Curing Diseases through Honey – Conventional & Contemporary Uses

"Honey has a long medicinal history and has been used for ages to treat diseases. The excellent properties of honey are convoluted in light of the contribution of different bioactive mixes. Its advantageous role has been supported significantly because of its antibacterial, calming, antiviral, antimicrobial properties. Delivered mostly by the industrious bees, honey is made utilizing the nectar of blossoming plants"

Dubai, 6 October 2020: Use of honey is traced to some thousands of years ago and has become a sustainable yet effective agent to practitioners of conventional medicine and the general public. Natural honey holds an esteemed spot in conventional medicines just as present day prescriptions. Being rich in various properties, honey has been the optimal choice to overcome cardiovascular, liver, and gastrointestinal problems. Natural honey consists of about 200 substances that primarily include water and sugar and amino acids, enzymes, vitamins, and minerals.

Sugar represents 95–99% of nectar dry matter. Chief sugars constituents are Fructose (32.56 to 38.2%) and glucose (28.54 to 31.3 %). It speaks to 85–95% of all out sugars that are promptly caught up in the gastrointestinal parcel. However, to better understand the average composition of honey, let's take a look at the below-given table.

Honey (Nutritional value per 100 g)

Honey (Nutritional value per 100 g)

After knowing about the nutritional contents of the honey, it is a must to learn about different types of honey and their benefits –

White Honey:
It's one of the rare types of honey and has a milder flavor compared to other honey types. In opposition to its name proposes, it doesn't have white shading, however too light golden color. It originates from the blossoms of sage, hay, and white clover. White honey is undeniably recommended for baking purpose and digestion-related issues.

Acacia Honey:
It's sweet yet extremely pure honey that originates from the Black Locust tree in America. Acacia honey nectar is well known among nectar epicureans. It has a higher fructose focus with low sucrose levels, which makes it the ideal decision for diabetic patients.

 Manuka Honey:
This honey is created by honey bees who feed on the blossoms of the Manuka shrub native to New Zealand. Having a caramel-like surface and a therapeutic taste when contrasted with others, Manuka honey is known for its rich antibacterial and wound-mending properties.

Wild Honey
As the name suggests, this type of honey is collected from wildflowers. Being rich in antibacterial properties, Wild honey serves as a great healing agent, cures sunburns, treats wounds from abrasions, surgery, ulcers and infections.

Traditional Uses of Honey

In Indian Ayurveda System:
Organic honey is considered as the most incredible gift of nature in Ayurveda. Traditionally, it is regarded as a boon to those with weak digestion; it is beneficial in treating cough, keeps teeth and gums healthy, recommended for skin disorders, cardiac pain, and all imbalances of lungs and anemia. Along with this, it was traditionally used to improve eyesight as well.

 In Ancient Greece:
Honey was a crucial ingredient in the ancient Greek beverage called Oenomel. Being mixed with unfermented grape juice was a proven folk remedy to treat gout and nervous disorders. Along with this, honey was utilized for baldness, contraception, cough and sore throat, and scars treatment.

In Islamic Medicines:
The medical system in Islam has considered honey as a healthy drink. They used honey for treating diarrhea and considered it as the best remedy in treating tuberculosis.

Modern Uses of Honey –

• Honey is globally used to treat various ophthalmological conditions like corneal injuries, blepharitis, conjunctivitis, keratitis, chemical, and thermal burns to eyes. A study has shown that out of 100 patients with eye disorders, 85% of patients have shown improvement, and 15% showed no eye disease progression.
   
•  Geohoney, the world's best honey supplier, recommends honey as the best medicine to treat diabetes of Type 1 and type 2. It was observed that honey stimulates insulin secretion, diminishes blood glucose levels, lifts hemoglobin concentration and improves lipid profile that helps in controlling diabetes.
   
•  Another modern usage of honey is as a food preservative and pre-biotic. Organic raw honey is a suitable sweetener used in fermented products without hampering the development of regular microorganisms. Being wealthy in enemies of oxidants properties, honey forestalls the caramelizing of fruits and vegetables.
   
•  Apart from the above usages, honey is widely used in treating wounds, beauty & hair products, cough suppressant, improves both short-term and long term memory, treats genital and oral herpes, treats hemorrhoids, boosts fertility in men and women, etc.

According to B A Barry, honey always gives surprising benefits, whether used in modern or traditional days. Consuming or topical application of honey is truly a beneficial way to get relief from certain health conditions. Researchers today look forward to finding a natural cure for diseases rather than depending on synthetic drugs.