April 14, 2015 - Healing with Honey Brings Sweet Rewards

Tuesday, April 14, 2015 - Honey has been used on wounds for at least 6,000 years and is mentioned as a treatment in both the Bible and the Qur’an. Despite honey’s long history of use, bacteria have not developed resistance.

With the rise in acquired antibiotic resistance by microbes, honey can play a very Honey bee

important role. It not only has antibacterial properties that kills the infecting agent, whether bacterial or fungal, but it also helps heal the injured tissues.

Pasteurized honey has been heated to at least 60° C for about 30 minutes. This effectively kills bacteria, yeast spores and fungi that may be present in the honey but also halts the action of the enzymes believed to be beneficial for wound healing and antibacterial activity.

Non-pasteurized honey is often heated to remove crystals but the heat is not always well-controlled and can sometimes exceed the levels at which the heat-sensitive enzymes are affected.

Raw honey, on the other hand, is simply centrifuged from the honeycomb with no heat applied. Raw honey is best used for treatment.

More research is continually being done to study the antibacterial effects of honey. “With antibiotic-resistant bacteria on the rise, people are looking for something else that will be effective and yet not too expensive." See more at this link.

ABC Comment:
The healing benefits of honey are currently available from Advanced Biological Concepts in Dy’s Liquid Bandage, which contains honey as one of its ingredients.

DY’S LIQUID BANDAGE™ is an all-natural herbal salve. Olive oil and beeswax have been combined to create the base. This allows the olive oil to carry the herbs deep into the wound, minimizing the occurrence of scar tissue. The beeswax covers the wound with a breathable, waterproof, flexible and protective coating that repels flies.