10 ■ HERVOICE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2010

There’s an old saying that a spoonful ofsugar helps the medicine go down. Butwhat if the medicine was the sweet knownas honey.

That’s right — honey.There is a growing amount of evidence

showing the real medicinal value of honeyfor things like healing wounds and burns.

One word of caution — before takingany of this advice to heart, make sure youtalk to your healthcare professional.

There are many health benefits of honey.Among them — substituting honey forsugar in many food and drinks. Honey isrich in antioxidants that can protect yourheart, and even though it contains morecalories than sugar it’s actually healthierthan sugar. It also contains nutraceuticalsthat are effective in the removal of free rad-icals — which lead to an improvement ofyour immunity. According to someresearch, when overweight patients weregiven a 2.5 ounce dose of honey every dayit lowered their total cholesterol and LDL.It also helped them in weight loss.

When combined with water, honey canbe easy on the stomach and the waistline.

How you may ask? Well, according to healthfitnesstips.com,

honey contains many vitamins that are ableto metabolize the unhealthy fats and choles-terol that your body stores. One way to helpwith weight loss is to combine honey withwarm water or honey and cinnamon. Andbecause honey contains a large quantity ofnatural sugar it can be easily converted toglucose which makes it easily digestible foreven the most sensitive stomachs.

Many people around the world use acombination of milk and honey to helptheir skin. It helps in the smoothing andsoothing of your skin.

One possible benefit still in study is thepositive affects honey can have on athleticperformance. Now that doesn’t mean it

works like a performanceenhancing drug. Whatresearchers are looking atthe honey’s ability to main-tain blood sugar levels andhow it can help with musclerecuperation.

So now onto the benefitsthat may seem shocking tomany. But remember, youshould also discuss anythingnew with a healthcare pro-fessional.

There is ongoing researchabout the benefits of honeyin wound management andhelping in other medicinalareas.

One study, reported in theU.S. News and World Reportis the soothing effects ofhoney on minor burns. Thereport states that “data frommultiple studies and conclud-ed that honey reduces healingtime more than conventionalgauze and film dressings thatare often used to treat mod-erate burns.” Now that does-n’t mean you go and smearhoney on a burn.

A 2006 study, reportedthat nonserious, small burnshealed faster when treatedwith a dash of honey andgauze on an average. Why?

Scientists have discovered honeyhas anti-inflammatory and antibacterialproperties. Something that many in theworld knew thousands of years ago.

Now, your typical straight off the shelfhoney is not the stuff to use.

According to the report in the U.S.News and World Report, the best honeyfor healing comes from New Zealand. It’s

called Manuka and it contains themost potent antimicrobial proper-

ties. Talk to your doctor about theavailability of wound dressings infusedwith Manuka honey.

This combination of Manuka honeyand dressing is also helpful in the heal-ing of ulcers on limbs and on the feet.

Manuka honey is also being studiedas a effective treatment on MRSA(Methicillin-resistant Staph aureus). Sofar research is showing that Manukahoney is effective in killing the bug.

Here are some other uses for honey:BED WETTING - A teaspoon of

honey before bed aids water retentionand calms fears in children.

INSOMNIA - A dessert spoon ofhoney in a mug of warm milk aids sleepand works wonders.

HYPERACTIVITY - Replace all useof white sugar with honey. White sugaris highly stimulating with no food qual-ities. Honey provides the energy with-out the “spike.”

NASAL CONGESTION - Place adessert spoon of honey in a basin ofwater and inhale fumes after coveringyour head with a towel over the basin.Very effective!

FATIGUE - Dissolve a dessert spoonof honey in warm water or quarterhoney balance of water in a jug andkeep in the fridge. Honey is primarilyfructose and glucose, so it’s quickly

absorbed by the digestive system. Honey isa unique natural stabilizer: Ancient Greekathletes took honey for stamina beforecompeting and as a reviver after competi-tion.

FACIAL DEEP CLEANSER - Mixhoney with an equal quantity of oatmeal,and apply as a face pack. Leave on for halfan hour, then wash it off. Great as a deep

NUTRITION

The HealthBenefits of Honey