FDA Quietly Acknowledges Medical Benefits of Honey

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don't recall if this was already sent by someone. But,

just in case it wasn't.............Lynn

FDA Quietly Acknowledges Medical Benefits of Honey

Friday, March 21, 2008 by: Liz Walker

(NaturalNews) In an Associated Press story dated December 27th 2007, it

was revealed that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had quietly

approved a line of honey-based wound dressings during the fall of that

year. Derma Sciences, Inc., a New Jersey manufacturer of medical wound

and skin care supplies, was then able to market their MEDIHONEY product.

MEDIHONEY is a line of wound dressings consisting chiefly of an absorbent

alginate (which is a component of brown algae) pad, covered in Manuka

(Leptospermum)

honey.

Using honey to treat wounds is nothing new; even ancient civilizations

used it in this manner. However, this is the sort of thing that usually

gets relegated to " folk healing " . It seems scientifically

obvious: honey is very acidic (antibacterial), and it produces its own

hydrogen peroxide when combined with the fluid which drains from a wound!

The extremely high sugar content of honey means it contains very little

water. So, it draws the pus and fluid from the wound, thereby speeding

the healing process. Furthermore, the honey contains powerful

germ-fighting phytochemicals from the plants that produced the pollen

harvested by the

honeybees. Having

already been accepted by the overseas mainstream medical community for

some time, North America finally caught on. MEDIHONEY is, according to

Derma Sciences' website, " the first honey-based product cleared for

use by Health Canada and also the first cleared for use by

the

FDA. "

Manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) is a

New Zealand

tree, related to the Tea Tree (Melaleuca). Much like tea tree oil, native

New Zealanders have taken advantage of the Manuka's natural medicine for

generations. It turned out that the honey produced from this plant's

pollen has powerful

antibacterial, antifungal, and antimicrobial properties. Doctors found it

very useful for treating burn and injury patients in Iraq. Widespread

applications include treatment of surgical sites, trauma wounds, skin

grafts, burns, and skin sores.

Doctors are even finding that Manuka honey works on drug-resistant

infections. As pharmaceutical antibiotics become less and less effective,

natural cures may be taken more seriously. Ironically, they have also

discovered that these honey dressings can prevent the development of

MRSA in an open wound

(See Natural News Article Honeybees and Almonds, Pigs and MRSA: The

Deadly Connections for another story linking MRSA and honeybees). It's

very disturbing to consider the fact that we may be killing off the very

methods by which we can defeat our pharmaceutically resistant 21st

century superbugs!

While browsing Derma Sciences' website, I noticed that they also

manufacture a product which incorporates " antimicrobial silver "

into wound dressings. This product, ALGICELL Ag, has also been approved

by the FDA. Could they be getting around to recognizing the benefits of

colloidal silver, at long last? Perhaps even the FDA shall have to

re-examine its position on nutraceuticals and holistic treatments, as

it's becoming glaringly evident that Big Pharma doesn't have all the

answers.

Sources:

Honey Makes Medical Comeback (MSNBC)

(

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22398921)

Honey to Heal (Biotech Learning Hub NZ)

((

http://biotechlearn.org.nz/focus_storie...)

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