Naturheilkraft So healthy is honey

Can heal honey?
Even Hippocrates, the most important doctor of antiquity and father of natural medicine, described the healing properties of honey 2,400 years ago. Today, more and more scientists are busy with ingredients that come from the toolbox of nature and explore their effect. So it is that modern medicine increasingly relies on natural products that have long been known in the field of experience. This also applies to honey, which has been used by humanity for thousands of years not only as food but also as a remedy.

contents

• Honey in Naturopathy
• Especially enzymes and acids
• The germicidal effect of honey
• Manuka Honey - Like a natural antibiotic
• Manuka honey strengthens the immune system
• Studies on the antibacterial effect of manuka honey

Honey is a natural product produced by bees that consists of 75-80% sugars. Sugar is - just like salt - an ancient preservative. One thinks of the Einkochen of jam, the candying of fruits or the salting, which since the Neolithic as a method for the preservation of z. As fish or meat is known. In high concentration sugar acts hygroscopic, d. H. it removes moisture from the environment and binds it. This makes it difficult to colonize and multiply microorganisms on food.

A mixture of honey and lemon juice can make attacked hands supple again. (Image: alexkich / fotolia.com)

Honey in Naturopathy

That honey is not a "deaf nut", so it is not a pure sugar product, the honey owes to the bees. They process sweet plant juices or sugar-containing excretory products of various insects into a unique cocktail of active ingredients, in addition to sugar - mainly a mixture of fructose (fructose) and glucose (glucose) - water, small amounts of iron, B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin K and Contains carotene as well as minerals, various bioactive substances, antioxidants and enzymes.

The honey owes its reputation as a panacea to the father of naturopathy. Hippocrates recommended the bee product in many ways internally and externally. From him also comes the description that sword-wound wounds of Greek warriors were less susceptible to infection and better healed when they were painted with honey.

Especially enzymes and acids

... are medically effective in honey, even if they are present in a comparatively small amount for the sugar and water content. The acids not only contribute to the smell and taste of the varieties. They stimulate the appetite and digestion and inhibit the growth of germs. The salicylic acid naturally contained in honey - the active ingredient of aspirin - has an analgesic and antipyretic effect. Honey also contains acetylcholine, a hormone-like substance that acts as an important neurotransmitter in our body, eg. As in the transmission of nerve impulses to the heart muscle. In addition, acetylcholine also seems to be essential as a messenger for cognitive processes as in learning.

The germicidal effect of honey

... is based on a mix of various antibacterial inhibitors. The so-called inhibins are actively involved in the prevention and control of inflammation. They are therefore good for the immune system. Some honeys contain other special ingredients that are beneficial to health. Numerous recent studies confirm that New Zealand's Manuka honey, with its active ingredient MGO (methylglyoxal), is many times more antibacterial than other honeys.

Manuka Honey - Like a natural antibiotic

Bees win the New Zealand manuka honey from the blossom nectar of the Manuka shrub. Maori, the natives of New Zealand, traditionally use the leaves, bark and honey of manuka as a remedy. Scientists at the TU Dresden discovered the cause of the enormous antibiotic effect in 2006. They discovered that "active" manuka honey has an extremely high content of methylglyoxal (MGO) - an active substance with a strong antibacterial effect. No wonder that manuka honey is now even used against antibiotic-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus - the dreaded hospital germ MRSA.

The higher the MGO content shown on the package, the greater the effect. Because MGO is heat stable, manuka honey is also suitable for hot dishes and drinks.

Manuka honey strengthens the immune system

Especially in the wet and cold season, we need a strong immune system. Used regularly, manuka honey can support the body's defenses. For colds, coughing, hoarseness and inflammatory diseases in the mouth and throat area, the intake of manuka honey syrup is recommended. The specially formulated for children or adults formulations with herbal extracts relieve side effects without complaints, are calming and breath-free.

Studies on the antibacterial effect of manuka honey

Aled E.L. Roberts, Sarah E. Maddocks, Rose A. Cooper: Manuka honey is bactericidal against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and results in differential expression of oprF and algD (Microbiology 158: 3005-3013, 01 December 2012)

Lin SM, Molan PC, Cursons RT .: The controlled in vitro susceptibility of gastrointestinal pathogens to the antibacterial effect of manuka honey (Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2011 Apr; 30 (4): 569-74).

Cokcetin NN, Pappalardo M, Campbell LT, Brooks P, Carter DA, Blair SE, Harry EJ: The Antibacterial Activity of Australian Leptospermum Honey Correlates with Methylglyoxal Levels (PLoS One. 2016 Dec 28; 11 (12): e0167780)

Rabie E, Serem JC, Oberholzer HM, Gaspar AR, Best MJ: How methylglyoxal kills bacteria: An ultrastructural study (Ultrastruct Pathol. 2016; 40 (2): 107-11) (pm)