Honey: A Global Healing Superfood

Photo courtesy Medicinal Mad Honey

Bees are the foremost pollinators of nature, carrying out almost 80% of all agricultural pollination in the US. The nectar they deposit on their hives creates honey, the sole survival source for their colonies.

Yet, this food meant exclusively to sustain their broods is so vital and copiously produced, it has also been harvested and used by humans for millennia, not only as a source of food but for medicinal and spiritual purposes as well. According to Greek mythology, it is said that honey flowed on Mount Olympus, the home of the gods, which when consumed, granted wisdom, vitality, and even immortality.

Well-known as a natural, kitchen-ready remedy for soothing sore throats is taking a spoonful of honey and lemon. Another popular variation is mixing two tablespoons of aloe vera juice with one tablespoon of honey in one-quarter cup of warm water to heal a sore throat with cough. Drink two or three times a day on an empty stomach, or use as a preventative for overall good gut health.

You can also add grated ginger to boiling water, steep, then add honey and lemon juice once it cools down. Adding honey to boiling liquids kills off beneficial healing properties, so always wait until your tea cools before adding honey.

Healing Properties Of Honey

What gives honey its healing power? The natural healing properties of honey begin with the work of honeybees and their carefully maintained environments. Bees collect nectars from plants, where they add their own enzymes during the collection and storage process, particularly glucose oxidase from their hypopharyngeal glands.

But the bees meticulous work doesn’t stop there. Bees create optimal conditions within their hives for maintaining temperatures between 32-35°C, and humidity levels around 50-60%, conditions that are crucial for honey’s therapeutic development. They do this by fanning the honey with their wings to reduce moisture content to below 20%, creating an environment where harmful bacteria cannot survive. The hexagonal wax cells they construct in the hive are sterile, providing the perfect vessels for honey’s natural maturation with its full spectrum of healing compounds.

ANTIBACTERIAL AND ANTIMICROBIAL. A unique combination of natural ingredients give honey its super healing powers. These include a form of hydrogen peroxide produced by honeybee enzymes from their hypopharyngeal glands, bee-derived peptides, polyphenols, flavonoids and volatile compounds, which combine to inhibit the growth of bacteria and other microbes, giving it powerful antibacterial and antimicrobial qualities. This is what makes honey such an effective burn and wound healer in preventing infections.

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY. Flavonoids (e.g., quercetin, chrysin, pinocembrin) and phenolic acids (e.g., caffeic acid, ferulic acid) present in honey reduce the extent of inflammatory reactions in the body by inhibiting inflammatory enzymes.

ANTIOXIDANT. Honey helps fight free radical damage, which is linked to chronic disease and aging. Darker honeys (like Manuka, buckwheat) generally have higher antioxidant effects when consumed as compared to regular honey.

PREBIOTIC. Honey supports the growth of beneficial gut bacteria, which keeps the digestive system healthy and running. Honey contains oligosaccharides, which are not digested in the upper GI’s small intestine, so they reach the large intestine where they feed beneficial microbes.

DEMULCENT. As a demulcent, a substance which draws and retains moisture, honey is able to coat and soothe irritated mucous membranes, most importantly in the case of sore throat. Thus, honey with lemon is considered as an efficient home remedy for sore throat.

HUMECTANT AND EMOLLIENT. Honey traps and forms a protective moisture layer, making it excellent for regular skin care routines, as well as specialized treatments for skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis.

Some Exceptional Honey Types

There are also some rare and unique honey strains with special properties, which are defined by their origins and uses.

Harvested mainly from regions in Nepal and Turkey, Mad Honey is famous for its psychoactive experience. This rare and potent honey is produced by Apis Laboriosa, the Himalayan giant bee that collects nectar primarily from the flowers of Rhododendron ponticum and wildflowers from Nepal. For thousands of years, the Gurung natives, with their age-old honey-hunting traditions, have avidly celebrated this honey for its healing and recreational medicinal purposes.

New Zealand’s Manuka honey is produced entirely from the manuka bush, the only plant bees feed on to make this medicinal honey. Its use as medicine dates back thousands of years to the indigenous Maori. Manuka honey is thought to contain the strongest antibacterial properties of all honey strains due to its high concentration of a natural compound identified as methylglyoxal (MGO), and is especially recommended in burn and wound care.

Sidr honey from Yemen is prized for its distinctive taste, antioxidant quality, and rarity. Its flowers on the Sidr tree, mentioned in the Quran as a plant of paradise, bloom infrequently in remote areas, so it has come to be associated with sacred tradition and ritual. Only purchase Sidr honey from certified Yemeni-owned brands.

Rashmi Kandel is a Nepal-based social entrepreneur focused on exporting Himalayan Mad Honey and researching the impact of climate change on bees. With over 8 years of experience, she works closely with 80+ honey hunting communities to preserve the rare and exotic honey of the Himalayas, while sharing knowledge about bee habitats and environmental sustainability.

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