Honey: Our Old Friend Keeps Getting Better

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Honey: Our Old Friend Keeps Getting Better

JoAnn Guest

Jun 28, 2004 09:57 PDT

 

Honey: Our Old Friend Keeps Getting Better

By Gina Mohammed, Ph.D. moha-

http://www.herbsforhealth.com/index.php?page=article & story=8

 

Moderator's Note:

Many sources state that honey is contraindicated in candida.

However, according to the following article,

small portions of raw honey may be beneficial

for the purpose of restoring " good " flora.

Any yogurt or other fermented dairy, should always be from an

organic source!

 

JoAnn

 

 

One of my life's purest pleasures is a crockery mug of steaming tea

sweetened with golden honey. With that comfort in hand, I can tackle

just about anything — or gratefully do absolutely nothing. But what

really sweetens the pot is knowing the honey in my tea is at work

even if I'm not.

 

In this liquid gold, I find a cache of antioxidants, a digestive

aid, a *detoxifier* and even a soothing balm for wounds, all rolled

into one delightful concoction.

 

Honey is the ultimate in products derived from herbs. Fashioned

through an ingenious alliance between animal and plant kingdoms,

honey delivers a diverse array of phytochemicals in one package.

This bounty arrives courtesy of the industrious honeybee, who visits

some 2 million flowers to manufacture just one pound of honey.

 

Honey of a History

Since ancient times, people have used honey as medicine. Hippocrates

recommended it for optimal health. The Egyptians, and many people

since, used it as a wound treatment.

 

Old texts heralded honey as a salve for eye ailments and a

restorative

in complaints of the heart, kidneys, liver and lungs. Today, honey

with lemon is still a favorite for colds and sore throats.

 

Nowadays, we are uncovering much about the nature of honey and its

actions. For instance, it really does help heal wounds. A randomized

clinical study published in the journal Burns found honey salve

healed

superficial burns more effectively and quickly, and with less

inflammation, than a standard treatment of silver sulfadiazine.

 

Honey helps wounds in several ways. Its high viscosity deters

infection;

its sugar draws lymph out of the wound; it stimulates formation of

new blood capillaries and connective tissues; and it's anti-

inflammatory and

antibacterial. A recent study found that antibiotic-resistant

Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, which can infect wounds, succumb

readily to honey.

 

Antibacterial Ally

Most common honeys derive their antibacterial activity from hydrogen

peroxide, produced by an enzyme naturally present in honey. But

others —

notably the Leptospermum species from New Zealand and Australia —

battle bacteria with rather mysterious non-peroxide components.

 

Leptospermum honeys are now approved as therapeutic honeys by the

Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration

(equivalent to the Food and Drug Administration in the United

States) and are marketed under such

names as

 

Medihoney and Active Manuka honey.

 

But honey is not antagonistic to all bacteria. Scientists at

Michigan State University added it to fermented dairy products and

found honey enhanced the growth, activity and viability of certain

bifidobacteria,

bacteria believed to help sustain a healthy gastrointestinal tract.

 

Fermented dairy products are used to deliver bifidobacteria to the

GI tract,

 

but the products' microbial strength is often diminished during

dairy processing and storage.

 

The investigators suggest this could make honey the sweetener of

choice in many foods.

 

Honey's fermentable carbohydrates, including oligosaccharides, may

be the keys to this action.

 

Antioxidant Power

 

Honey also hosts a horde of antioxidants. These consist of a

symphony of phenolics (plant-based chemicals), peptides, organic

acids,

 

enzymes and other constituents performing in concert.

 

For instance, the flavonoid pinocembrin is unique to honey and

supercedes other antioxidants in concentration.

 

From a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food

Chemistry, we now know the antioxidant activity of honey is

comparable to that of many fruits and vegetables on a fresh-weight

basis.

 

And while you likely will not devour a cup of honey in lieu of

broccoli, the

golden liquid may be a respectable alternative to sugar and a

pleasant way to supplement your diet with antioxidants.

 

Researchers at the University of Illinois studied 25 healthy men who

consumed various combinations of hot water, buckwheat honey, black

tea and sugar.

 

They found that serum antioxidant capacity increased by 7 percent

within

two hours of ingesting 2 cups of hot water containing about 4

tablespoons of honey.

 

Those antioxidants also may help your arteries: Honey reduces

oxidation

of low-density lipoproteins (known as " bad " cholesterol), a benefit

which likely thwarts development of atherosclerosis.

 

The color of honey hints at its antioxidant capacity. The rule is:

Darker is better. For instance, buckwheat honey has 5.5 times more

antioxidant strength than the very light acacia variety, and other

honeys of intermediate color are arrayed in between.

 

But rules can be broken. A University of Illinois researcher found

that sweet-clover honey, though fairly light, was rich in

antioxidants, whereas a dark golden mesquite honey was relatively

poor.

 

Other factors that can influence antioxidant content, particularly

within a species, are climate, soil, processing, handling and

storage.

 

Color also indicates mineral content, which ranges from 0.04 percent

in pale honeys to 0.2 percent in some dark ones.

 

But the story doesn't end there. Pinostrobin, another flavonoid from

honey, apparently is a potent inducer of certain enzymes that

deactivate

carcinogens. Known as mammalian phase 2 detoxification enzymes, they

help to destroy the reaction centers of carcinogens or assist in

their elimination from the body.

 

Researchers reporting in the Journal of Agricultural and Food

Chemistry

tested 35 honeys and found they all elevated enzyme activity, with

buckwheat honey at the top of the list. (But note that cruciferous

vegetables were 10 times more potent inducers than buckwheat honey.)

 

These benefits make honey a queen among sweeteners and are

enticements

to sampling its myriad varieties — from more than 300 plant sources

in the United States alone!

 

Use Honey Safely

Do not feed honey (even pasteurized honey) to children younger than

1 year old, as honey may contain the botulism agent Clostridium

botulinum.

The bacterium, while inactive in honey, can multiply in a baby's

undeveloped digestive system. If you're pregnant or breastfeeding,

consult your doctor before using honey.

 

Getting the Best Honey

Honey can be damaged by too much heat, which can destroy its

antibacterial properties.

 

Pasteurization, in which honey is heat-treated to prevent

fermentation

by yeasts and to delay crystallization, is therefore a concern.

Whipped

honey also may be problematic, as a double-heating method usually is

used to produce these spreadable products. However, the impact of

heat treatment and filtration on antioxidant capacity of honey is

not well understood. Some antioxidants may be destroyed, and others

created.

Storage temperature and the honey's container also can have complex

effects. A safe guideline is to store honey either below 52 degrees

or at 70 to 80 degrees, in airtight containers.

 

Honey proclaimed as organic can be found, but it's almost impossible

to

ensure against contamination, either by wind or by bee travel, of

the

bees' forage by non-organic pollen. Newly proposed guidelines in

Canada,

for example, specify a 3.5-km buffer between apiaries and prohibited

substances (including genetically modified organisms), which

beekeepers

consider unfeasible.

 

A recent concern has been the contamination of bulk honey imported

from

China with chloramphenicol, a potentially harmful human antibiotic

that

can cause aplastic anemia.

 

Chinese honey or its blends have been recalled and are being

detained at

Canadian and U.S. Customs if they contain this antibiotic.

 

Gina Mohammed, Ph.D. moha-, is a plant physiologist in

Sault Ste. Marie, Canada. She is author of Catnip and Kerosene

Grass —

What Plants Teach Us About Life (Candlenut Books, 2002).

 

To view the reference list for this story, select Honey Reference

List

_________________

 

JoAnn Guest

mrsjo-

DietaryTi-

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest