Here & There Column 11-17-09

Honey, No, Not You, Dear

Informally the word "Honey" means sweet one and dear but the real meaning of the word is a sweet, thick yellowish fluid produced by bees from the nectar of flowers and many folks including this columnist have experienced the amazing healing power of raw honey.
There is a distinct difference between the honey you buy in a jar at your local supermarket and raw honey which has not been pasteurized or filtered.
Having personally suffered with indoor and outdoor allergies and sinus problems several years now my doctor recommended and prescribed several antibiotics which also come with warnings and adverse reactions.
My personal library is filled with vitamin, herbal and natural food catalogs and I have a large volume of books on Natural Healing and recently I decided to try a new approach with natural herbs, vitamins and raw honey including eating honey comb and the actual honey wax on top of the raw honey.
We have visited and spoke to folks in the honey business and they strongly point out that raw honey can offer relief to respiratory ailments, improve your energy and stamina, help to heal wounds and reduce stress.
We were not surprised to hear that studies indicate that honey has significant natural antioxidant properties and increases calcium absorption, can increase hemoglobin count, can treat or prevent anemia caused by nutritional factors, can help arthritic joints when combined with apple cider vinegar, fights colds, can help to boost gastrointestinal ulcer healing, works as a natural and gentle laxative and has a positive effect against allergies and hay fever.
The Honeycomb we eat at least once a day has greatly helped my allergies and sinus problems and the honey combined with raw apple cider vinegar helps with the arthritic joints.
The goodness of comb honey is something worth looking into and we should remember that honey is manufactured in the world's most efficient community.....the beehive.