Raw honey has been used for centuries to treat countless ailments. Hippocrates himself wrote of the “liquid gold” and its medicinal effects.
Health professionals today however, tout prescription medications while the answer to treating many conditions may be as simple (and less expensive) as a visit to the local farmer’s market versus the physician’s office.
The Answer to Itchy Eyes and Runny Noses
Millions of Americans suffer with allergies. Both over-the-counter and prescription medications may un-stuff your sinuses but will leave you feeling groggy and foggy. They also come with a wide range of side effects pharmaceutical companies don’t want you to know about including symptoms as simple as altered taste and smell to possibly more serious issues such as female infertility.
Ditch the pills and instead invest in local raw honey. When bees make the sweet stuff they wind up depositing a small amount of pollen in each batch. A spoonful or two a day of local raw honey can help desensitize your body to the allergens in your area.
Kiss Coughs and Colds Goodbye
Can’t kick that cough? A spoonful of sugar (well, make that honey) may really do the trick! When children ages 2-17 suffering from an upper-respiratory infection were treated with either a dose of raw honey or the cough suppressant medication Dextromethorphan (DM), the children served the honey showed significant improvement over those treated with DM.
This is great news for parents since the FDA recently recommended that children under age 6 should not be treated with over-the-counter cough and cold medications due to a possibility of harmful side-effects.
Note: Honey should not be given to children under 12 months of age.
Burns Be Gone
Researchers at the University of Florida found that raw honey effectively treats wounds and burns more effectively than conventional medicines because of its innate aseptic qualities. Also, the glucose and fructose make-up, naturally dry out the area and inhibit bacterial and fungal growth.
Not All Honey Is Created Equal
The list of raw honey’s health benefits is long. However, Hippocrates’ “liquid gold” becomes little more than a sweet and potentially dangerous treat in the wrong hands.
After testing 60 jars of honey, a researcher from Texas A&M University found that most (77% of supermarket jars and 100% of drugstore jars) contained no pollen whatsoever. These pollen-free products had been ultra-filtered, which technically makes it not even real “honey” any more.
And shockingly enough, over one third of all the “honey” found in America today is the same stuff that is banned in Europe. The cheap imposters come from Asia or India and are loaded with metals, antibiotics and other dangerous contaminants.
The good news is that all of the samples tested from natural food stores and co-ops were pure as were those labeled “organic.” Your best bet though is to find a local source of the liquid gold in its raw form.
-The Alternative Daily
Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/24/allergy-medicine-8-surprisin_n_787559.html#s190139&title=Low_Libido
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2011/06/09/can-raw-honey-cure-seasonal-allergies/
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/08/honey-laundering/#.UgvTwH_hcy0
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=96
