The New Nation - Internet Edition

Honey is a sweet treat. In fact, it is man's oldest sweetener. It can be a good substitute for sugar in our drinks and food. But it is also good for many other things and treating many other conditions. Reliance on commercialized medicines which contains too much chemicals can become hazardous to our health. Allah has given us the knowledge that Mother Nature can at least help to ease the pain we are suffering from.

Honey is composed of sugars like glucose and fructose and minerals like magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium chlorine, sulphur, iron and phosphate. It contains vitamins B1, B2, C, B6, B5 and B3 all of which change according to the qualities of the nectar and pollen. Besides the above, copper, iodine, and zinc exist in it in small quantities. Several kinds of hormones are also present in it.

Approximately one half of the human diet is derived directly or indirectly from crops pollinated by bees. Today honeybees are an essential part of a healthy agriculture economy. If you have allergies, honey can be beneficial. If you eat honey that is local to your area, it may prevent your seasonal allergies. Bees use the pollen from local plants and eventually it ends up in your honey.

Honey may also be good for your skin. It has the ability to attract water. You can use honey instead of alpha hydroxy masks because of its high content of the acid. It is also safe for sensitive skin.

You can also use it as a moisturizing mask for your skin as well as your hair. To use it as a conditioner, mix the honey with olive oil. Be sure to wash your hair thoroughly before you go outside. If you have a sore throat, take some honey. Due to its natural anti-inflammatory effect, it will help to heal the wounds more quickly. It also has different phytochemicals--chemicals found in plants and different foods--that kill viruses, bacteria, and fungus making it a good substitute for wound dressings. The taste may also take your mind off the pain.

There is evidence that honey diluted in water will help with your stomach-aches and dehydration.

Germ-Fighting Properties

Do you have a cut? Honey is a natural antiseptic. Medical journals cite more than 600 cases in which honey was employed to treat wounds. By applying honey to your wounds, you prevent infections. Honey contains antimicrobial agents, which prevents infections by killing the bacteria in and around your wounds. When using honey it may help to heat it up before putting it on your wound (caution test the heat before you place it on the wound).Many types of bacteria can't survive in honey, so wounds heal, swelling eases, and tissue can grow back.

Honey may also be effective in the treatment of your ulcers. In Europe, honey has been used internally to help cure ulcers, particularly stomach ulcers.

Burns, too, heal better with honey, studies show. The advantage of honey is that it not only prevents infections from occurring, it actually accelerates skin healing.. Since the sugar in honey absorbs water it helps to trap some of the moisture so that the bacteria and other microbes can't grow as easily as in other food.

How Does It Help In Healing Wounds?

When honey comes into contact with body moisture, the glucose oxidase enzyme introduced to the honey by the bee slowly releases the antiseptic hydrogen peroxide at a sufficient level to be effective against bacteria but not tissue damaging. Not only is honey anti-bacterial, it also draws body fluids and nutrients to the area and so assists cell growth and prevents a scar forming by drying out of the wound.

The osmotic action of the honey draws out and provides a film of liquid between the tissues and the dressing, allowing the dressing to be removed painlessly, without tearing of the re-growing cells. There are reports in medical journals of large bed sores, otherwise needing skin grafts, that have healed without scarring after honey treatment. In treating diarrhoea, honey promotes the rehydration of the body and more quickly clears up the diarrhoea and any vomiting and stomach upsets. The anti-bacterial properties of honey, both the peroxide and non-peroxide, are effective in the laboratory against MRSA strains of bacteria which are notoriously resistant to antibiotics and are sometimes responsible for the closing of hospital wards.

Other Benefits of Honey

Easily digested: Because sugar molecules in honey can convert into other sugars (e.g. fructose to glucose), honey is easily digested by the most sensitive stomachs, despite its high acid content. It helps kidneys and intestines to function better.

Good source of antioxidants: It plays a big role in the prevention of cancer as well as heart disease.

Has a low calorie level: Another quality of honey is that, when it is compared with the same amount of sugar, it gives 40% less calories to the body. Although it gives great energy to the body, it does not add weight.

Rapidly diffuses through the blood: When accompanied by mild water, honey diffuses into the bloodstream in 7 minutes. Its free sugar molecules make the brain function better since the brain is the largest consumer of sugar, thus, reduces fatigue.

Supports blood formation: Honey provides an important part of the energy needed by the body for blood formation. In addition, it helps in cleansing the blood. It has some positive effects in regulating and facilitating blood circulation. It also functions as a protection against capillary problems and arteriosclerosis.

Does not accommodate bacteria: This bactericide (bacteria-killing) property of honey is named "the inhibition effect". Experiments conducted on honey show that its bactericide properties increase twofold when diluted with water. It is very interesting to note that newly born bees in the colony are nourished with diluted honey by the bees responsible for their supervision - as if they know this feature of the honey.

Royal Jelly: Royal jelly is a substance produced by worker bees inside the beehive. Inside this nutritious substance are sugar, proteins, fats and many vitamins. It is used in problems caused by tissue deficiency or body frailty.

It is obvious that honey, which is produced in much higher amounts than the requirements of the bees, is made for the benefit of man. And it is also obvious that bees cannot perform such an unbelievable task "on their own."

Honey may combat the effects of ageing, including memory decline and anxiety. Studies conducted on mice recently found that those on diets including honey had better spatial memory and were less anxious.

The researchers propose that honey may boost memory because of its antioxidant properties, which help prevent free radicals damaging cells in the body.

The many advantages of honey also include improving one's eyesight, especially if one sits for long hours before computers.

To improve eyesight, one should mix two teaspoons of honey with carrot juice and consume regularly.

According to research conducted by Madeep Kaur, of Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Samrala in Punjab, India, there are plenty of home remedies from honey. Improvement of the eyesight is only one such cure.

Those suffering from cold, cough, and chest congestion can benefit from two teaspoons of honey with equal quantity of ginger juice consumed frequently.

According to Madeep Kaur's research paper, one spoon of fresh honey mixed with the juice of half a lemon in a glass of lukewarm water taken first thing in the morning is very effective for constipation, hyperacidity, and obesity.

Regular use of two teaspoons of honey mixed with one teaspoon of garlic juice helps control blood pressure.

A mixture of honey, ginger juice, and black pepper powder in equal quantities when consumed thrice daily helps relieve symptoms of asthma.

Mandeep Kaur's research paper, while highlighting the positive aspects of honey, has warned that honey should not be heated and that honey should not be consumed when working in hot environment when one is exposed to too much heat.

The paper strongly warns that honey should never be mixed with hot and spicy foods and fermented beverages like whisky, rum or brandy.

Honey includes nectar of various flowers, some of which may be poisonous, and when it is mixed with hot and spicy foods, the poisonous properties get enhanced.

Precautions to be taken before using honey:

a.. Honey should not be mixed with hot foods.

b.. Honey should not be heated.

c.. Honey should not be consumed when you are working in hot environment where you are exposed to more heat.

d.. Honey should never be mixed with rain water, hot and spicy foods, and fermented beverages like whisky, rum, brandy etc, ghee and mustard.

e.. Honey includes nectar of various flowers of which some may be poisonous. Poison has hot qualities. When honey is mixed with hot and spicy foods the poisonous properties get enhanced and cause imbalance of doshas.