27 October 2008
· Filed under Home remedies, Honey, Learn further
Popular wisdom says that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but it’s even more likely to avoid extra trips to the doctor, if you make the honey part of your diet.
We all have a jar of honey in our pantry, but many people do not realize that it is an extraordinary healer. The combination of antibacterial agents, iron, vitamins and many other healthy qualities make honey a great ally for health. The regular intake of honey stimulates the immune system, helping to strengthen the white blood cells, enabling them to fight more effectively against both bacterial and viral diseases.
Honey can not be a substitute for good healthy nutrition, neither a multivitamin that excludes other inputs, but it is a powerful ally in the diet, improving the overall health and welfare.
If you’re looking for the “miracle diet of honey,” you would be disappointed. Although honey is a much healthier alternative to other sweeteners, is not a miracle to supplement the diet. However, some people claim that a pre-breakfast in the morning, drinking a preparation of honey and cinnamon powder dissolved in hot water, can help promote weight loss. There are people who says they have successfully used honey as part of a plan to reduce weight, since taking this drink can prevent the accumulation of fat in the body, stimulating weight loss generally with less effort.
Most of us do not think of honey as a treatment for moisturizing the skin, since its sticky quality seems contrary to our expectations of a skin treatment. A honey, however, is often called as “the perfect moisturizer nature” and a lot of people who suffer from dry skin, find relief through the use of honey. If you suffer an abscess dry skin that requires assistance, all you need do is apply a small amount of honey on the area, leaving it covered with a gauze and withdrawn after it with warm water. Once removed the remains of honey, you look incredibly smooth skin.
16 October 2008
· Filed under Honey
Medical-Grade Honey Kills Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria In Vitro and Eradicates Skin Colonization
Paulus H. S. Kwakman,1,2
Johannes P. C. Van den Akker,3
Ahmet Güçlü,1,3
Hamid Aslami,1,3
Jan M. Binnekade,3
Leonie de Boer,1
Laura Boszhard,1
Frederique Paulus,3
Pauline Middelhoek,3
Anje A. te Velde,2
Christina M. J. E. Vandenbroucke-Grauls,1,4
Marcus J. Schultz,3 and
Sebastian A. J. Zaat1
1Department of Medical Microbiology and 2Center for Experimental and Molecular Medicine, Center for Infection and Immunity Amsterdam, and 3Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, and 4Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Free University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Background. Antibiotic resistance among microbes urgently necessitates the development of novel antimicrobial agents. Since ancient times, honey has been used successfully for treatment of infected wounds, because of its antibacterial activity. However, large variations in the in vitro antibacterial activity of various honeys have been reported and hamper its acceptance in modern medicine.
Methods. We assessed the in vitro bactericidal activity of Revamil (Bfactory), a medical-grade honey produced under controlled conditions, and assessed its efficacy for reduction of forearm skin colonization in healthy volunteers in a within-subject–controlled trial.
Results. With Bacillus subtilis as a test strain, we demonstrated that the variation in bactericidal activity of 11 batches of medical-grade honey was <2-fold. Antibiotic-susceptible and -resistant isolates of Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Enterococcus faecium, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter cloacae, and Klebsiella oxytoca were killed within 24 h by 10%–40% (vol/vol) honey. After 2 days of application of honey, the extent of forearm skin colonization in healthy volunteers was reduced 100-fold, and the numbers of positive skin cultures were reduced by 76% .
Conclusions. Revamil is a promising topical antimicrobial agent for prevention or treatment of infections, including those caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria.
Received 16 November 2007; accepted 14 January 2008; electronically published 23 April 2008.
Reprints or correspondence: Dr. Sebastian A. J. Zaat, Dept. of Medical Microbiology, Academic Medical Center, Meibergdreef 15, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands (
s.a.zaat@amc.uva.nl).
Cited by
Nicola Petrosillo. (2008) Natural Products and Wound Management: A Never-Ending Story. Clinical Infectious Diseases 47:5, 730-731
Online publication date: 1-Sep-2008.