Honey

 Hadith:

Narrated Ibn `Abbas:

The Prophet said, "Healing is in three things: cupping, a gulp of honey or cauterization, (branding with fire) but I forbid my followers to use cauterization (branding with fire

Honey sweeter than sugar

Simple carbohydrates in the diet, such as sugar are a recognized link between common degenerative diseases, such as dental problems, diabetes, heart disease and obesity.

A study was carried out to evaluate and compare fructose (fruit sugar), sucrose (sugar) with honey, to understand the different effects the carbohydrates had on glucose levels.

Thirty-three chiropractic volunteers were given a 75 –gm carbohydrate load in 250ml of water of either fructose, sucrose or honey. Blood sugar readings were then taken at 0,30,60,90, 120 and 240 minutes following ingestion a glucose tolerance test

Fructose showed minimal readings in blood sugar, which was consistent with other studies. Sucrose gave a higher blood sugar reading than honey at every time measurement.

The results showed honey provided the fewest symptoms of discomfort and as is it is sweeter than sucrose, fewer grams would be needed. We can therefore conclude it would seem prudent to recommend honey over sugar on a per gram basis because of the more gentler effect it has on blood sugar levels.

[69] Then to eat of all the produce (of the earth), and find with skill the spacious paths of its Lord: there issues from within their bodies a drink of varying colures, wherein is healing for men: verily in this is a Sign for those who give thought.

Selection and use of honey on wounds

Honey is one of the oldest known medicines that has continued to be used up to present times in folk-medicine. Its use has been "rediscovered" in later times by the medical profession, especially for dressing wounds. The numerous reports of the effectiveness of honey in wound management, including reports of several randomised controlled trials, have recently been reviewed, rapid clearance of infection from the treated wounds being a commonly recorded observation.

In almost all of these reports honey is referred to generically, there being no indication given of any awareness of the variability that generally is found in natural products. Yet the ancient physicians were aware of differences in the therapeutic value of the honeys available to them: Aristotle (384-322 BC), discussing differences in honeys, referred to pale honey being "good as a salve for sore eyes and wounds"; and Discords (c.50 AD) stated that a pale yellow honey from Attica was the best, being "good for all rotten and hollow ulcers".

Any honey can be expected to suppress infection in wounds because of its high sugar content, but dressings of sugar on a wound have to be changed more frequently than honey dressings do to maintain a concentration of sugar that is inhibitory to bacteria, as honey has additional antibacterial components. Since microbiological studies have shown more than one hundred-fold differences in the potency of the antibacterial activity of various honey, best results would be expected if a honey with a high level of antibacterial activity were used in the management of infected wounds.

Other therapeutic properties of honey besides its antibacterial activity are also likely to vary. An anti-inflammatory action and a stimulatory effect on growth of new blood capillaries and on the growth of granulation tissue and epithelial cells have been observed clinically and in histological studies. The components responsible for these effects have not been identified, but the anti-inflammatory action may be due to antioxidants, the level of which varies in honey. The stimulation of tissue growth may be due to the supply of nutrients by honey, as nitrification of wounds is known to hasten the healing process: the level of the wide range of micronutrients that occur in honey also varies.

Until research is carried out to ascertain the components of honey responsible for all of its therapeutic effects it will not be possible to fully standardize honey to obtain optimal effectiveness in wound management. However, where an antiseptic wound dressing is required then standardization for this effect is possible. Several brands of honey with standardized levels of antibacterial activity are commercially available in Australia and New Zealand, but even where these are not available it is possible to assay the level of antibacterial activity of locally available honey by a simple procedure in a microbiology laboratory.

Scientific literature shows that highly active antimicrobial honey from the nectar of particular Leptospermum trees has been used to successfully heal a wide variety of wounds and infections which have not responded to other treatments.
Research conducted by Associate Professor P.C. Molan, Ph.D., at University of Waikato Department of Biological Sciences in New Zealand, has shown that the antimicrobial component of the Leptospermum honey is particularly effective against virulent 'Golden Staph' (Staphylococcus aurous) bacteria -- even when diluted more than 50 times.

The use of honey as a wound dressing goes back to ancient times and has continued into present-day folk medicine. It is a common observation in medical journal reports that numerous benefits result from using honey to dress wounds:

·         The viscosity of honey provides a protective barrier to prevent wounds from becoming infected.

·         Honey stimulates the re-growth of tissue involved in the healing process. It stimulates the formation of new blood capillaries and the growth of fibroblasts that replace the connective tissue of the deeper layer of the skin and produce the collagen fibers that give strength to the repair.

·         Honey does not stick to the underlying wound tissues, so there is no tearing away of newly formed tissue, and no pain, when dressings are changed.

·         Honey has an anti-inflammatory action, which reduces the swelling around a wound. This improves circulation and thus hastens the healing process. It also reduces pain. The amount of fluid exuding from wounds is also decreased by the anti-inflammatory action.

·         The high sugar content of honey draws lymph out of a wound, which lifts dirt out of the wound bed.

·         Honey rapidly clears infection from wounds. It is fully effective even with antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. Unlike antiseptics and antibiotics there is no impairment of the healing process through adverse effects on wound tissues.

Honey researchers feel that the therapeutic potential of honey is grossly underutilized. It is widely available in most communities and although the mechanism of action of several of its properties remains obscure and needs further investigation, the time has now come for conventional medicine to look at this traditional remedy. With increasing interest in the use of alternative therapies and as the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria spreads, honey may finally receive its due recognition.