Go back just a little bit in history, maybe only two or three generations, and they knew the benefits of nature and home remedies. Your great-great grandparents could probably tell you the virtues of honey. There’s really very little that honey can’t do. From boosting energy, increasing endurance, balancing blood sugar, and soothing sore throats, this natural remedy does its fair share.
Honey is considered a superfood because of its amino acids, proteins, enzymes, vitamins, and minerals. Spread it on your bread, drizzle it on your yogurt or fruit, stir it into your tea…
In our experience, the best place to purchase high quality pure honey is from a local bee keeper. You can find a local bee keeper by asking around with your friends and neighbors or even visiting your farmer’s market. We currently use three types of honey in our home. We have our local honey from our local bee keeper, here in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. We have honey from a bee keeper back home (in the mountains of Southwest Virginia) that has the comb in it. Also we have a creamed honey that a dear friend gifted us from her local bee keeper. We love and use all three for different reasons and purposes!
Fun fact, honey can vary greatly in color! Honey is color graded into light, amber, and dark categories which do not really have any bearing on quality. Some of the most distinctively and strongly flavored honey varieties, such as basswood, are very light, while very mild and pleasant honeys such as tulip poplar can be quite dark. Honey color is measured on the Pfund Scale in millimeters. While it is not an indicator of honey quality and there are exceptions to the rule, generally speaking, the darker color the honey, the higher its mineral contents, the pH readings, and the aroma/flavor levels. Minerals such as potassium, chlorine, sulfur, iron, manganese, magnesium, and sodium have been found to be much higher in darker honeys.
We really love our honey home remedies! We live in the Lowcountry and pollen is crazy. It’s starts to lay on our cars and our porch furniture as early as February. By March, it will coat everything in a thick neon yellow powdered mess. The good news is that honey contains small amounts of pollen, which if the body is exposed to in small amounts, can trigger an immune response that produces antibodies to the pollen. Basically, after repeated exposure to the pollen in small amounts, the body becomes accustomed so that less histamine is released resulting in a lesser allergic response. Finding local honey, will contain your local pollen and give you the most benefit. If you live near me and would like to purchase local honey, contact me. I’ll connect you with my honey gal.
Important side note: Food Safety News conducted tests on honey sold at a number of grocery stores. The honey was analyzed for pollen content by a leading mellisopalynologist, which is an investigator of pollen in honey, the results were that 76 percent of the total samples of honey had all of their pollen removed. 100 percent of samples packaged in small individual portions had all the pollen removed. In retrospect, all of the honey bought from farmers markets, co-ops and natural food stores, had the full, anticipated, amount of pollen.
Honey has been shown to be as effective in treating coughs as over-the-counter commercial cough syrups. Increasing scientific evidence shows that a single dose of honey can reduce mucus secretion and coughs. In one study, honey was just as effective as diphenhydramine and dextromethorphan, common ingredients found in over-the counter cough medicines. For a cough, a half teaspoon to two teaspoons of honey at bedtime is a studied and recommended dosage for anyone over the age of one.
Other ways we use honey:
Improve digestion – Ingest one to 2 tablespoons of honey to counteract indigestion since it doesn’t ferment in the stomach.
Relieve sore throat – Using honey for sore throat is another fantastic remedy. This is especially useful for children. Simply swallow one teaspoon of honey or add it to tea with lemon.
Reduce inflammation – Raw honey has anti-inflammatory agents that can treat respiratory conditions such as asthma.
Prebiotic support – Raw honey is full of natural prebiotics that promote the growth of good bacteria in the intestine.
DIY Body Scrub – 1/4 cup fractionated coconut oil, 2 tbsp. honey, 5 drops of doTERRA Lavender Oil, and 1 cup Himalayan pink salt (fine grain). Combine the first three ingredients. Stir in the salt. Blend well. Store in a wide mouth jar. Spoon scrub into palm. Apply the scrub to wet skin (avoid eyes, mouth, and sensitive areas). Rinse with warm water.