Honey
Email this page to a friend Print Facebook Twitter Google+
What is it?
How effective is it?
How does it work?
Are there safety concerns?
Are there interactions with medications?
Are there interactions with herbs and supplements?
Are there interactions with foods?
What dose is used?
Other names
Methodology
References
What is it?
Honey is a substance produced by bees from the nectar of plants. It is used as a medicine.
Honey can become contaminated with germs from plants, bees, and dust during production, and also during collection and processing. Fortunately, the germ-fighting characteristics of honey ensure that most contaminating organisms cannot survive or reproduce. However, bacteria that reproduce using spores, including the bacterium that causes botulism, may remain. This explains why botulism has been reported in infants given honey by mouth. To solve this problem, medical-grade honey (Medihoney, for example) is irradiated to inactive the bacterial spores. Medical-grade honey is also standardized to have consistent germ-fighting activity. Some experts also suggest that medical-grade honey should be collected from hives that are free from germs and not treated with antibiotics, and that the nectar should be from plants that have not been treated with pesticides.
https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/natural/738.html
