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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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From:
Bill Truesdell <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 7 Aug 2007 16:49:27 -0400
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I appreciate the hype for different honeys in wound healing, but it 
seems more an advertising ploy to sell specific honey. There are 
differences, but the primary component that makes honey effective is the 
enzyme glucose oxidase. It is put in honey and pollen by the bee and is 
the true antibacterial agent. You get more of it the longer honey cures 
mostly because of the bees adding more nectar, hence more enzyme, so 
high water content nectar should give the best results. But there is a 
point where you have enough and more is overkill.

Honey acts as an anti-bacterial agent in three ways. The first is as a 
supersaturated sugar solution. It dessicates bacteria. Medicine uses 
sugar solutions to do the same thing. The second is its acidity. The 
third, and what sets it apart, is the action of glucose oxidase. It 
creates gluconic acid (which is why honey is acid). When it comes in 
contact with water it breaks down to hydrogen peroxide which is an 
exceptional anti-bacterial agent. All the other anti-bacterial agents 
are nice but the peroxide is what does the real heavy lifting.

The reason it does so well is because it allows the wound to heal from 
the wound surface up and will not scar over. The hydrogen peroxide 
cleans out dead tissue and kills bacteria, a one-two punch. Most all 
this information has been around since the 60s, so we are not in untrod 
ground. What is amazing is the lack of knowledge in the western medical 
community. Honey's healing properties are well known and used in Asia. 
China uses it for major burns, among other uses.

I had hand surgery a few years ago and talked the doctor into allowing 
me to use honey (my own) to treat the resulting wound. He was reticent 
at first, but allowed it only after the wound took its own sweet time to 
heat using prescribed meds. After I applied the honey, it healed quicker 
and I had greater mobility than normal for the operation. There was 
almost no scarring and you would be hard pressed to see where the cuts 
were made. My doctor was amazed.

After my other hand was operated on, he allowed me to use honey right 
off and spoke of it to other doctors.

So my own backyard honey was as good as anything from away and did the 
job well. If the glucose oxidase concentrations are low, it just means 
you have to apply honey more often. Heat will make it ineffective, so it 
must be raw and fresh.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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