A Taste of Honey

Reproduced from Body+Soul, October, 2000:
"Research is backing up long-held beliefs that honey has rich healing properties" - David Goding reports

In the Bible, King Solomon advises: "My son, eat honey, for it is good." The power of honey, being revered for its curative properties, has recently been rediscovered and the most powerful varieties have been found on our doorstep.

Manuka and jelly bush honeys were often regarded as "too difficult" because they were thick and hard to remove from the tree. And the honey tasted a little odd. But recently their popularity has increased as people have rushed to buy the highly prized products.

Research has confirmed these honeys possess incredible rejuvenative and healing qualities.

"It is a natural healing gift for the skin and body," says naturopath David Weir.

"We are backing up anecdotal evidence of honey with scientific proof and using it in hospitals with great results."

Weir says honey is a time-honoured remedy for many ailments.

In ancient civilizations and those of the Middle Ages, honey was used as an ointment to treat wounds and burns. Greek and Roman warriors used honey to dress wounds caused in battle. New Zealand's Maori tribes used Manuka Honey as a digestive aid and an energy stimulant. Dr. Craig Davis, a biochemist at the Centre for Food Technology in Queensland, says: "Jelly bush honeys are similar to the New Zealand manuka honeys and have similar properties.

"Manuka honey is obtained from the Leptospermum Scoparium, a tea tree found in remote parts of New Zealand.

"Jelly bush is from the Leptospermum Polygalifolium, a tree found only in a small area of northern New South Wales.

"One tablespoon of the honey contains the nectar of 18,000 flowers. On top of this, the trees flower for only six weeks a year, making the honey a valuable commodity." The honey tastes different from other honeys.

While a growing number of people are acquiring the taste, not everyone is hooked. It possesses a strong, rich flavour of a more concentrated honey. It is worth trying.

Raw honey contains the essential minerals of calcium, iron, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, sulphur, potassium and protein.

It also contains small traces of copper, which helps with the absorption of iron.

Other components of the "super honey" are not so easy to identify.

Davis has tested more that 4000 different honeys and, while he has identified much of their makeup, there are active properties that are still proving elusive.

"The activity in these honeys comes from an enzyme (glucose oxidase) which these bees secrete into the nectar as they convert it into honey," Davis says.

This enzyme produces hydrogen peroxide - an anti-bacterial chemical - when the honey is diluted with water."

This is what gives this type of honey its special properties.

"This honey offers considerable opportunity for the treatment of wounds, particularly infected wounds," David says. The honey should be applied directly to the wound and then covered with a bandage. This "honey dressing" has the ability to reduce pain and inflammation, minimize scarring, fight infection and stimulate new growth of skin.

Honey absorbs moisture on the skin through the process of osmosis. This helps kill bacteria as it dries the wound. It also helps to stimulate the growth of new cell tissue and speed up the healing process - something antibiotics cannot do.

The honey acts as a natural germicide. Bacteria cannot survive within the honey. "Manuka honey can be used as a curative ointment or balm for ulcerations, burns, cuts, abrasions, rashes and skin infections," Weir says.

"It is known to be the most antibiotic of all raw honey."

It has had proven success in treating skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, allergies and even insect bites.

"Time and time again, it does the job where antibiotics can't," Weir says. "It's fantastic."

Manuka honey is now being used in the major hospitals of New Zealand where excellent results have been received. Dr P.C. Molan, of the honey research unit of the University of Waikato, found it was particularly useful in fighting "golden staph" bacteria, running rife in the western world.

Jelly bush honey has recently been registered as an official drug, the first time any honey has attained such a classification. Weir says manuka honey has been an effective treatment for stomach ulcers and gastroenteritis.

"It can improve digestion," he says. "The body absorbs honey easily as there is no digestion required. It goes straight in to the system."

Raw honey can also act as a mild laxative and sedative. It is also widely used for the relief of a sore throat, by the spoonful or in a hot drink.

Honey is good for softening the skin. You can spread it over your face and hands as a treatment. Leave it on for 15 minutes before washing it off.

The easily absorbed glucose and fructose make honey an instant high-energy food, especially good for recovery after exercise. It may even work as an aphrodisiac. The pollen collected by bees is from the male germ cell of the plant. The pollen secretes a hormone that can stimulate the sex glands.

Unprocessed or raw honey has the greatest healing properties.

Pollen, which contains the most active components of honey, is destroyed during heat processing and exposure to light.