honey

[Guest guest]

Honey does not need to be sterilized, and indeed, if it is, it loses almost all

its medicinal and antiseptic value.

The reason why honey is not recommended for infants is because it contains

immunogenic agents that may

be harmful for an immature immune system. Unheated ( " raw " ) , unfiltered honey

was used by the

VietCong in their underground 'tunnel' surgeries during the war, it was the only

antiseptic oftentimes that

they had, and it performed as well as it had for the thousand years prior in

which humans around the world

discovered what it is good for.

If you want to eat honey that is worth anything healthwise, go to a healthfood

store that sells organic or at

least unheated and unfiltered honey. Manuka is not a brand, it is a type of

flower that the honey is named

for (as in Tupelo honey). It comes only from New Zealand, and is rated in a

special type of unit that signifies

its antimicrobial potency. All unheated honey is antimicrobial; Manuka is just

stronger. Many pharmacies

that serve the AIDS community now carry New Zealand honeys as adjunctive

medicine.

Honey directly applied is the best thing for all types of skin lesions, such

as bedsores and acne. Even better

is propolis, another bee product, that is often put up in a honey base (because

honey is a natural

preservative). Y.S. brand is the best available in the US, and comes in small

jars. A small amount on a

wound makes a big difference that you can sometimes see overnight. Propolis

stains fabrics tho, usually

indelibly.

A person with a compromised immune system might have other concerns about raw

honey. Honey is

immunogenic, containing traces of bee pollen, for example, which is very highly

immunogenic. Mainstream

docs won 't know a thing about it. Ask a good naturopathic doc. My lay opinion

is that raw honey from a

reputable supplier would do no harm if one has no allergy to bee pollen.

Another source of info is the American Apitherapy Society, which has a

website and practitioners of bee-

product medicine that is taken very seriously in other countries--write one of

them and pose these questions

about safety--Hugo