As we have all been told, sugar can be extremely hazardous to your health but this depends on two critical factors; how much sugar you consume and what kind of sugar you eat. Consumed in moderation, sugar is a helpful source of energy, that is provided you get it from the right sources. We humans evolved to get our sugar by eating whole foods like fruits, vegetables, and yes, even honey. Your body knows how to extract the maximum benefit from these whole foods.
Honey, in particular, has three critical healing effects:
First, honey supports your immune system and fights off harmful bacteria. As you know, your body is under constant assault by numerous viruses and bacteria that threaten to tire you out, make you sick, and even kill you. Fighting off this threat is key to staying healthy.
One of the vital components in honey is an enzyme called glucose oxidase. This enzyme, when exposed to oxygen, produces hydrogen peroxide — a strong acid that dissolves the cell walls of bacteria. (Most human cells have thicker cell walls and can resist the low amounts of acid honey produces.)
This makes honey a powerful tool for fighting skin infections, healing wounds, and otherwise supporting your immune system. It was used extensively in the 2nd World War with great success. Today we are aware that the best medicinal honey is New Zealand’s Manuka honey. Due to its popularity it is starting to become in short supply and sellsfor as much as $159 per kilo. There is a huge opportunity for beekeepers to produce similar quality honey. Currently Australian researchers are gathering information on other speciaes for the bees to visit. One such plant is leptospermum.
Second, honey supplies the “building blocks” for healthy cells.
In addition to giving you sugars, honey equips your body with a complex array of proteins, enzymes, minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, and other nutrients. The second these nutrients hit your body, they go to work:
• Tuning up your heart, lungs, stomach, brain, eyes, and skin…
• Controlling cancer-causing free-radicals and stopping cell damage in its tracks…
• Detoxifying your body of harmful pollutants and other toxins.
Thirdly honey burns differently in your body than other sugar even though it still has a very high sugar content (70%-85% depending on the type of honey you get.) You’ve probably experienced just how rapidly most sugar burns in your body — how it gives you a sudden surge of energy followed shortly by a complete crash.
Yet when you eat honey, you don’t get that same “flare effect”. Instead you get a slow, even burn of energy — which you can put to use for things like working, playing sports, or spending time with your family.
That’s because all the extra enzymes and nutrients in honey not only help the body rebuild itself — they also regulate how the body uses the sugar.
Two personal stories about the healing quality of honey:
First let me tell you about my mother who, due to poor circulation, developed leg ulcers. They were becoming nasty but with honey and pressure stockings they healed up after months of applying other treatments.
Then for myself, I had scratched a dark spot on my leg which developed into a nasty ulcer above my thigh. It was diagnosed as a possible carcinoma and I was strongly advised to have it surgically removed. However I had read about honey’s healing qualities and daily applied honey and sealed the open area. It took me some weeks until the honey took effect and the wound closed over. I have to say that I was thrilled that it worked but I was beginning to wonder!
