The Healing Power of Honey

When you go to the grocery store, you probably see an entire shelf or several shelves dedicated to various types of honey. When we're talking about honey as a healing remedy, though, it's important that raw honey is used. Raw honey has not been "sterilized" with high heat, and it has not has anything added to it. 

Raw honey varies quite a bit, too. There's wildflower honey, tupelo honey, organic honey, and clover honey. A good middle road is raw wildflower honey. It tends to contain the medicinal qualities of a variety of wildflowers, and when you're trying to kill germs, the more germ-fighting constituents, the better. 


How Is Honey Used?

One of the great things about honey is how good is tastes. Children (over 1 year of age) respond well to honey as a treatment. Here are some of honey's healing uses.

* Burns - Honey has been shown in various studies to be an extremely effective burn treatment. It has various antibacterial compounds that have yet to result in bacterial resistance, and its moist nature helps keep burned skin supple and reduces moisture loss. If you use honey to treat minor burns, simply spread honey over the burn and cover lightly with gauze. Honey does not need to be refrigerated, but it feels good on a burn if it's chilled. 

* Coughs and colds - Studies have shown that regularly eating raw honey helps prevent colds. It also helps soothe coughs and sore throats. Its viscous texture coats the throat, and has a cough-suppressing effect. Its antibacterial properties help fight throat infections and upper respiratory infections. By gently heating raw honey and mixing in healing herbs such as sliced ginger, steeping for a few hours, and straining out the herbs, you can create a healing cough syrup. 

* Cosmetics - Honey is good for dry skin due to its high moisture content, and its antibacterial qualities may help with skin infections like acne. Plain yogurt mixed with honey makes a soothing cleanser or facial mask. Sugar mixed with raw honey and sweet almond oil makes a moisturizing exfoliant. 

* Allergies - Interestingly enough, regularly eating raw honey may prevent allergic symptoms, particularly those of hay fever. Because raw honey contains residual pollen and other plant components, the theory is that the low levels of exposure - such as occurs with allergy shots - may reduce sensitivity to common allergens. 

* Wound healing - Some interesting studies have shown that honey is a remarkable wound healer, especially for diabetics who have trouble with minor wounds developing into ulcers. It may even reduce scarring and tends to be less painful than conventional antiseptics.  

Arthritis Remedies For A Much More Active Life

Most, if not all, sufferers of arthritis have been exposed to the medical pills, ointments and treatments for arthritis.  All of which might or might not have worked to varying degrees and so searching around for arthritis remedies that will bring some relief has become central to their lives, which is no surprise really because arthritis is a painful condition to try and live with.

As well as trying to live with the pain, there is the added knowledge that arthritis can ravage the body and leave the sufferer with debilitating and disabling joints that will severely affect a persons standard of living and ability to do everyday things.

Arthritis remedies then usually begin in how to effectively manage and eliminate the pain associated with this condition.  One of the main methods of managing arthritis is to look at the diet of the sufferer.  It is widely held that switching the diet from one that is high in animal proteins and processed foods to a diet that closely resembles a vegan diet is highly effective in treating arthritis.  Foods such as red meats, rich dairy products such as cheeses and eggs etc. should be replaced by nuts, whole grains and fruits and vegetables.

Arthritis remedies that involve reducing the swelling that this disease causes in the joints of the sufferer are highly thought of and suggested.  Ice packs applied to a newly affected joint is a proven method to ease pain and reduce painful swelling.  However, what needs to be added to this point, is that icing a joint can often lead to the joint stiffening and becoming inflexible.  It is for this reason that icing of an arthritic joint is usually suggested at the end of the day.

Alternatively, applying heat to the affected joint also works well as arthritis remedies go.  Heat works the opposite way to ice and so the best time to often use a hot water bottle or heat pack is at the beginning of the day.  The joints have been stiffened throughout the night and a warm heat pack can often loosen up the joints and give more flexibility for the rest of the day.

It might sound counter-intuitive, but exercise is also a proven remedy for arthritis.  Of course depending on the level of mobility that a suffer might have, exercise in its full range might not be possible.  However as soon as arthritis is diagnosed, exercise should be placed at the top of the list.  Without exercise, the bones and joints quickly become stiff and immobile and any hope of reclaiming the flexibility needed to live an independent and active life might disappear for good.

Massaging the affected joints with soothing oils, incorporating exercise and adjusting the diet are all proven and worthwhile arthritis remedies that can effectively offer relief and a much better quality of life to anyone struggling with arthritis.