethorphan) and the other group was given a doest of
buckwheat honey 30 minutes before bedtime, that the honey was just as effective
in reducing the cough as the DM cough syrup. Honey was rated by the parents as
most favorable for relieving cough and helping their children to sleep. In the future,
some parents may decide to choose honey over DM since DM has been known to have
questionable side effects.
You can also try the
Honey Citrus Soother, below, for extra Vitamin C :
Honey
Citrus Soother (serves
4)
ingredients :
3
tea bags green or black
1
cinnamon stick
3
cups boiling water
¼
cup honey
1 cup
grapefruit juice
cooking
instructions
Place tea bags and
cinnamon stick in a 1-quart tea pot. Add boiling water; steep 3 to 5 minutes.
Remove cinnamon stick and tea bags; discard. Stir in grapefruit juice and
honey.Honey and Oral Health
Honey has been known to prevent the growth of a variety of bacteria, including bacteria in the mouth.
In the article
“Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activity of Honeys Against Oral Pathogens”
several types of honey were tested (including sage, orange, tupelo, and manuka
honey) and it was found that all were found effective in halting the growth ofseveral bacteria, including porphoromonas gingivalus (otherwise known as
gingivitis.)
In another promising
study, “The effects of manuka honey on plaque and gingivitis: a pilot study,” Dr. English and his colleagues evaluated the efficacy of Manuka honey in
fighting dental plaque and gingivitis. For this study, Manuka honey was used to
make a chewable form of honey called “honey leather,” which can be chewed like
a stick of gum.
Thirty subjects were
divided into two groups: 1 group chewed sugarless gum for 10 minutes, 3 times a
day following meals, and the other group chewed the honey leather. At the end
of the study, those who had chewed the honey product showed lower levels of
plaque and lower occurrence of gingivitis symptoms. Those who had chewed gum
showed no improvement in plaque or gingivitis reduction compared to if they had
not chewed at all. These results suggest certain kinds of honey may be an
effective way to prevent gingivitis and periodontal disease.