Raw unprocessed honey contains no less than 200 substances, including amino acids, vitamins, minerals, enzymes and antioxidants.
It is known today that honey inhibits the growth of at least 60 types of bacteria, in addition to several fungi and viruses.
Yet Stone Age paintings going back some 8000 years depict humans using honey.
Ancient Egyptians, Chinese, Greeks, Romans and indigenous tribes all realised the wondrous healing properties of honey centuries ago.
Here are nine ways that honey was used in traditional healing
Honey In Ayurvedic Indian Medicine
Ayurvedic medicine considers honey a tonic for those with weak digestion. Its soothing properties have been used for centuries by Ayurvedic practitioners to relieve insomnia, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Applied daily to the eyes, it is said to improve eyesight and prevent cataracts.
It is written in ancient Ayurvedic texts that enjoying a spoonful of honey a day will give a long healthy life.
Honey In Ancient Egypt
Honey is mentioned 500 times in 900 ancient Egyptian remedies. It was considered such a potent nectar that the Egyptians offered honey as sacrifices to their gods and placed caskets of honey in the tombs of their dead.
Honey In Ancient Greece
Ancient Greeks believed in a bee goddess known as Artemis (pictured here), due to the magical properties of honey.
The great ancient Greek scientist Hippocrates prescribed honey mixed with vinegar for pain relief, and honey mixed with water for a variety of conditions.
He also used honey for baldness, wound healing, constipation and eye diseases.
Honey in Traditional Chinese Medicine
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, honey is known as Feng Mi. The 16th century Chinese pharmacist Li Shizhen of the Ming Dynasty showed that eating honey regularly resulted in clear eyesight and rosy cheeks.
He also wrote, "Honey can help dispel pathogenic heat, clear away toxins, relieve pain and combat dehydration."
Honey In Islamic Medicine
Honey is mentioned in the Quran as "a nectar of many colours, in which there is healing for people." [16:69]
It is also mentioned in the hadith (Prophetic sayings), as a remedy for many conditions.
Honey In Native American Tribal Medicine
Native American Indian tribes have been using both honey and bees themselves for centuries to heal a number of conditions. For example, they would mix blackberry root with honey to treat sore throats.
According to contemporary Native American healer Bobby "Medicine Grizzly Bear" Lake-Thom, the bee is a power animal that can be used for fertility and potency.
Honey In Maori Medicine In New Zealand
The use of honey among the Maori tribes in New Zealand is well documented for urinary infections, healing of wounds and indigestion, among other ailments.
Honey In African Medicine
Recent research has found the guts of some African tribespeople to have very high concentrations of healthy probiotic bacteria, partly due to their high consumption of raw honey.
African tribes also use honey to relieve malaria.
Pacific Island Medicine
Pacific Islanders from Samoa, Tonga and Fiji are renowned for their use of honey from citrus fruits to relieve ulcers, mouth sores and skin ailments.
It is important to remember that the commercial processing and filtration of honey to make it look like a clear watery liquid is a relatively recent phenomenon unknown to human history.
To obtain the maximum benefit from honey it should be taken raw, organic, unprocessed and unfiltered.
All the raw organic honeys available from the Latin Honey Shop have natural antibacterial activity, but some are more powerful than others.
Our 20+ Active Raw Organic Coffee Bean Honey from Mexico has been certified by a laboratory to have natural antibiotic power equal to a 20.5% phenol antibacterial solution. It is equivalent to a MGO 829 manuka honey.
Likewise, our 10+ Active Raw Organic Orange Blossom Honey from Mexico is equal to a 10% phenol antibiotic solution, or a MGO 263 manuka honey.
From our standard range, our Raw Organic Golden Pilosa Honey from Mexico comes from bees feeding on a medicinal plant from which scientists have identified 201 medically active compounds.
And our Raw Organic Rainforest Honey from Brazil comes from bees feeding on a rainforest with 20,000 different flowers.
