Honey- Nature's Sweetest Medicine

Honey is one of the oldest foods on the planet. Cave paintings in Spain indicate beekeeping has been going on since 7000 BC and fossils of honey bees date back 150 million years! So it's safe to say we've learned a bit about it throughout history. Aside from being spread on toast or drizzled on yogurt, people have used honey for everything from respiratory illnesses to wound care. It has antioxidant, antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. And while it's been used medicinally for millenia, the scientific world is still catching up on honey's importance in holistic health. Let's take a look at this natural powerhouse and find out what's fact and what's myth.

Cough Medicine- Absolutely!

How many times have you reached for tea with honey when you're sick? It turns out that aside from tasting delicious, there are proven benefits. Numerous scientific studies comparing the use of honey as a cough suppressant to traditional medicines have found it to be as effective as common OTC products like dextromethorphan or diphenhydramine. In many cases, honey alone improved cough frequency and severity. Not only is honey a natural antibacterial, it is extremely safe for children over one and it's cost effective. With more research, this could help reduce antibiotic resistant strains of certain illnesses, particularly upper respiratory tract infections.(1), (2)

A Safe Diabetic Sweetener- Sort of...

Diabetes is a common chronic illness and global health challenge. It's estimated that 830 million people worldwide suffer from diabetes, a disease that affects insulin production and blood sugar regulation. Glycemic index, or how quickly a food raises your blood sugar, is an important consideration for diabetics. Honey has a lower glycemic index than sugar, making it slightly more suitable. While sugar is made of sucrose, or fructose and glucose bonded together, honey consists of separate fructose and glucose molecules plus a myriad of enzymes, making it easier to digest than standard sugar. It also contains a high amount of antioxidants, which are thought to protect various organs, particularly the pancreas, against oxidative stress. Although existing evidence leans in its favor, more research with larger, randomized groups must be conducted before we can surely say honey has healing properties for those with diabetes. For now, honey can help reduce sugary cravings by offering a less sweet alternative to artificial sweeteners.(3), (4)

Allergy Relief- Not so much

There's an old wives' tale that local honey can alleviate allergies. The idea is that by exposing the body to the small bits of pollen in honey, it becomes de-sensitzed to the allergen over time. While this is a common practice in medicine, in this particular instance it just doesn't work. For one thing, most pollen allergies are caused by trees, weeds and grasses, not flowers. That bright yellow pollen is too sticky and heavy to spread through the air effectively and the exposure level would have to be quite high. Even if some allergens made their way into a batch of local honey, there's no surefire way to measure concentrations, making proper dosing near impossible.(5) What honey can help with is allergy symptoms. People with scratchy throats and wheezing could benefit from a spoonful in the morning or before bed. Honey's high flavanoid content, specifically quercetin, could ease inflammation brought on by allergies. So not all is lost for those spring and autumn sufferers.

Is Local Honey That Important?

After debunking the allergy myth, this is an important question. If local honey doesn't cure allergies, why buy local? Firstly, let's define local. Local honey could mean it's sourced from anywhere within a 25-50 mile radius. If you live in an urban area, it's likely that the bees producing the honey are picking up a whole lot of pesticides and herbicides along their journey. While some of that is inevitable, afterall bees are independent insects, it might be better to look for honey sourced from protected areas for a cleaner product. All in all, geographical location of your honey source is less important than beekeeper practices. Finding a vendor that protects the bees they use creates a better environment for the pollinators, the consumers and nature at large. Sustainbly minded beekeepers will have certain practices, like leaving honey behind for the bees in the winter, avoiding antibiotic use, or not clipping the queen bee's wings to prevent swarming, that result in a strong colony and an environmentally friendly honey. It's important to choose products and vendors that support the ecosystem they profit from.

Honey may not be the elixir of youth but it certainly is magical! Who knew it had so many uses outside of being delicious. Choosing a bottle of honey can be a bit daunting so here's a quick rundown. Typically bottles will list the type of flower the bees pollinated like clover, wildflower or orange blossom. Each flower gives the honey a slightly different taste profile. If the bottle says "raw honey," that means it is unpasteurized, or not heated above 145 degrees. Some companies decide to pasteurize their honey before bottling to slow down the natural crystallization process and create a smoother product. Because honey has a low moisture content and high acidity, harmful bacteria cannot reproduce in it. So pasteurization is more of a cosmetic choice rather than a food safety concern. While all honeys taste great, pasteurized honey can have reduced antioxidants, making it suboptimal for medicinal uses. Lastly, check the bottle to ensure it's pure honey. Some products are cut with corn syrup and other sweeteners to maximize profits. This liquid gold is worth the extra dollar, especially if it's being used for health reasons.

Looking for some beekeepers that sell the real deal? Check out Neshanic Valley Beekeepers for fantastic, unpasteurized, 100% honey. Or stop by the store to pick up a bottle of Sweet Clover or Wildflower varieties!

(1) Abuelgasim H, Albury C, Lee J

Effectiveness of honey for symptomatic relief in upper respiratory tract infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine 2021;26:57-64. https://ebm.bmj.com/content/26/2/57

(2) Goldman RD. Honey for treatment of cough in children. Can Fam Physician. 2014 Dec;60(12):1107-8, 1110. PMID: 25642485; PMCID: PMC4264806. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4264806/

(3) Bobiş O, Dezmirean DS, Moise AR. Honey and Diabetes: The Importance of Natural Simple Sugars in Diet for Preventing and Treating Different Type of Diabetes. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2018 Feb 4;2018:4757893. doi: 10.1155/2018/4757893. PMID: 29507651; PMCID: PMC5817209. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5817209/

(4) Meo SA, Ansari MJ, Sattar K, Chaudhary HU, Hajjar W, Alasiri S. Honey and diabetes mellitus: Obstacles and challenges - Road to be repaired. Saudi J Biol Sci. 2017 Jul;24(5):1030-1033. doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2016.12.020. Epub 2017 Jan 11. PMID: 28663699; PMCID: PMC5478296. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5478296/

(5) Pathak, N, Weiss, H. "Does Local Honey Help with Nasal Alllergies?" 2024 May 15. https://www.webmd.com/allergies/features/does-honey-help-prevent-allergies