Honey: Usefulness, Medical values and Implications

Wikipedia describes Honey as a sweet, viscous food substance produced by bees and some related insects, it is produced by Bees from the sugary secretions of plants or from secretions of other insects such as honeydew, by regurgitation, enzymatic activity, and water evaporation. Bees store honey in wax structures called honeycombs.

Honey gets its sweetness from the monosaccharides fructose and glucose and has about the same relative sweetness as sucrose (granulated sugar). It has attractive chemical properties for baking and a distinctive flavor when used as a sweetener.
According to research, Honey provides 46 calories in a serving of one tablespoon (15 ml). Although it is generally safe, honey may potentially have adverse effects or interactions upon excessive consumption, existing disease conditions, or the use of prescription drugs.

USES OF HONEY

Medically, honey is useful in multiple ways, they include Wounds and burns, Antibiotics, Cough, Battery ingestion, etc.

WOUNDS AND BURNS

Some evidence shows that sterilized honey may help to heal skin wounds after surgery and mild (partial thickness) burns when used in a dressing. Still, in general, the evidence for the use of honey in wound treatment is of such low quality that firm conclusions cannot be drawn.

ANTIBIOTIC

Components of honey under preliminary research for their potential antibacterial properties include methylglyoxal, hydrogen peroxide, and royalizing also called defensin

A COUGH

For chronic and acute coughs, a Cochrane review found no strong evidence for or against using honey. For treating children, the systematic review concluded with moderate to low evidence that honey probably helps more than no treatment, diphenhydramine, and placebo at giving relief from coughing.

UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency recommends avoiding giving over-the-counter cough and common cold medication to children under six, and suggests “a homemade remedy containing honey and lemon is likely to be just as useful and safer to take”, but warns that honey should not be given to babies because of the risk of infant botulism.

In addition, The World Health Organization recommends honey as a treatment for coughs and sore throats, including for children, stating that no reason exists to believe it is less effective than a commercial remedy.

Honey is recommended by one Canadian physician for children over the age of one for the treatment of coughs, as it is deemed as effective as dextromethorphan and more effective than diphenhydramine.

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