Joe The Ad Man
Honey Blog
September 2020
Here’s Why Honey, (A Healthy, Natural Home Remedy) Should Be in Your Medicine Cabinet
It’s true what they say; What's Old is New Again. Mankind's earliest civilizations used natural honey as a medicine to help treat sickness and heal wounds. Now modern scientists are discovering that the earliest doctors were right to use honey! New research shows that honey is a healthy and effective alternative to some over-the-counter treatments and prescriptions. Follow along to learn of some of the best benefits honey has to offer; such as treating colds, asthma, and even cancer!
Upper Respiratory Healing
Honey vs. Antibiotics
Honey and Asthma
Honey Beyond the Common Cold
Upper Respiratory Healing
Now, it's still very common today to use honey as a treatment for a sore throat or to have honey as one of many home remedies coupled with over-the-counter drugs or prescriptions to treat a cold. But, when a meta-analysis was conducted, analyzing 14 random clinical trials comparing the use of honey to treat Upper Respiratory Tract Infections (A.K.A. URTIs) to common prescription medications, OTC medicine, and placebos, honey was the most effective at treating symptoms; especially cough frequency and severity.
This is one of many uses for honey in the field of medicine. Many studies have found that Honey has antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. Honey also has the added benefit of being cheap, widely available, and has little to no side effects.
Honey vs. Antibiotics
This is exciting news for doctors and scientists. Not only is there the potential for better treatments for patients, but some doctors are concerned that antibiotics are being over-prescribed. Since antibiotics are so commonly prescribed for a variety of illnesses today, (including those more severe than the common cold,) we are giving diseases too much exposure to antibiotics to adapt to our treatments. Future diseases we treat with antibiotics could become resistant to antibiotics; meaning less effective treatments for patients.
With new studies showing honey can be an effective treatment for common colds, doctors now have an opportunity to prescribe antibiotics less, making antibiotics more effective against disease in the future.
Honey Beyond the Common Cold
With all of the amazing benefits, honey is showing, honey has the potential for scientists to use it in medicines much stronger than OTC drugs. As mentioned before, honey has anti-inflammatory properties. Scientists found that when turned into a mist, honey can treat the “acute effects” of asthma, (Asthma Attacks) like an inhaler does. When sterilized with gamma irradiation, honey can be used to treat open wounds and partial-thickness burns. This is because it’s believed that honey blocks bacteria’s ability to communicate, given it’s anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties.
Research is even being done to study honey’s ability to fight cancer. Honey has anti-cancer properties due to its ability to interfere with multi-cell signaling pathways and may prevent cell proliferation in certain types of cancers such as cervical, endometrial, liver, colorectal, prostate, renal, bladder, lung, oral, and bone cancer cells, as well as in cancer cells of melanoma, adenocarcinoma, and leukemia.
In short, honey is a great alternative medicine option providing many health benefits. Modern science sees great potential in honey today. At the very least, it’s worth keeping a jar around for the flu season. Does your family have any old home remedies with honey? If so, leave a comment if you’re going to be using one this flu season. And if you’d like, subscribe to our newsletter for more articles like this one.