Honey – Nature’s Miracle Medicine and Health Food

Nature's Miracle Medicine

For thousands of years, until the discovery of antibiotics in the mid-twentieth century, people used honey to treat wounds. Topically applied honey fights the bacterial infections in open wounds without damaging the adjacent tissue. In addition, it accelerates the healing process by aiding the removal of dead tissue and pus, and by acting as an antiseptic moisture barrier.

It's effective even against antibiotic-resistant "superbugs." Honey's healing ingredients include enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and unrefined sugars. In food, honey has additional health-promoting properties. For example, it prevents heartburn especially in people who suffer from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and is recommended by the World Health Organization as a cough remedy that's safe for both adults and young children.

Not all honeys, however, are equal.

Most of the less expensive varieties contain few beneficial ingredients some contain none at all. They are often adulterated with cheap refined sugar, which contains none of the enzymes, vitamins, and minerals of natural honey. Much of the honey sold in the West is produced in countries with scant regard for accepted international food standards or local regulations.

China is the world's largest producer.

Many of its producers pay mere lip service to these standards, and sell honey that's a poor replica of the real thing, if, indeed, it can legitimately be called honey. Analyzing the pollen in honey identifies the region of origin, so dishonest importers and distributors use ultra-filtering techniques to remove any trace of pollen. In addition, to further hide the provenance, they purchase honey through distributors in an intermediate country like India, which had imported it from a country like China.

Experts regard manuka as one of the world's highest quality honeys. The bees gather their nectar from blossoms of the manuka tree, which is found mainly in New Zealand and, to a lesser extent, Australia. That supply limitation makes the honey expensive, and is the reason much of the honey labeled as manuka that's sold around the world is Counterfeit and/or adulterated.

New Zealand produces well over 90% of the world's supply of genuine manuka honey - roughly 1,700 tons. Yet, according to the Unique Manuka Factor Honey Association (UMFHA)- the main trade association of manuka producers in the country-10,000 tons of honey labeled as manuka is sold around the world. You can buy tasty and good quality honey in health food stores in Dubai. Another type of honey highly regarded by experts especially for the treatment of wounds is Surgihoney.